Lithuania

Conscription currently imposed?	Yes			Suspended 2009.                        Reinstated 2015
Conscientious objection first recognised	1990			Law on Substitute Service of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic Constitution, 1992, Article 139 Law on National Conscription, 1996
Current provisions
Duration	Military service			Civilian service (% of military)
	9 months			10 months (111%)
CO release of professional soldiers	–			No specific provisions, but grounds of conscience would be considered valid. Refusal could be appealed to court.
Minimum recruitment age	18			Conscription from 19
Population	Total	% males 15-19		Thus approx. annual cohort reaching 18
	2,656,000	2.5		13,280
Armed forces	Total strength	Of which conscripts		Compared to annual cohort above
	25,300	5,850 (23.1%)		190.5% (conscripts 44.1%)
Military expenditure	$ (% change from 2022)		Per capita		% of GDP
	$2,161m (+24.6%)		$795		2.7%

Current situation & recent developments

In August 2023, the Defence Ministry proposed several reforms to the Lithuanian conscription system. According to the new Bill, the current nine-month long military service may be shortened to six months for some conscripts. The conscription age would be 18-21 years instead of the current 18-23 years. On the other hand, the aim is to increase the number of conscripts from 3,800 to 5,000 by 2027, and also increase the number of active reserve soldiers from 27,000 to 40,000 as a long term goal. The bill would also introduce a military service for university and college students or offer an alternative of three years of weekend service in the National Defence Volunteer Force.^[1]

The Lithuanian Parliament gave its initial backing to the bill in December 2023.^[2] 

Regarding the military nature of alternative service, Lithuania reported to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe that it is in the course of identifying the legislative amendments which would have to be made to comply with the European Court of Human Rights judgement in the case of Teliatnikov v Lithuania. (see Council of Europe section above).

A considerable issue of concern during 2023 has been Lithuania’s reluctance to give residence to persons from Belarus who, having previously performed military service, fear call-up in the case of any new mobilisation. (see COs as refugees section, below).

EBCO is also profoundly disturbed by Lithuania’s refusal of asylum to Olga Karatch, President of our Belarusian associate Nash Dom (Our House), working from exile in Lithuania, which we fear may not be unconnected with her tireless advocacy on behalf of these refugees, and to her husband, journalist Oleg Borshevsky, editor of the website nash-dom.info. Both face at the very least lengthy terms of imprisonment if returned to Belarus as a result of their public opposition to the regime; Olga Karatch and Nash Dom have been labelled “extremists” in no less than sixteen court judgements in Belarus, and she also appears on the list of “persons involved in terrorist activity” maintained by the Committee of State Security (KGB); Oleg Borshevsky has already been sentenced to seven years in prison. In all of its actions, Lithuania contrives to harm not the Belarusian regime to which it voices opposition but the opponents and victims of that self-same regime.