VILNIUS, April 16, BNS–Lithuania has so far been finding it difficult to ensure children’s rights and fight discrimination of minorities, the United States Department of State said in an annual report on the global human rights situation.

“The most serious human rights problems related to aspects of the justice system, children’s welfare, and intolerance toward minorities,” reads the document published earlier this week.

According to the report, conditions were substandard in a number of prison and detention facilities, and lengthy pretrial detention continued to be a problem.

“Children experienced abuse, both in families and in institutions, where they continued to be placed despite risks to their health and increased exposure to delinquency, trafficking, and prostitution,” the US Department of State said.

Intolerance was manifested in the form of xenophobia, anti-Semitism, prejudice against ethnic minorities and against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons (LGBTI), said the document.

According to the report, Roma in particular experienced poor living conditions often in areas of high crime, and faced social exclusion and discrimination.