A/HRC/7/19/Add.4 page 14 Equal Opportunity, as well as the Ombudsperson for Children’s Rights, as important mechanisms to ensure that rights are protected and violations are punished. Many authorities, including the Minister of Justice, attributed an important role to the process of adapting Lithuanian legislation to the requirements of EU membership, in particular the internalization of the acquis communautaire, as positive steps that helped improve the legal and institutional framework in many areas, including racism and discrimination. 41. Insofar as the full implementation of existing legislation is concerned, many authorities highlighted their concern that there are still some shortcomings and room for improvement. In particular, they expressed the view that, since an important part of the legislative structure has been adopted very recently, it is important to focus on awareness-raising activities, particularly the training of public officials so that they are familiar with and compliant to existing laws. Some authorities also mentioned the need to spread information among the population at large concerning the legislation on racism and discrimination as well as the institutional mechanisms that are available to receive complaints and redress existing violations. 42. Several of the Special Rapporteur’s interlocutors in State institutions remarked on the importance of putting the issue of racism and discrimination in its historical context. It was pointed out that Lithuanian national identity - particularly language and culture - was severely curtailed during the Soviet occupation. According to these statements, the Lithuanian policy was now to rely on a radically opposite policy, one that actively recognizes the rights of national minorities and that promotes their traditions. 43. Officials at the Ministry of Interior also expressed the view that an important policy that contributed to creating peaceful relations and tolerance between ethnic communities in Lithuania was the zero-option citizenship law after the restoration of independence. According to this law, every individual who was living in Lithuania before the restoration of independence in 1990 (except former members of the Soviet military forces) was granted the option to become a Lithuanian citizen. This policy has virtually eliminated the problem of statelessness and managed to grant national minorities the full set of rights that stems from citizenship. 44. Some voices within Lithuanian State institutions expressed a more nuanced view concerning racism and discrimination in the country. In particular, the Office of the General Prosecutor acknowledged that discrimination exists in Lithuania, adding that it has been trying to interpret existing legislation in order to face this challenge. In particular, the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on the report presented by Lithuania (CERD/C/ LTU/CO/3) are taken into account when interpreting domestic legislation. According to the Office of the General Prosecutor, this includes the CERD recommendation that Lithuania adapt its legislation in order to introduce in its criminal law a provision that makes committing an offence with a racist motivation or aim an aggravating circumstance that allows for a more severe punishment (ibid., para. 7). The Special Rapporteur noted with interest that the Office of the General Prosecutor can initiate inquiries concerning incitement to racial hatred rather than just reacting to formal complaints. The Deputy General Prosecutor highlighted a number of concrete examples of grave issues that were the focus of his Office’s attention, including attacks against African students as well as a Chinese immigrant that were not duly registered as racist crimes, and emphasized the need to amend the Criminal Code following CERD’s recommendation.