By selling arms to Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Croatia has violated the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty which requires that prior to the export of weapons, a state must first undertake an assessment of the potential risks that the weapons sold will be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and if the assessment determines that such a risk exists, then arms exports shall not be authorized by the State party. 

Motivated by the announcements made by the press that the Government of the Republic of Croatia will soon start the amendment procedure of the Law on State Border control, Centre for Peace, Non-Violence and Human Rights Osijek, Centre for Peace Studies, Welcome! Initiative, Miramida Centar and Regional Address for Non-Violent Action are wondering: Who is attacking us? Who are we defending ourselves from? Are we in war? Refugees are in search for safety, and it is our moral duty, as well responsibility deriving from the international humanitarian law, to do all we can in the sphere of humanitarian care.

By joining the European Union and the Euro-Atlantic community of NATO on 2004, Lithuania officially declared the aim „to continue to be an active member of the international community, effectively contributing to the response to crises, crisis management and peace keeping operations“ as one of the priority goals of its foreign policy. Although Lithuania has been participating in peace operations (PO) since 1994, mostly due to its integration into the EU and NATO, Lithuania has had the opportunity to be involved in various peace operations and missions, and to set up legal and institutional framework related to the deployment of both military and civilian personnel. Before focusing on the current state of deployments of Lithuanian civilians in PO, existing policies as well as the legal basis, it is important to begin with a description of the history of Lithuania‘s involvement in PO, primarily related to military participation.