State Department, Lithuanian officials to preview democracy meeting

The Deputy Foreign Minister of Lithuania Egidijus Meilunas and Senior Advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tomicah Tillemann will preview a high level democracy meeting to be held next month in Vilnius, Lithuania at a Newsmaker Thursday, March 26 at 3 p.m.

The Vilnius meeting comes at the end of Lithuania's presidency of the Community of Democracies CD) and will have a special focus on supporting democratic transition and consolidation worldwide--but especially in North Africa and the Middle East--and on helping bridge the gap between the principles of democracy and universal human rights. The Vilnius meeting will try to achieve these goals by strengthening a global network of govenment representatives, members of legislative bodies, civil society and others committed to them.