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Belarus: Massive human rights violations unprecedented in scope and gravity, says UN expert. GENEVA (5 July 2021) – Belarus has witnessed an unprecedented human rights crisis over the past year, an independent expert appointed by the Human Rights Council said today, calling on authorities to end their policy of repression and to fully respect ...
Sep 22, 2023 · I welcome the opportunity to address the Council and provide an update on the human rights situation in Belarus, in accordance with Resolution 52/29. Three years from the contested Presidential elections of August 2020, the human rights situation in Belarus remains grave, showing no signs of improvement. On the contrary, we are witnessing the ...
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Sep 21, 2021 · President Joe Biden addresses the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, Sept. 21, 2021. Timothy A. Clary/Pool via AP
Mar 9, 2022 · belarus. The Belarusian Government’s continuing crackdown on political opponents, civil society, journalists and lawyers has seen the fundamental human rights of tens of thousands violated, with...
- Governmental Crackdown on Peaceful Protests and Dissent
- Human Rights Defenders, Civil Society Groups, and Lawyers
- Freedom of Expression, Attacks on Journalists
- Prosecution of Political Opposition Members and Supporters
- Humanitarian Crisis and Violence at Belarus-Poland Border
- Death Penalty
- Key International Actors
According to the prominent Belarusian human rights organization Viasna, at least 3,458 people faced criminal prosecution in connection with the 2020 mass protests between November 2021 and October 2022, and more than 3,148people faced administrative sanctions. Authorities increasingly used charges of “dissemination of extremist materials” to prosec...
At time of writing, three members of Viasna, which had been particularly hard hit by the authorities, remained behind bars on bogus “smuggling” and “financing group actions that disrupted public order” charges, including its leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, vice-chair Valentin Stefanovich, and lawyer Uladzimir Labkovich. Three o...
From January to October, the Belarusian Association of Journalists documented 93 cases of arbitrary detention, raids, fines, and administrative arrests of journalists. At time of writing, 28journalists and media workers were behind bars on bogus criminal charges ranging from “insulting the president” to “treason” and “conspiracy to seize state powe...
In December, a court in Homiel delivered judgement in the case against former presidential contender Siarhei Tsikhanouski and his five alleged supporters charged with “organizing mass protests.” Tsikhanouski, who is married to the Belarusian opposition leader in exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, was sentenced to 18 years in prison. The other defendan...
Starting in August 2021, Belarusian authorities orchestrated a humanitarian crisis by facilitating tourist visas to thousands of migrants, mainly from the Middle East, to encourage them to travel to the European Union borders. Pushed back toBelarus at the EU borders, migrants suffered serious abuses, including beatings and at least one instance of ...
Belarus remains the only country in Europe and Central Asia to carry out the death penalty. Authorities take months to inform families of an execution and refuse to disclose the place of burial, causing additional suffering. In November 2021, the family of Viktar Paulau, who had been sentenced to death following his conviction for murder and larcen...
In November 2021, 35 OSCE statesinvokedthe Vienna Human Dimension Mechanism, highlighting the failure of Belarusian authorities to investigate and remedy gross human rights violations. Between December 2021 and September 2022, the United States, Canada, the European Union, and the United Kingdom introduced further sanctionsagainst Belarus in respon...
Mar 17, 2023 · While the primary responsibility to address human rights violations remains with Belarus, the report urges UN Member States to consider working towards accountability through national...
The report recommended that the United Nations urgently step up its ambition and operationalisation of human rights integration in common country analyses and cooperation frameworks, and called on Member States to work together to adopt a legally binding instrument on the right to development and operationalise this right.
