“Our report contains some objective criticism of the state, whose purpose was to comprehensively show the existing problems as a biased investigation into cases of torture or inadequate conditions of detention in penal institutions of Belarus.

However, we are willing to work with prosecutors, police and other government agencies to solve these problems, as at the legislative and enforcement level,” said human rights activist Siarhei Ustsinau.

Officials unwilling to work together
The report authors believe that cooperation with authorities would be crucial for addressing the torture problem. Yet, the officials are hesitant to interact with NGOs.

The lack of freedom of association in Belarus makes cooperation even more problematic, as many NGOs de facto are denied registration and forced to work underground or as foreign organizations. It effectively prevents them from obtaining a legal channel of interaction with Belarusian authorities.

“However, in Belarus we could use the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) mechanism. Belarus is a member of the OSCE, so we could resort to it as a platform for communication with the government and giving our legislative recommendations, as there are many in this document,” – stated Ustsinau.

Official report: no problems with torture in Belarus
The Russian version of the report appeared in early November.

“For sure, many things might change before the Committee addresses our report. We are free to add interesting facts, if they occur – for example, in the aftermath of the upcoming presidential elections”, – said the HR defender.  

The official report has also already been prepared. It will be the fourth time the Belarusian government is going to present it to the UN.

“The government is sticking to the tradition of denying any facts of torture in Belarus, as well as other human rights violations, – said Ustsinau. – However, it will be the first time when a shadow report will also be presented  by Belarusian rights defenders. And our opinion is quite different.”

Documents:

  • Report on torture

    Report of Belarusian non-governmental organizations and human rights defenders on implementation by the Republic of Belarus
    of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment