Voting on the resolutions that proposed to extend for one year the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation in Belarus was held on 13 June at the session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva.

“The Council decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus for a period of one year, and requests the Special Rapporteur to submit a report to the Council at its twenty-sixth session and to the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session.”- said in the draft resolution.

The resolution expressed deep concern at “continuing violations of human rights in Belarus, which are of a structural and endemic nature, and also at the systemic and systematic restrictions on human rights, especially in the case of the freedoms of association, of assembly, and of opinion and expression, as well as the guarantees of due process and fair trial.”

UN Human Right Council expresses particular concern at the “use of torture and ill-treatment in custody, the lack of response by the Government to cases of enforced disappearance of political opponents, violations of labour rights amounting to forced labour, significant gaps in anti-discrimination legislation, the impunity of perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses, the harassment of civil society organizations, human rights defenders, journalists and political opponents, pressure on defence lawyers, and the lack of participation of opposition political parties in Parliament.”

The Council calls on the government of Belarus “to carry out a comprehensive review of relevant legislation, policies, strategies and practices to ensure that the provisions are clearly defined, consistent with international human rights law and their human rights commitments, and not used to impede or unduly restrict the exercise of any human right, including the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, or freedom of the media.”

The Council urges the government of Belarus to immediately and unconditionally release and rehabilitate all political prisoners and to rehabilitate those who have already been released.

The resolution calls on the Belarusian authorities to fully cooperate with the UN Special Rapporteur, including granting him permission to visit the country and access to the necessary information.

The resolution reflects the problems of Belarus and is supported by a majority of votes
Delegate of Ireland, speaking on behalf of the European Union, members of the UN Council, said that “human rights violations in Belarus were found by the Special Rapporteur to be serious, systematic and systemic. The list of the human rights violations referred to in the resolution was long but not exhaustive. There were particular concerns about the continuing application of the capital punishment in the country, which could not be justified under any circumstances. […] The continuing lack of cooperation of Belarus with the mechanisms of the Council was another matter of concern. In light of the deplorable human rights situation in the country, the mandate of the Special Rapporteur provided an important source of information on the human rights situation in Belarus and, therefore, his mandate should be renewed.   

The Belarusian authorities, as expected, were supported by the representative of Venezuela. He spoke about the alleged double standards in relation to Belarus and the politicization of the issue.  The voting was held after all the presentations.

Member of the board of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna” Tatsiana Ravyaka commented on the decision of the Human Rights Council to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Belarus: “It is very positive fact that the resolution on Belarus was adopted and the mandate of the Special Rapporteur will be effective for another year.This is a sign that the human rights situation in Belarus is not being improved, and that it is still on the agenda of international community. This is a very strong sign. ”

The official representative of Belarus Mikhail Khvastou: “Belarusian people do not need a Special Rapporteur” 
On 4 June the session of the council heard the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation in Belarus, Miklos Haraszti. During the discussion of this document representative of Belarus to the UN in Geneva Mikhail Khvastou said that Belarus does not need a special rapporteur or other similar institutions.Khvastou also said that the report is used to exert political and economic pressure on Belarus.

“The Belarusian nation does not need a special rapporteur.  We know what problems we have and are ready to tackle them. We have our own model, which is based on national sovereignty, security and rule of law.  We reject all allegations contained in the report, and assert that the conclusions of the report are unacceptable to us.” – said the official representative of Belarus.

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