Photographs from this two-day advocacy programme can be found here.

From Vilnius to Geneva

HRHF began its work with Belarusian civil society partners in December 2024 with a capacity-building workshop in Vilnius, hosted by the Belarusian Human Rights House and organised by HRHF. Over a dozen HRDs participated, many of whom had never previously engaged with the UPR. HRHF focused on strategies for developing strong civil society submissions to the UPR and civil society access points within the UPR. 

HRHF workshop [in December 2024 in Vilnius]  was very important to me because this is my first time participating in the UPR…  It  was very important to understand what [the UPR] is about.

Maksim Zafranski, RADA – Belarusian National Youth Council. 

“For us, as a youth organisation, it was important to specify the topics we are going to write about and how to write such kind of submissions. [The workshop] helped me to shape and organise my ideas and thoughts and to prepare for the UPR,” shared Maksim Zafranski, representing RADA – Belarusian National Youth Council.

The workshop also created a collaborative space for exiled Belarusians to coordinate messaging around the UPR and ultimately increase the visibility of their collective concerns at the UN level. HRHF followed up the workshop by supporting organisations in drafting and submitting reports to form part of the UPR “stakeholder’s report” which will be reviewed and considered by States as they prepare their recommendations to Belarus.

Over several months, HRHF and partners worked with NGOs to develop advocacy strategies, finalise UPR submissions, ensuring that the voices of independent civil society were represented in the process. These submissions were a prerequisite for participation in the two-day advocacy events held in August 2025. HRHF and partners also supported participants in developing advocacy strategies, coordinating key messages, and strengthening their capacity to engage with the UPR.

This year we saw a marked increase in civil society’s engagement with the UPR review of Belarus in Geneva — an encouraging indicator of progress and the importance that Belarusian civil society are placing in this process. Matthew Jones, Senior International Advocacy Officer, Human Rights House Foundation

Putting skills learned at HRHF’s 2024 UPR Workshop into practice at the Human Rights Council

In August 2025, HRHF hosted Belarusian partners in Geneva ahead of the November UPR of Belarus. Over two days, the Belarusians participated in a final briefing session alongside HRHF and representatives from Human Rights House Zagreb, “speed-dating” style advocacy rounds with 16 state delegations, as well as sharing recommendations directly with states through UPR Info’s pre-UPR session at the UN. 

For many Belarusians, this was their first time in Geneva and their first direct experience with the UPR mechanism. Sviatlana Halauneva from Viasna Human Rights Center shared:  “It’s my first time in Geneva in UPR pre-session, and I feel a lot of empowerment from my colleagues, from other NGOs from Belarus, and from everyone we meet here.”

We would like to keep the focus on Belarus as, in Europe, it’s one of the countries where the violations of human rights, the denial of human rights, is so deliberate that you cannot ignore it… it’s urgent and ongoing. Tatsiana Ziniakova, Human Constanta

Tatsiana Ziniakova from Human Constanta noted the rare opportunity to work side by side with colleagues due to the life and work in exile: “ It’s a unique opportunity because you don’t get to work with such a big group of colleagues, a lot of us are based in exile in various countries. ”

Olga Smolianko from Lawtrend, highlighted the significance of being able to participate in different human rights mechanisms, despite the challenges and the lack of immediate results: “ It’s very hard to work with a system where the government doesn’t have the will to change something. In Belarus, [there are] systematic problems with human rights. These problems [have existed] for many years, and especially since 2020. For us, it’s very important that the question [of human rights in Belarus] is highlighted.

Civil society participation at the UN is crucial

Diplomats who met with the advocates welcomed the direct engagement. Cecilia Neyroud, Diplomatic Advisor at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, described the Geneva meetings as a unique opportunity to meet with Belarusian civil society: “For Switzerland, it’s very important to have civil society participation interacting with the human rights mechanisms here in Geneva. We really feel that [the participants] have had this training, and it is of great value for the permanent missions here, but also for OHCHR representatives, and special procedures.

Switzerland has supported HRHF for many years now… HRHF is doing a great job in briefing the civil society representatives who don’t necessarily know the human rights mechanisms here in Geneva to really make the most of their time, to make sure they’re thinking about [smart and concise] recommendations that states can take away. Cecilia Neyroud, Diplomatic Advisor at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

From the UK Mission, Senior Human Rights Officer Charles Kent underscored the value of first-hand testimony: “It’s really great to get an insight from people who are from the country…I think particularly for Belarus, given the complete crushing of any sort of NGO activity, it’s really important that we hear from those who still have a line into the country…. It’s going to be really important for reporting back to London and our embassy in Minsk when we’re formulating recommendations for the upcoming Universal Periodic Review.

Network of Human Rights Houses

The Belarusian coalition’s advocacy was strengthened by experience-sharing with each other, as well as with fellow members of the Network of Human Rights Houses from Croatia. 

Ivan Novosel (Human Rights House Zagreb) shared the Croatian experience of coordinating a national coalition and preparing its own UPR report: “[We shared with our Belarusian colleagues] how we worked together [in Croatia], to try to compile a national report, but also strategically on, member organization organizations of, of the coalition, to file their own separate reports as well to utilize the UPR process… We were very impressed with the hard work that Belarusian colleagues from many different organisations are putting into the UPR process, and that reminds us and underlines the importance of the UPR as a mechanism.”