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On the International Human Rights Day, 10 December, 12 international civic and human rights organisations start a joint online petition at www.belarus-petition.org. The human rights defenders urge the acting President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and the 19 December 2010 newly elected President to respect and guarantee human rights in the Republic of Belarus.

The Belarusian university in exile in Lithuania is inviting everybody to contribute to the Human Rights Day by donating blood and signing a manifesto for visa-free movement.

The gap between international standards and the national law is a significant issue for human rights defenders in the Republic of Belarus. The International Law in Advocacy program is directed at tackling this problem. On 26-30 November the training session “Bring International Standards Home” within the program framework was organised for human rights defenders and lawyers in Vilnius.

As the election campaign is gathering pace, the authorities are doing everything to create an appearance of freedom and equality for all candidates. Ten contenders for the main office were all registered without problems. However, looking closely, it becomes clear that the liberalization is strictly controlled by the authorities, and the equal opportunity is no more than an elaborate farce.

A student of the European Humanities University in exile Mikalai Dziadok has been behind bars for more than two months now. Dziadok was detained in the wake of the so-called “case of anarchists” in early September 2010. His fellow students have appealed to the international community with a request to protest against this detention, called ‘arbitrary and illegal’ by human rights defenders of Republic of Belarus.

The liquidation by a court in Minsk of the “Movement Forward”, a research and educational initiative, came as no surprise. The organization’s leader Uladzimir Niakliayeu is one of the better-known oppositional candidates to the presidential chair. Just like some other NGOs and parties have experienced, ensuring the freedom of association is clearly beyond the Belarusian government’s priorities.

The Belarusian Human Rights House has supported a statement by the HR community of Republic of Belarus against a top-down attempt to create a National Civil Society Platform which would also include the Human Rights Platform. ‘The real platform of Belarusan human rights initiatives exists not for the first year’, – noted human rights defenders of Republic of Belarus.

A group of defenders from Belarusian HR organizations has prepared a report on international undertakings of Republic of Belarus under the UN Convention against Torture. This is the first alternative report on torture to be presented to the UN in December. It will be considered by the UN Committee against Torture in the spring of 2011.

Belarusian HRH has signed a joint statement, calling upon the Ministers of Foreign Affairs from Republic of Poland and Germany to support values of democracy and human rights during their joint visit to Minsk. The statement was approved by Belarusian HR defenders and supported by various European organisations.