Human Rights House Foundation urges to establish investigative mechanism on Belarus
UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : Human Rights Council 55th session. Credit: UN Photo / Elma Okic
On 20 March 2024, Human Rights House Foundation delivered a statement at the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council highlighting the Belarusian authorities’ ongoing crackdown against civicl society and urging Council member states to support the establishment of an investigative mechanism aimed at accountability.
Such mechanism is supposed to complement and build upon the good work of the OHCHR Examination and is critical to continue the work of documenting serious human rights violations, identifying perpetrators, and paving the way for accountability, especially for violations extending beyond the 2020 election period.
The Foundation speaker also called for the renewal of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate, which offers a continuous lifeline to Belarusian civil society, and better resourcing of the Rapporteur’s office.
"The human rights situation in Belarus has drastically deteriorated, with more than 1,400 political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, as well as Marfa Rabkova and Valiantsin Stefanovic.
The tragic death of political prisoner Ihar Lednik in February underscores Belarus’s disregard for even basic human dignity and rights, and the High Commissioner’s report continues to identify possible crimes against humanity, including numerous examples of the systematic use of torture," the Human Rights House representative reminded.
