The UN Committee against Torture will provide the results of a confidential investigation into Belarus
The UN Committee against Torture has prepared an annual report, which will present the results of a confidential investigation into Belarus. This is reported on the organization's website. One of the initiators of this investigation was Viasna Human Rights Center in September 2020.
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The committee's annual report, which will be presented this year, contains the results of a confidential investigation into the policy of the Belarusian authorities on detainees and prison inmates. The authors of the document came to the "irrefutable conclusion" that the use of torture is a systematic practice in Belarus.
It is reported that the investigation began in September 2020, when two non-governmental organizations submitted to the committee a document entitled Statement on the Need to Investigate the Systematic Use of Torture in the Territory of the Republic of Belarus. One of the organizations is the Viasna Human Rights Center.
In July 2021, the committee confirmed that the information received was reliable and contained reasonable conclusions. In 2022, the committee members exchanged letters and held a number of meetings with the Permanent Representative of Belarus to the United Nations. A confidential investigation was launched in July 2022. In 2023, the committee and the government of Belarus exchanged their views.
The conclusions of the Committee against Torture will be presented to the UN General Assembly.
The Committee against Torture consists of ten independent experts who monitor compliance by states parties with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. All states parties to the Convention are required to submit regular reports to the Committee on the implementation of the relevant rights.
