Statement of CIS Activists about State of Human Rights Activists in Belarus

On 8 October the human rights activists of CIS countries adopted the Statement about the state of the human rights activists in Belarus. This document was submitted to the OSCE Bureau on democratic institutions and human rights, to the UNO Commissar on Human Rights, to the Supreme Court of Belarus, President of Belarus and the Minister of Justice of Belarus.

STATEMENT

ABOUT STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS IN BELARUS

We, activists of human rights movement, point out that in 2003 the Ministry of Justice of Belarus initiated the process of liquidation of a number of NGOs. At present the courts of Belarus consider liquidation cases against twelve public associations. Our concern is that the human rights which monitor human rights violations, give juridical support to citizens, represent at court the interests of the persons whose rights are violated can be liquidated. For instance, such public associations as “Legal Assistance to Population”, “Independent Association of Legal Research”, “Human Rights Center “Viasna”, Hrodna regional public association “Ratusha” and other human rights organizations can be liquidated.

According to our Belarusian colleagues, human rights activists, the juridical grounding for the liquidation of these public associations is quite doubtful. Many public associations have simultaneously received warnings that can lead to liquidation of these organizations in future.

We are of opinion that human rights NGOs are an important element of the civil society. The activity of these organizations facilitates the formation of the democratic constitutional state and is an important guarantee for saving of human rights. To our mind, the practice of closure and banning of NGOs impedes the human rights activity and creates the favorable conditions for human rights violations.

The processes we observe in Belarus witness the strict limitation of the right of Belarusian citizens to association. The practice of liquidation and prohibition of human rights NGOs can be a sign of violation of the International pact of civil and political rights and the UNO Declaration about human rights activists.

In connection with the aforesaid, we
-- turn the attention of the UNO and the OSCE to the state of human rights activists in Belarus and bear in mind this circumstance while considering the issues concerning Belarus;
-- call President and Government of Belarus to abide by the resolution of the UNO Commission on human rights and without delay invite the Special representative of the UNO Secretary General on human rights defenders.

Respectfully yours,

Vladymir Shcherbachenko – East-Ukrainian Center of Public Initiatives (Luhansk, Ukraine)
Viktor Rolik (Vinnytsya Human Rights Group (Vinnytsya, Ukraine)
Sergey Shagaleyev – vice-President of the Center on Development of Public Initiatives and Social Partnership (Vladivostok, Russia)
Sergey Titov – member of Kamchatka historic-educational association “Memorial” (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia)
Natalya Leskonog – Head of the Union of children’s organizations of Tula region (Tula, Russia)
Sabina Salikhova – Bureau on Human Rights and Law Compliance (Dushanbe, Tajikistan)
Evgeniya Pavlenko – Youth Center of Human Rights and Legal Culture (Moskva, Russia)
Adam Pyrek (Warsaw, Poland)
Agneszka Klosowska )Warsaw, Poland)
Akylbek Tashbulatov – Fond of facilitation and support to legal and economical reforms in Kirghizstan (Osh, Kirghizstan)
Kakhaber Gogashvili – Head of Caucasus directorate on human rights (Tbilisi, Georgia)
Aleksey Tarasov – Chernigov Public Committee of Human Rights Protection (Chernigov, Ukraine)
Yuliya Zankina – E.M. Ametistov Center of Human Rights Protection (Moscow, Russia)
Lyudmila Churkina – member of the Public association “Sutiazhnik” (Yekaterinburg, Russia)
Natalya Moskvina, president of Nizhniy Novgorod regional public organization “Vozvrashcheniye na Voliu” (Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia)
Inna Tregubova – Central-black-earth Center of Human Rights Protection (Voronezh, Russia)
Bakhtiyar Tursunbay uulu – Head of the Board of the Public association “Demokraticheskoye obrazovaniye” (Zhelal-Abad, Kirghizstan)
Dina Manukyan – Investigative Educational Association “Millennium” (Yerevan, Armenia)
Sakhib Mamedov – Head of the Executive Committee of Protection of Working Rights of Citizens (Baku, Azerbaijan)
Andrey Kusialchuk – coordinator of Hrodna regional public association “Ratusha” (Hrodna, Belarus)
Aleksandr Romanov – coordinator of the juridical reception room of the Board on human rights (Dushanbe, Tajikistan)
Bagrat Kiriya – director of the Association on protection of the constitutional rights of citizens “PARI” (Zugdidi, Georgia)
Elena Grabovskaya – President of the Charity Fund of Human Rights “Rezonans” (Lviv, Ukraine)
Gyulnaz Khidoyatova – Head of the Legal Training-Center (Tashkent, Uzbekistan)
Tatyana Beloglazova – member of the supreme international course on human rights protection (Astana, Kazakhstan)
Yury Chavusaw, participant of the supreme international course on human rights protection (Minsk, Belarus)
Mariya Yasenovskaya – Kharkiv city association “Osvitniy tsentr prav lyudyny” (Kharkiv, Ukraine)
Irina Poduzova – Head of the Public organization “Man and Law” (Yoshkar-Ola, Russia)
Eldar Shafiyev – advocate of the Association of Legal Support (Tashkent, Uzbekistan)
Natalya Utesheva – member of the Youth human rights group (Bishkek, Kirghizstan)
Sholpan Aytenova – director of Zhambyl regional association “Tsentr Spravedlivosti” (Kazakhstan)
Luchiana Yabanji – member of Helsinki Committee on Human Rights in Moldova (Kishinev, Moldova)
Gocha Chkhetiya – regional coordinator “Institut Svobody” (Kutaisi, Georgia)
Konstantin Vishnevskiy – Stavropol regional center of public initiatives “Alter Vita”, Union of public associations of the South of Russia on cases of refugees (Stavropol, Russia)
Alisher Taksanov – Head of the Center “Asia-monitor” (Tashkent, Uzbekistan)
Nurmakhmad Khalilov – non-governmental organization “Center on Human Rights” (Dushanbe, Tajikistan)
Oleg Prokhorov – lawyer of the Youth human rights group Povolzhye (Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia)