Report on human rights presented at Human Rights Council of UN

The report was prepared by the special rapporteur on Belarus, Miklos Haraszti. The 23rd session of the UN Council on Human Rights opened in Geneva on 27 May and was attended by human rights activists from Belarus.

The document recommends that the Belarusian authorities immediately and unconditionally release from prison of all political opponents, human rights defenders and civic activists.

The special rapporteur, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, was unable to enter Belarus, as the Belarusian officials refused to cooperate with him and issue him a visa.

In April, Miklos Haraszti published his first report on the situation of human rights in Belarus.

According to Mr. Haraszti, human rights in Belarus are systematically limited, especially in the case of freedom of association, assembly and expression, as well as the right to proper conduct of the trial and a fair trial. The Special Rapporteur notes the centralization of the legislative and executive branches around Lukashenka's team.

Miklos Haraszti is concerned about the lack of rule of law in Belarus, in particular with regard to the procedural safeguards provided for by Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Numerous meetings with human rights defenders and victims of human rights violations reflect a distrust to the legal system. There is no confidence that the legal system can be a guarantor of the rights in situations where it is contrary to the interests of the authorities.

Eloquent is the fact that widespread violations of human rights are overlooked, which is emphasized by the centralization of the legislative and executive branches around the Presidential Administration. Lukashenka's decrees are used as the main laws, possessing the supreme juridical authority in the legislative mechanism of the country.

In the section related to freedom of association and human rights activists, UN Special Rapporteur notes that the recently introduced and planned changes in the legislation, do not improve the general situation of public associations, despite having some positive norms. The Special Rapporteur draws attention to a new legal norm, introduced on 24 January 2013, providing the possibility of liquidation of institutions and associations if their leaders are put on the prophylactic register, the procedure of which remains uncertain and subjective.

He also highlights the pressure on human rights organizations, including in the form of the judicial liquidation of the human rights organization "Platform" and the confiscation of premises of the Human Rights Center "Viasna".