News on the topic: human rights
03.03.2017 A necessary pillar for a lasting peace
“We, as human rights defenders, do not believe that people stand beside sufferance without compassion. People said “never again,” and their will has been a lasting peace.”
02.03.2017 Human Rights Situation in Belarus: February 2017
In the second half of February, a wave of peaceful assemblies against the Decree was held across Belarus. On February 17, a protest called “The March of Angry Belarusians” took place in Minsk; on February 19, a rally “Non-Parasites’ March” was held in Homieĺ; on the same day a march and a rally were held in Mahilioŭ; protests against Decree No. 3 were held on Sunday, February 26, in Babrujsk, Baranavičy, Brest and Viciebsk.
22.02.2017 Amnesty International Annual Report: Severe restrictions remain in place in Belarus
"Severe restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, of association and of peaceful assembly remained in place. The government continued to refuse co-operation with the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Belarus. At least four people were executed and four people were sentenced to death," Amnesty International said in its Annual Report.
20.02.2017 Libereco: no improvement in human rights situation one year after sanctions were lifted
One year ago, on 15 February 2016, the EU Foreign Affairs Council decided to lift most of the sanctions against Belarus. This decision was preceded by a reduction in visible repression in Belarus since the summer of 2015, through the release of political prisoners and relatively peaceful presidential elections.
15.02.2017 Civil Rights Defenders: EU Sanctions Lifted at the Expense of Civil and Political Rights in Belarus
One year ago, the EU lifted sanctions against Belarus. The sanctions were imposed in response to human rights violations perpetrated by the Belarusian regime, but were lifted without any improvements to the human rights situation. On the one year anniversary, Civil Rights Defenders releases a report entitled: Dictatorship No More? EU Sanctions Lifted at the Expense of Civil and Political Rights in Belarus.
09.02.2017 Report on the death penalty in Belarus presented at Council of Europe
A delegation of human rights defenders representing the Human Rights Center "Viasna" and FIDH visited yesterday the Council of Europe to discuss the question of the death penalty and the overall situation of human rights in Belarus.
08.02.2017 Human rights defenders: It is vital that Belarus remains on EU agenda
On February 7, a number of locations in Brussels hosted meetings of EU officials with the human rights defenders of Viasna, representatives of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus, as well as and the mother of Uladzislau Kavaliou, who was executed in 2012. The key issue for the discussion was the death penalty in Belarus.
07.02.2017 Human Rights Situation in Belarus: January 2017
During the month, there were cases of confiscation and seizure of personal property of citizens in connection with their failure to pay administrative fines imposed for participation in peaceful assemblies. Human rights defenders regard these cases as a form of repression in connection with the exercise of the freedom of peaceful assembly and expression.
03.02.2017 Issue of the death penalty in Belarus to be discussed in Brussels and Strasbourg
Representatives of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" and FIDH are going to discuss the issue of the death penalty in Belarus during a visit to the EU structures and the Council of Europe scheduled for the next week.
02.02.2017 Miklós Haraszti: Lifting of mandate should not be used to reward spectacular steps by Belarusian authorities
Miklós Haraszti, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, has met in Vilnius with Belarusian and international human rights activists to discuss priorities for further cooperation. According to Haraszti, he is rather optimistic about the issue of renewing his mandate expected to be discussed this year.
24.01.2017 Viasna representative speaks at Belarus hearings in PACE
Valiantsin Stefanovich has presented the position of Belarusian human rights defenders in the course of a discussion on the situation of human rights and development of democracy in Belarus after last year’s parliamentary elections, which was held on January 24 in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg.
23.01.2017 Human Rights Situation in Belarus in 2016. Analytical Review
Changes in the geopolitical situation in the neighboring countries continued to have a significant impact on both external and internal political situation in the country during 2016, which in turn affected the human rights situation in Belarus.
13.01.2017 Human Rights Watch World Report: Belarus’ human rights friendly rhetoric not supported by genuine improvements
"Belarus’ human rights friendly rhetoric was not supported by genuine human rights improvements in 2016," Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2017 published on January 12.
09.01.2017 Human Rights Situation in Belarus: December 2016
During the month, Viasna documented a few instances of the use of forced labor in some districts of the Minsk region, which together with the earlier recorded reports, is evidence of a systemic and systematic use of forced labor in the country.
12.12.2016 Situation in Belarus still frozen, human rights defenders say
Certain positive changes have taken place in the sphere of human rights over the past year, but the problem of their protection is still relevant, Belarusian human rights activists told belapan.by on the occasion of Human Rights Day celebrated on December 10.
