55th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Item 4: Interactive discussion on the report of the High Commissioner on the issue of human rights in Belarus in the run-up to the 2020 presidential elections and after the 2020 presidential elections
Human Rights Watch Oral Statement
March 19, 2024
Mr. President
We thank the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for its most recent report on the situation of human rights in Belarus.
Over the past year, the Belarusian government has continued its “purge” of voices that persecute and harass human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, opposition politicians, protesters, and activists.
Hundreds more remain in politically motivated detention and are at risk of ill-treatment in custody; Some are being held incommunicado.
Five human rights defenders from Viasna remain imprisoned. The government continued to crack down on human rights lawyers in retaliation for representing their clients in politically motivated cases. Lately, no human rights organization has been operating legally in Belarus.
At the same time, public knowledge suggests that the Belarusian government facilitated the forcible and illegal transfer of more than 2,000 young Ukrainians from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories to Belarus.
Mr. President
The Office’s conclusion that the serious human rights violations committed since 2020 in Belarus possibly amount to crimes against humanity requires a strong reaction from the foreign community, especially in a context where there are no meaningful pathways to domestic justice and human rights. The paintings have already been banned. Human Rights Watch calls on all states to resolve the critical solution being discussed at this session, renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, and expand and further expand the critical paintings carried out so far through the OHCHR review through a compromise. mechanism.
Thank you.