Human rights in Belarus is an abstract concept, not a working tool of power

On 10^th December the international community celebrated the 60^th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, in 30 articles establishes the basic human rights and freedoms. 

The declaration had a recommendatory nature. However it formed the basis for a number of international instruments governing relations between the countries it has been incorporated into national constitutions and it has been translated into more than 300 languages.

In his statement on the occasion of the 60^th anniversary of the Declaration the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that today's problems no less complex than those faced by the authors of the document. “And as ever, the most vulnerable continue to be on the frontlines of hardship and abuse.. Rights, and especially their violation, must hold the whole world in solidarity. On this Human Rights Day, it is my hope that we will all act on our collective responsibility to uphold the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration”, said the UN Secretary-General.

Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President, admitted on the anniversary day that he was every time surprised by the revolutionary nature of the Declaration. Through all the decades, the document retained its relevance and importance.

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU commissar for Foreign Policy stressed in a statement that the promotion and protection of human rights is an integral part of the EU policy, and it will continue to contribute to this common cause.

On the international scene, Belarus is regularly accused of non-compliance with the human rights and of breaches of international instruments to which Belarus has pledged to follow, in particular, within the OSCE. More often, others pointed to the violation of freedom of the press, freedom of speech, assembly and association.

Belarus, in its turn, indicates that human rights have become a convenient justification for any international political dispute. It says that countries with supposedly stable democracies take them out from a sleeve as a joker in order to be able to refuse or to impose sanctions. While doing so they use the ‘Royal Card’ only where it is perceived necessary and beneficial.
A Human Rights defender Oleg Gulak, leader of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, said on 10 December that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was still relevant 60 years after its adoption. Thanks to the Declaration “human rights” is not a scientific term, but an important element of modern civilization, without which it would be impossible to implement international and national policies.

“Precisely due to the fact that the human rights have become such an important issue, there is a problem of politicization of them”, said Gulak.

“Politicians tend to misapply whatever tools they have. Some hide behind allegations of double standards to dispense with human rights, others speak about the rights and freedoms in order to exert pressure», believes a human rights activist. According to him, this current trend is a call upon the human rights community and civilization as a whole because many politicians were now willing to review these standards.

According to the head of the BHC, it is essential that human rights remained on the agenda of a dialogue between Belarus and the EU on the normalization of relations. Mr. Gulak said that the protection of the rights and freedoms was just one prism through which today one could objectively look at the situation in our country and solve the existing problems.

Alexander Yaroshuk chairman of Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, agrees  with Mr. Gulak. The trade union leader believes that the human rights situation in Belarus, no matter
how the issue has been politicized is a litmus paper, which shows, “how sincere and consistent political authorities of the country are ready to follow the path of the democratic reforms”.

The 12 recommendations on which Brussels is ready to develop relations with Minsk is a description of the tools set up to protect and to respect the human rights, believes Yaroshuk.

The celebration taking place itself, according to a trade unionist, has a direct bearing on the Belarusian workers because human rights are equated with the rights of workers. For example, the International Labor Organization since 2001 was following the situation with the respect for workers' rights in Belarus, thereby controlling the general rights and freedoms.

“Human rights is the cornerstone of any kind, whether democracy or reform of political system”, the head BCDTU is convinced.
Gennady Davydko, the Vice-Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights, National Relations and Media of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus said that the declaration is a recommendatory nature, but each country should strive to ensure “as close as possible to the legislation and its application”.

This idea is an utopia, however an important one, because the basic interests of the state are the well-being and freedom of every citizen, said the MP. However, he said, “no country can be completely free and exist without looking back at something”.

In addition, human rights and freedoms are not always commensurate with the capabilities of people and the country. Thus everyone has the right to housing, however not everyone can afford it, the way he or she likes. There is the freedom of movement, but one may have no money to travel, there is the right to work and there is unemployment, and so on, said Davydko. “Belarusians have more rights than duties”, - believes the MP.

According to the Deputy Chairman of the Commission, for one to judge about the compliance with the human rights is “as hard as to judge about a movie or play”. “This is not a sport there are no indicators or bars. It is the same with the notion of democracy - whatever the weather can be called political”, - said the MP. He stressed that there are violations of human rights in the EU countries as well.

Roman Yakovlevsky, a political observer, explained that the States cover their non-compliance with the human rights with different interpretation of those terms. For example, one country may be at the forefront of social rights, however prefers to forget about political rights.

Expert agrees that there are human rights violations in the U.S. and the EU however there are social institutions, which oversee the State, in particular, the independent media.

Therefore, the issue of compliance by Belarus with the human rights can not be removed from the agenda of talks with the EU. If a majority does not protest against the violation of their right to information, it does not mean that they agree with that, believes Yakovlevsky. In addition, there is a right of the minority and they have rights and freedoms as well.
The knowledge about the Human Rights should be a natural part of human learning, summarises an expert on the Belarusian culture Maxim Zhbankov. However he says that in order for this knowledge to work, it should be not only the heritage of the citizens, but also of the social and political structures.

“Today in Belarus this concept is not working yet, it is an abstract concept for the majority, it has no practical value because it does not work in real life”, - said Zhbankov. According to him, until the human rights will not be a working tool of power structures, and the reference of citizens to their rights and freedoms will not cease to cause «administrative aggression», the knowledge of human rights will create more problems rather than help.

Marina Rakhley