Aleh Hulak: The authorities don’t start real dialog about human rights with the civil society

Belarusan authorities have a specific understanding of human rights, which doesn’t allow them to start real discussion of problems with the representatives of the civil society.

This week a round table discussion “the concept of human rights in the modern world” took place in the Belarusian State University (BSU). Its organizers – the Centre for strategic and foreign political studies and the Centre for studying foreign policy and safety on the basis of the BSU’s faculty for foreign affairs – dared to announce the conduct of a number of expert round tables about the human rights.

Among the participants of discussions were not only “representatives of the Belarusan Foreign Ministry, staff from the academic community, international organizations and representatives of state bodies”, but also Aleh Hulak, the head of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee. But the other human rights defendants despite the stated “need for the start of dialog on human rights and attempts to find consensus among Belarusan elites” were not invited to the round table.

“EuroBelarus” Information Service talked about the results of the round table with Aleh Hulak.

- The organizers of the event stated that the Belarusan authorities are ready to the dialog about the human rights with the civil society. According to your opinion, do the authorities have this readiness in practice, not only in words?

- The question about the readiness or non-readiness of the authorities to the real dialog on human rights should be addressed to the analysts. I would prefer to discuss whether is has started or not. I would prefer such events to become its start; but there was no dialog yet, even though both the Belarusan society and the Belarusan state needs it.

- Someone said once that for every state its own vision of human rights should be prioritized, and only after that one can talk about the general international concepts.

- I am particularly astounded when Belarusans are talking about it, as the idea of human rights concept is, basically, universal. And Belarusan history wasn’t excluded from the common-European context. Our history is the history of Poland, Lithuania, western part of Russia, and Ukraine. This is the world that today lives within the frames of the human rights concept.

The opinion that we should have our own vision of human rights justified by the presence of some cultural and historical frames doesn’t look very persuasive for me.

We should also remember that the observance of human rights includes judicial obligations that Belarus took upon itself and that should be fulfilled.

However, of course, not everything is done in the first day; everything requires its term. However, it is important to remember that this is not just a term, but also time for implementation, during which we should try to collect potential, teach people, not only justify ourselves with the absence of progress.

- Even at this round table the topic of political rights was voiced separately. Why are the authorities so active in refusing to discuss them?

- In general, the meeting didn’t go into details re political, social and economical or other rights. The discussion came to the human rights concept in general. The outdated views on the modern concept were voiced regularly. That is why basing on that event it was hard to draw conclusions of why this problem is so hard to perceive in Belarus.

But anyway, it is impossible to divide the dialog about human rights into some rights and some other rights. Human rights are combined and cannot be realized separately. For example, it is impossible to create conditions for realization of social and economic rights without the instruments provided by the civil and political rights.

That is why today the question is not about the state’s non-readiness to discuss civil and political rights. Today there is big question about the understanding of the human rights concept, about it being not only a politicized theme, but also something that Belarusan society needs. As human rights in Belarus are not for Americans and not for Europeans; they are for Belarusans.

- At the round table it was also mentioned that Belarusan judges are not qualified enough to be guided by the norms of the international law. Do you agree with that?

- I do. But I am surprised that teachers themselves voice this, i.e. those who should ensure the understanding and knowledge of this law.

I hope that if this issue is raised, its solution will also advance.

- But is thorough knowledge really required in order not to impose disciplinary arrests for the allegedly unendorsed mass events?

- It is not the term of the international rights that is important here but rather the understanding of the hierarchy of rights in their system. When we understand that there are standards that should be fulfilled, - it becomes important. However, for now this is questioned.

Now it is being debated whether we need to fulfill international obligations and how obligatory are they.