Amnesty International calls on renewing of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus

The UN Human Rights Council should support the renewal of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation in Belarus, says the statement at the website of the human rights organization.

The human rights defendants note that the release of several prisoners convicted in politically motivated trials in 2015 and the role of Belarus in hosting mediation talks on the conflict in eastern Ukraine have led to an easing of relations with Belarus and the international community. However, Amnesty International is convinced that such developments “must not be allowed to eclipse the dire human rights situation in Belarus where the death penalty is retained and executions are carried out”, as well as “the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association and expression are severely curtailed with legislation still in place to obstruct even the most basic enjoyment of these rights”.

The authors of the statement recall that three people have been sentenced to death in Belarus in 2016 and one man, Siarhei Ivanou, was executed on the night of 18 May. Siarhei Ivanou was executed despite the fact that the UN Human Rights Committee had requested a stay of execution while it considered his case, in violation of Belarus’ obligations under the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). It was the eighth time since 2010 that Belarus has executed someone whose case was under consideration by the UN Human Rights Committee.

Amnesty International also notes that Belarusian authorities routinely violate the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association and expression targeting, in particular, civil society activists, human rights defenders, independent media outlets, journalists and online activists.

“In light of the above, and despite a shift from the international community towards Belarus politically, the fact remains that basic human rights and fundamental freedoms are violated systematically by the Belarusian authorities,” – the statement reads.

“The human rights community must invest all it can to protect the rights of the Belarusian people. The role of the Special Rapporteur in this regard is critical to secure rigorous monitoring of and reporting on the human rights situation in Belarus, which is essential to ensuring accountability for human rights violations,” - Amnesty International emphasizes.

Amnesty International calls on the UN Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation in Belarus.