News

Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Belarus

Human Rights Council
Twentieth session
Agenda items 2 and 4
Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner 
for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the 
High Commissioner and the Secretary-General
Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention

UN human rights office calls on Belarus to free opposition leaders

20 April 2012
Following the release last week of two opposition leaders from prison in Belarus, the UN human rights office today called on the country’s authorities to begin dialogue with the opposition and to unconditionally release all prisoners who are serving sentences for exercising their fundamental human rights.

Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle today launched the European Dialogue on Modernisation

Brussels, 29 March 2012. Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle today launched the European Dialogue on Modernisation with Belarusian society at a meeting in Brussels with representatives of Belarusian civil society and political opposition. This follows the conclusions of the Foreign Affairs Council last week welcoming the idea of launching such a dialogue with the Belarusian society.

Belarusian government appeals individual communications of Belarusian citizens at UN

The Belarusian authorities disagree with the registration of 56 individual communications of Belarusian citizens at the UN Human Rights Committee.

HRHF and Belarusian HRH's written statement on Belarus submitted to the Human Rights Council

Human Rights Council
Nineteenth session
Agenda item 4
Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention

Written statement* submitted by the Human Rights House Foundation, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status

The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in
accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31.

Continued human rights violations in the Republic of Belarus**

Journalist Andrei Myaleshka “invited” to KGB

Andrei Myaleshka, a member of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), waits to receive a summons to the KGB.

Journalist from Hrodna Anrei Myaleshka says he was invited on the phone to “talk”. He answered he would come only after receiving a summons.

Andrei Myaleshka writes articles mainly on culture for budzma.org.


http://spring96.org/en/news/50282

EU issues statement on death sentences in Belarus - only country in Europe still applying capital punishment

he EU has issued a statement saying it is “deeply concerned” that two men facing the death sentence in Belarus do not appear to have had a right to judicial appeal. Dzmitry Kanavalaw and Uladzislaw Kavalyow were sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in Belarus on 30 November 2011.

In a statement at the OSCE, the EU said it was deeply worried about reports from independent human rights organisations about possible irregularities relating to the trial of the two men.

Aleh Volchak sentenced to 4 days of arrest

The human rights activist Aleh Volchak was detained outdoors on 27 January in Minsk and guarded to the Maskouski District Police Department of Minsk.

He was charged with using obscene language in public (Article 17.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences, “disorderly conduct”) and spent the week-end in custody in the delinquents’ isolation center in Akrestsin Street.

OMCT urges Belarusian authorities to release Aleh Volchak

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your intervention in the following situation in Belarus.

Description of the situation:

Human rights activist Aleh Vouchak arrested

Vouchak is reported to have been accused of disorderly conduct. He is to be tried on Monday.

Human rights defender Aleh Vouchak was detained in the street at 3:35 pm.

Vouchak’s friends posted on Facebook a policeman came to the activist to check his ID. The human rights defender informed he was being held in the Maskouski district police department, “Nasha Niva” newspaper informs.

News of Belarus

President welcomes the release of Ales Bialiatski

Today, Ales Bialiatski, a prominent Belarusian human rights defender who became the first laureate of the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize in 2013, was released from prison after spending almost three years behind bars.

Commission Starts Negotiations of Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements with Belarus

Commission DG for Home Affairs, Stefano Manservisi and Belarus Deputy Foreign Minister Alena Kupchyna met in Brussels to launch the negotiations on Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements between the EU and Belarus. Since 2011 the Commission has been regularly reminding of its readiness to launch the negotiations.

The negotiations will focus on agreements to facilitate the procedures for issuing short-stay visas as well as the readmission of irregular migrants between the European Union and Belarus.

Political prisoner Ales Bialiatski could walk free

The political prisoner can be “pardoned” if “it is proved the damage he caused with the tax fraud has been repaid.”

Syndicate content