Belarus Commits Human Rights Violations with “Complete Impunity” says United Nation Report

10-03-2022

Manon Picard

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations (OHCHR) has published, on the 8th of March 2022, its findings regarding the human rights situation in Belarus. The review of the report covers the run-up to the presidential elections in Belarus, in August 2020, and the aftermath of the elections up to December 2021. 

The report concludes that people in Belarus are unable to “exercise their fundamental human rights” and the victims of such violations do not have a satisfactory access to justice. When President Lukashenko declared victory of the presidential elections in August 2020, the random arrests and detention of protestors reached a “scale unprecedented” in Belarus which created a “climate of fear and lawlessness”. Between May 2020 and May 2021, 37,000 people were detained with the majority being targeted for their political opposition and some being victims of torture or ill-treatment. The use of unnecessary and disproportionate force as well as the unjustified restriction on freedom of expression and assembly violates the human rights of the people of Belarus. 

The aftermath of the presidential elections also demonstrates the restriction on freedom of speech experienced by the media, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), human rights activists and lawyers. By October 2021, 32 journalists had been detained, 13 media outlets were declared “extremist”, 270 NGOs had been closed and 36 lawyers who protested the human rights violations being committed in Belarus had their licences revoked. 

The OHCHR’s report concluded that the human rights violations in Belarus was “widespread and systematic” and that the public authorities failed to “effectively investigate” these violations. Belarus is therefore in violation of its international human rights obligations and must remedy to the situation. Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, described the situation in Belarus as one of “complete impunity”.   

Sources and further reading:

Al-Jazeera. (2022, March 9). Belarus Crushing Dissent with ‘Complete Impunity’: UN. Al-Jazeera. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/9/belarus-crushing-dissent-with-complete-impunity-un

Human Rights Council. (2022, March 4). Belarus in the Run-up to the 2020 Presidential Election and in its Aftermath – Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session49/Pages/ListReports.aspx

United Nations. (2022, March 9). Belarus: UN Report Reveals Extent of Violations in Human Rights Crackdown. UN News. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1113582

United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. (2022, March 9). Belarus: UN Report Details Scale and Patterns of Human Rights Violations Committed with Impunity. OHCHR News. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=28238&LangID=E