Uladzimir Labkovich: Authorities cannot hush up human rights situation

The report of the UN Council is important to keep the problem of human rights in Belarus in the spotlight.

Uladzimir Labkovich, a member of the Council of Viasna human rights centre, spoke to charter97.org about the report on Belarus prepared by UN Human Rights Council's Rapporteur Miklós Haraszti.

“If adopted by the UN Human Rights Council, the report will contain both conclusions and recommendations for Belarus that must be urgently fulfilled by official Minsk. I have to say with regret that the fact that the current Special Rapporteur has not been invited to Belarus and the Belarusian authorities didn't admit the fact of his appointment shows that his report will not inspire the regime to take active measures,” the lawyer noted.

He underlined that the UN and the OSCE were the only international institutions in which Belarus formally participates.

“The report is certainly a very important sign for the entire world that the human rights situation in Belarus is a cause for concern. The Belarusian regime will not be able to hush up the problem and remove this issue from the agenda of such organisations as the UN. We hope the mandate of the Special Rapporteur will be extended and Miklós Haraszti will continue his work next year. It is very important to keep the Belarusian issue in the spotlight of the international arena,” the human rights defender thinks.

He is sure any actions by the UN irritate the current regime and make it nervous.

“I'd like to remind that the Belarusian authorities refused to cooperate with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions, which declared the arrest of Ales Bialiatski illegal. It's worth noting that the human rights situation in Belarus is not unique. It can be compared with that in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, we are in a bad company of the countries that systematically violate human rights,” the lawyer added.

The human rights activists said the document significantly differed from Justas Paleckis's report, because the report of the Council was made in the context of human rights.

“It analyses Belarus's attitude towards the international obligations taken by the country in the framework of the UN, while Paleckis's report is a political evaluation of processes. That's why we must argue against it,” Uladzimir Labkovich said.

The UN Human Rights Council discusses the report on Belarus today.

The document prepared by the Council's Special Rapporteur Miklós Haraszti describing the human rights situation in Belarus in the past year has been presented at the Human Rights Council session in Geneva.