Belarus is not safe for anyone to criticize the government, human rights expert warns

In her final exam, every year report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in BelarusAnaïs Marin, echoes more widely, long-term concern of the United Nations and the international community over the suppression of democratic freedoms and other serious human rights violations in the country.

President Lukashenko, 69, has been in power since 1994 and is Europe’s longest-serving leader.

“Repression in Belarus has reached such a scale and intensity that it is not considered a safe country for anyone who has ever disagreed with the government or its policies. Therefore, I reiterate my call not to extradite and deport to Belarus,” Ms. Marin, a political scientist and French citizen appointed to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council in 2018, said.

The reversal of democracy

“The general trend I observe is that further tightening measures against any real or perceived opposition to the government in action, and systematically repressing anyone who dares to express dissenting views about government policies”, she told the Human Rights Council, the United Nations’ premier forum for member states to discuss and address human rights situations of concern.

In the absence of Belarus at the Council to respond to his report, the Special Rapporteur also noted that as the country enters a new electoral cycle, it “has given no indication that the next presidential election will be held differently than in the past”.

Extreme label

To illustrate the pressure facing civil society in Belarus – which has refused the Special Rapporteur’s request to visit the country, Ms. Marin said – she noted that more than 1,500 registered associations have “disappeared” in recent years – nearly half of the associations that existed before the 2020 election violence.

“This is also achieved by designating them as “extremist groups”, and then prosecuting their leaders and members, pushing them to relocate abroad,” she explained.

Unions and many other things that are not yet done

In his report covering the period from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, the independent expert asserted that “all types of independent associations” suffered in Belarus: civil society organizations and initiatives, political parties, trade unions, bar associations, religious or cultural organizations, and online communities.

Furthermore, Independent trade unions in Belarus “dissolved” and the number of political parties has decreased from 16 to four in the period leading up to the February 2024 parliamentary elections, the Special Rapporteur said.

Exile or prison

“Anyone who dared to speak out against the government or its policies was imprisoned or exiled.,” Ms. Marin said in a separate statement, adding that exiled dissidents “continue to face harassment, being labeled as traitors or extremists, and being prosecuted in absentia for alleged crimes.”

Among the legislative measures used by the government “to suppress freedom of assembly and association,” the independent expert listed mandatory re-registration campaigns, restrictions on access to funding, and “retaliation” against donations, along with “dissolving associations with or without judicial proceedings,” designating undesirable associations as “extremist organizations,” and “repression of leaders, members, volunteers, and supporters.”

For those in prison, the independent expert highlighted “more than a dozen” reported deaths in custody since 2020. Ms Marin said these cases were “most likely due to inadequate or untimely medical care”, adding that “some detainees have been held incommunicado for more than a year and their families are unaware of their fate”.

There are also “growing allegations of ill-treatment of prisoners convicted on politically motivated charges”, the special rapporteur said, pointing to concerns about harassment of minorities and LGBTIQ+ communities as well as “intimidation” against relatives of “extremists” living in exile.

Special Rapporteur

Appointed by the United Nations based in Geneva Dong Nhan Quy Association and form part of it Special ProceduresSpecial Rapporteurs are tasked with monitoring and assessing the rights situation in certain thematic or country situations.

They work in their individual capacity, are not United Nations employees and do not receive a salary.