Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women examines the report of Belarus

GENEVA (28 October 2016) - The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today considered the eighth periodic report of Belarus on its implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
 
Introducing the report, Marianna Shchotkina, Member of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus and Chairperson of the National Council on Gender Policy under the Council of Ministers, said that the implementation of four action plans on gender equality had contributed to making significant progress and that today Belarus was one of the fifteen countries in the world where women's human development index was higher than that of men, the average duration of schooling was 11.5 years, and the presence of women in Parliament exceeded 33 percent, compared 23 percent of the world average.  The Labour Code had been amended in order to provide equality in the workplace, there were plans to establish paternity leave, and awareness activities were in place to address gender stereotypes.  The 2013 Law on Social Services dealt with victims of violence in the family, support to victims of human trafficking had been increased, and Crisis Rooms which offered shelters to victims of domestic violence had been increased five-fold over the past five years.  Five days before, on 24 October, Belarus had adopted its first National Human Rights Plan which contained measures towards gender equality.
 
In the discussion that followed, Committee Experts acknowledged the progress made since the last constructive dialogue in 2011, and noted that the gender equality framework remained insufficient in terms of prohibiting discrimination against women – direct and indirect – in all fields of life, and there was no institution that could receive complaints for gender-based discrimination.  Belarus had accepted in 2010 the recommendation to create national human rights institution respecting the Paris Principles, but had not yet done so.  Experts were concerned about the limitations that civil society faced in the registration and operation of associations, and the risks that their members incurred in the carrying out of their activities, about violence and threats against human rights defenders, and about removal of children from families considered to be “at social risk” as a punishment of socially or politically active women.  Persistent violence against women, in particular sexual and domestic violence, was a serious issue and laws did not offer profound protection of women and girls from gender-based violence.  Experts urged Belarus to take measures to eliminate patriarchal attitudes that contributed to the maintenance of hierarchical power structures which were unfair to women and were one of the key factors of gender inequality.
 
In her concluding remarks, Ms. Shchotkina underlined the importance of the Convention for the younger generation of girls who were growing up now; Belarus was aware that much remained to be done and would not rest on its laurels. 
 
The delegation of Belarus included representatives of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the National Statistical Committee, and the Permanent Mission of Belarus to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
 
The Committee will reconvene in public on Monday, 31 October, at 4 p.m. to meet with civil society organizations from Argentina, Switzerland, Honduras and Armenia, whose reports the Committee will consider next week.
 
Report

The eighth periodic report of Belarus can be read here: CEDAW/C/BLR/8.
 
Presentation of the Report
 
MARIANNA SHCHOTKINA, Member of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus and Chairperson of the National Council on Gender Policy under the Council of Ministers, stated that the implementation of four action plans on gender equality had contributed to making significant progress in the country, and, as a result, Belarus today was one of the fifteen countries in the world where women's human development index was higher than that of men.  The average duration of schooling was 11.5 years, and the presence of women in the Parliament exceeded 33 percent, compared to 23 percent on average in the world.  The National Council for Gender Policy cooperated with the United Nations Development Programme to implement programmes throughout the country, and voluntary actions were carried out in particular to improve the professional development of women in the public service.  Currently, the birth rate was 1.724 children per woman against 1.44 previously, and the State provided special support to families with three or more children, in particular in accessing housing, while bank loans were covered at 100% for those with more than four children.  
 
The Labour Code had been amended in order to provide equality in the workplace, but the fact remained that women spent 2.5 times more time than men to look after the children and on doing household chores.  Belarus was planning to establish paternity leave to help remedy that imbalance.  Awareness activities were in place to address gender stereotypes.  More than half of the teachers and more than half of the university students were women.  Belarus was aware that economic empowerment was a precondition to achieving gender equality: women represented 35 percent of the beneficiaries of business creation programmes, while mothers received support in the form of early retirement, additional leave and reduced working time.  In order to preserve income levels for families with children, direct social transfers had been put in place and, as a result, the percentage of women living under the poverty level was 4.8 percent, compared to more than 5.6 percent for men.  The gender pay gap had reached 23 percent.  Old age pensions would gradually be increased to 58 for women and 65 for men, but it was important to say that persons of pensionable age were not prohibited from working.  The difference between pension payments for women and men was only three percent in favour of men. 
 
In 2013, the Law on Social Services had been enacted, and it also dealt with the victims of violence in the family which had made it possible for the State to finance non-governmental organizations working on those issues.  The support to victims of human trafficking had increased, the Law on Actions to Prevent Law Breaking looked at violence in the family and adopted sanctions against perpetrators.  Victims of domestic violence needed safe places to go and the number of crisis rooms had been increased five-fold over the past five years, and a telephone hotline for victims of domestic violence had been created.  The health situation in the country had significantly improved, with life expectancy at birth increasing from 70.4 to 73.5 years, and infant, maternal and child mortality rates were among the lowest in the world.  Expenditures of screening and prevention of cancers among women had increased.  The number of abortions remained rather high, and between 1,500 to 2,000 new HIV infections had been recorded annually over the past five years.  Foreigners representing more than 130 nationalities lived in Belarus, but there was no conflict on racial, ethnic, religious or any other ground.  The effective combatting of discrimination against women had to be carried out in effective cooperation with other countries, said Ms. Shchotkina and added that on 24 October Belarus had adopted its first National Human Rights Plan which contained measures towards gender equality.  
 
Questions by Experts
 
A Committee Expert acknowledged the progress made since the last constructive dialogue in 2011, and said that it was regrettable that many of the Committee’s recommendations concerning institutional and legal framework had not been implemented.  The gender equality framework remained insufficient in view of the obligations arising from Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. 
 
When would Belarus fulfil its obligation to enact a prohibition of discrimination against women in all fields of life, covering both direct and indirect discrimination? 
 
Belarus had been repeatedly asked by the Committee, other human rights treaty bodies and during the Universal Periodic Review, to create a national human rights institution in line with the Paris Principles.  When would that institution be created, and which resources and mandate would it have, in particular for sex and gender equality?
 
The Expert stressed that discrimination should be dealt with through both civil and administrative procedures, which would improve the procedural position of the victims, for example with an alleviation or a reversal of the burden of proof, and asked the delegation to explain the surprising absence of court cases regarding discrimination.  What plans were in place to improve access to justice for women, including by increasing knowledge of the Convention by judges, lawyers, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers?
 
The Expert further reiterated the concern about the limitations that civil society faced in the registration and operation of associations, and the risks that their members incurred in the carrying out of their activities.  What plans were in place to simplify the present administrative requirements for registration, limit the power of the authorities in charge and clarify the criteria, according to which registration occurred in order to limit arbitrary decisions?

What would be done to simplify the grounds and manner in which non-governmental organizations could receive foreign funding?  What plans were in place concerning the revision of article 193 of the Criminal Act which criminalized participation in the activities of unregistered non-governmental organizations?
 
Replies by the Delegation
 
Responding, the head of the delegation disagreed that there was lack of knowledge and awareness about human rights and the Convention among the people and authorities in Belarus.  To date, four action plans had been implemented to increase awareness about human rights of women, and civil society organizations were key partners in that work.  Everyone in Belarus could be informed about human rights, and had the obligation to know human rights.
 
All laws related to gender issues were discussed with the public, but it was important for civil society organizations to be proactive and remain involved.  The procedure for the registration of civil society organizations was very simple and it was applicable to all; civil society organizations needed to fulfil some basic conditions, such as to fill in the forms properly and provide correct information.  There was no room for further simplification in that process. 
 
With regard to a separate law on gender equality, during the last dialogue Belarus had  already stated that all relevant norms were already contained in the legislation.  The Gender Council, which also had non-governmental organizations as members, had undertaken the gender assessment of the legislation and had decided that a separate law on gender equality was not necessary – what was important was to have norms against discrimination which worked.  There were no court decisions regarding discrimination because there were no cases of discrimination; people did not address the courts on the issues of discrimination.
 
On the creation of the institution of an Ombudsman or a national human rights institution, a delegate stressed that that was not an easy question and said that most countries in the European Union, or the United States, did not have a national human rights institution.  The issue had been discussed in Belarus on numerous occasions, including in the Parliament, and a draft bill to that effect had even been developed.  The National Plan of Action on implementing recommendations issued by treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review contained the issue of the introduction of the position of Ombudsman, in addition to public organizations that already existed.  The delegate stressed that the creation of the institution of Ombudsman was a political question as it meant setting up an external monitoring system.
 
Article 7.3 on exacerbating circumstances in the Code of Administrative Offences included offences against visibly pregnant women, and offences on the basis of racial, ethnic or religious hatred, but gender-based discrimination was not directly referred in the legislation.  Belarus was currently concluding drafting of the amendments which would introduce major changes in the Code of Administrative Offences, which was a good opportunity to point out the shortcomings in the law.
 
The delegation said that Belarus recognized the fundamental right to freedom of association and had put in place clear requirements for the registration of civil society organizations, which were to provide all legally required documents, exercise declared activities and ensure consistency between the activities carried out and the name of the organization.  To date,  Belarus had registered 33,000 associations, including 33 organizations for the protection of women rights and promoting gender equality. 
 
In their follow-up questions, Experts were disappointed that Belarus was still considering the creation of a national human rights institution, considering that it had accepted a recommendation to do so in 2010.  The delegation was asked to explain the difficulties in the registration experienced by civil society organizations, and to comment on the reported cases of violence, threats, and reprisals against human rights defenders.  Information was also sought on the threats of removal or actual removal of children from parents considered to be “at social risk”, with the decision taken by an administrative Commission, and the child was immediately removed.  No court was being involved in the process and in some cases, the measures was applied against women who were socially or politically active.
 
The delegation explained that the creation of the institution of Ombudsman was not being discussed; it had been decided to include that action in the National Action Plan that had been agreed at the highest level and would be implemented.
 
 The measure to remove the children from families at social risk was being implemented to ensure the protection of children, and no one could say that it was used against socially or politically active women to punish them. There was a large number of families in Belarus in which parents did not look after their children properly and where children were considered to be in a socially dangerous situation.  In 2015, more than 27,000 socially dangerous families had been registered, and in that same year, specifically designed interventions had been developed for 23,700 families; removal of children was the measure of last resort.  At the moment, the State cared for 3,000 such children.  The Commission did not decide automatically to remove the child, and could not deprive parents of their parental rights - only a court could do so.
 
Questions by Experts
 
An Expert addressed the issues related to the national gender machinery and noted that there were two structures:  the National Council for Gender Policy, and the Department of Population, Gender and Family Policy of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.  What were the responsibilities of those two main structures to monitor the situation of women and implement the National Plan for Gender Equality?  How did they complement each other, and how were the resources allocated to their different departments?  What plans were in place to ensure the representation of the National Institution for Advancement of Women at the local level?
 
What was the intention of Belarus in terms of setting up a body which would receive complaints for gender-based discrimination?
 
On temporary special measures, another Expert noted that they aimed to accelerate substantive of de facto gender equality and encompassed a wide range of legal, policy and social instruments, however it seemed that the understanding of the purpose and the nature of such measures was still not well understood in Belarus.  Temporary special measures could be used to address the low participation of women in law enforcement, or vertical segregation that existed in employment.
 
Replies by the Delegation
 
The delegation said that Belarus was one of the few countries in the world which had the law on complaints by public, which defined the obligation of State officials to react to all complaints submitted by the public within 14 or 30 days.  There was a need to increase awareness among the population on the need to submit complaints.
 
It was clarified that the National Council for Gender Policy was an inter-agency body which met at least twice a year, while coordination between member organizations was carried out on a continuous basis.  Belarus was developing gender statistics which contained more than 100 of the 121 global gender indicators, and was submitting annual reports to the gender database of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.  Expert groups had been created in all regions which were in charge of the implementation of national gender equality policy, and which submitted their reports to the National Council for Gender Policy.
 
It was true that there was low representation of women in the police force, which was understandable as it was a profession which required a lot of physical strength.  Percentage of women was rather high in migration services and in services dealing with juveniles, up to 50 per cent in some regions. 
 
As a result of temporary special measures adopted over the past five years, the number of professions which could not employ women had been reduced, all the while maintaining the imperative to preserve woman’s health.
 
Committee Experts took the floor to ask follow-up questions, and inquired if Belarus was ready to publish its gender-segregated data, the budget that would be allocated for the implementation of the Fifth National Plan on Gender Equality, and which institution would be responsible for its implementation.  Another Expert stressed that there was a different view on the abilities of women to serve as police officers and stressed the need for a qualitative and not only quantitative change in the police force, for example by increasing numbers of women police officers who dealt with victims of domestic violence, who were predominantly women.
 
Responding, the delegation said that it was also important to increase the number of women willing to serve as police officers.  Statistical data was being published in a bulletin called “Women and Men”, and all the information was also available on the website of the Office of the Statistics.  The National Plan on Gender Equality 2017 would include a module on gender statistics.  The budget for the implementation of the national plan had not yet been allocated as the system of state financing had changed this year.
 
Questions by Experts
 
An Expert noted that Belarus was one of the countries with entrenched gender stereotypes which posed restrictions to full social participation of women.  For example, women were prohibited from participating in certain professions, while the system of support for maternity and motherhood reinforced the image of women as first and foremost a mother.  The prevalent view of the society was that a woman was white, blond, heterosexual, and married, thus disregarding that there were other types and images of women - for example lesbian, bisexual, transgender – which prevented all women to realize their full potential.
 
Another Expert urged Belarus to eliminate patriarchal attitudes which contributed to the maintenance of hierarchical power structures which were unfair to women and were one of the key factors of gender inequality.
 
Persistent violence against women, in particular sexual and domestic violence, was a serious issue in Belarus and neither the Criminal Code, the Code of Administrative Offences, or any other law were suited for a profound protection of women and girls from gender-based violence.  Belarus should compare its legislation on gender-based violence with the countries which had successfully address the issue in their laws, for example Austria.  There was no legal provision condemning marital rape.  Structural violence was a problem, and women who freely expressed their opinion publicly were targeted by state officials.
 
Belarus was a country of source, transit and destination of trafficking in women, a horrible crime which destroyed the lives of women, and while Belarus had in place a system for victim identification, it was a catastrophe that victims of trafficking under the age of 18 were not under the protection of the State.
 
The delegation was asked when the law on protection from domestic violence would be passed, when the marital rape would be condemned, why women should be silent in public places, and what was going on in temporary detention facilities.
 
Belarus approached prostitution as many other countries, putting the focus on punishing women, while it neglected the demand side.  There had to be a shift in the focus from prostitutes to clients.  Which programmes were available to support women wishing to exit prostitution?
 
Replies by the Delegation
 
In response, the head of the delegation said that no one was harassing human rights defenders in Belarus; human rights defenders ought to exist and provide alternative points of view. 
 
Domestic violence and family violence existed in every country, and victims were not only women but also men.  That issue had to be openly discussed in the society.  Belarus was a patriarchal society and its history could not be changed in a short period of five or ten years.  Women were considered as persons with their own life plans and were free to decide what they wanted to do.  It was the responsibility of the State to ensure that the conditions were there to realize those plans and dreams.
 
Another delegate said that Belarus was aware of the urgency to address the issue of family violence and said that the situation was not as bad as the Experts presented it. A Working Group would be created in November 2016, to be in charge of drafting the law on prevention of domestic violence which would be based on the Istanbul Convention.
 
Prostitution was an administrative offence under the law, and more than 1,000 women were charged with the offence every year.  Measures were being taken to address human trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation.  There were also 51 registered male prostitutes and they too fought for their rights.
 
A mechanism for the identification of victims of trafficking in persons had been modified to allow not only the Ministry of Interior but also the Ministry of Social Welfare to enter data on victims.  A special protocol on dealing with victims of trafficking from social perspectives had been adopted.
 
The delegation informed that there were two correctional facilities for women in pre-trial detention, and 24 facilities for convicted women.  It was not true that female prisons were overcrowded.  Since 1991, amnesties were being offered on a regular basis, and a preferential treatment was given to women who committed minor crimes, pregnant women or women with young children.  Women could not receive a life sentence or capital punishment.  
 
In their follow-up questions, Experts asked about the situations in which children were removed from mothers who suffered domestic violence as it presented double victimization of children, intentions concerning decriminalization of prostitution, and the labour in places of deprivation of liberty which was undertaken under such conditions that in might amount to forced labour.

Responding, the delegation stressed the unique characteristic of each country and each society, and said that in Belarus prostitution was not seen well, but it was not a criminal offence.  The issue of decriminalization had been raised by one member of the Parliament, but it had not met with the support, so there were currently no further discussions on decriminalization.  As for the conditions of work in detention facilities, the delegate said that the Labour Code applied to everyone and everywhere in the country.
 
Witnessing violence in the family caused trauma for children, and bodies that considered the cases needed to aim to include social services to study the situation  in the family and take measures to protect the right of the child, including to remove the child in accordance with the provisions laid down in the Family Code. 
 
Questions by Experts
 
Concerning the representation of women in political and public life, an Expert asked the delegation to explain the statistical data provided on the participation of women in the executive bodies and in the judiciary, and to inform on parliamentary bodies dealing with gender equality, and on the participation of women – including by giving data on vertical segregation - in foreign service and in the academia.  How many women were regional governors?  Since labour issues were a concern in Belarus, what was the rate of the participation of women in trade unions?
 
Replies by the Delegation
 
The delegation said that five rectors in Belarus were women, and more than 50 per cent of the professorial staff in higher education institutions were also women; of the 48 Ambassadors, two were women, and nine General Consuls two were women; while in the trade unions, 50.3 per cent of the members of the leading bodies were women.
 
Belarus was very interested in further promoting civil society and having more activities implemented by them, but it was important to look at the quality of the work and not only at the number of non-governmental organizations.  The growth of the civil society had to be result-based.
 
Following up on the replies by the delegation, a Committee Expert remarked that, based on the figures provided, the participation of women in the foreign service needed to be further improved, which was one area where temporary special measures could be applied.  It was the responsibility of the State party to create an enabling environment for the growth of civil society so that they could serve public good.
 
The delegation agreed that there had to be a more conducive environment to enable civil society to work for the benefits of all and given the threats, including the threat of terrorism, it was important to develop understanding.
 
Questions by Experts

An Expert asked about the results achieved by the measures and programmes developed to address girls enrolment and completion, and expressed concern about deep rooted gender stereotypes and segregation in the education sphere.  How were gender awareness topics taught, who monitored that they were taught without the gender bias, and how did they contribute to the education of girls?  Some academies segregated women and men in their acceptance and scholarship procedures, with some requesting women to have higher scores than men in order to be accepted.
 
The gender pay gap in Belarus was significant, with women earning 76 per cent of the income of men in 2013, and there was no evidence for the claims that it was narrowing.  The International Labour Organization had asked Belarus to reduce the list of professions forbidden to women several years earlier – why was the progress in that regard so slow? 
 
Over 50 per cent of women reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment at work.  There was concern about treatment of young women in employment, with 95 per cent being asked in job interviews questions concerning marital status, number and age of children, childcare, and future pregnancy plans. 
 
What measures were in place to ensure access to employment for Roma and other minorities?  Could the delegation comment on the so-called law on “social parasitism” which taxed non-working parents taking care of children aged 7-18, even if another parent was working and had a disproportionate impact on women who were the majority of those stayed home to take care of the children?
 
With regard to the demographic strategy and substantial economic compensation given for each pregnancy, an Expert remarked that that policy should be carefully examined for its impact on family size in low-income families.   
 
Replies by the Delegation
 
Responding to those questions, the delegation said that girls and boys were free to choose the subjects they wanted to study.  Salaries in the educational sector represented 80 per cent of those in the productive sector, which was one of the reasons that deterred men from entering teaching profession.  Refugees, migrants, Roma and everyone who arrived to the country had the right to free access to education, health and other services. 
 
The pay gap in 2015 was 23.8 per cent, and was largely due to the fact that women were principally employed in the state sector, which paid less than the private sector.
 
Women in Belarus had the right to decide on their family size, the number of children they wanted to have and whether they wanted to keep or terminate pregnancy.  The Health Law had been amended in 2013 to provide for mandatory counselling before a termination of pregnancy.  Abortion was allowed up to 12 weeks; the first ultrasound which revealed sex of the foetus took place at 16 weeks, which meant that abortion was not a sex selection practice.
 
Some of the measures to increase gender awareness in education included the setting up of the Social Council composed of parents and teachers, introduction of gender awareness in the Concept for education of children and youth of school, while sexual and reproductive health was taught through a number of subjects and included age-adapted topics.
 
The pay in the police force was determined by grade and rank and therefore there was no discrimination.  Women with small children had the right to refuse weekend or night work, which posed a problem to the efficient discharge of duty by the police force.
 
The delegation informed that the Third Decree had not yet entered into force; it aimed to prevent dependencies.  People in Belarus had access to free health and education, and the State provided a whole range of benefits.  There was a full registry of people, how they were working and participating to the costs of the State.  There were many criteria that exonerated people from paying this tax and contributing to the economy.  It was not directed towards harming women, but rather the idea was to protect the people who needed social protection.
 
Questions by Experts
 
An Expert said that the Committee had very little information about the situation of rural women and noted that the recent report warned about the feminization of poverty particularly among rural women.
 
Which measures, including temporary special measures, were being taken to address poverty and ensure that rural women and their families enjoyed adequate standard of living?  What percentage of rural women were working on state farms and which percentage on their own farms? 
 
What was the situation concerning access of rural women to basic services, such as housing, health and sanitation, and how easily could they access justice, asked the Expert.  What measures were in place to reconcile professional and private life of rural women by expanding provision of childcare in rural areas, reduce gender wage gap and increase awareness of women about their rights under the Convention?
 
Another Expert asked the delegation to inform on the access to lawyer for women in detention, and on the measures taken to enable women with disabilities to raise a family, including removing any pressure to consent to abortion or ensuring that they were not automatically declared a parent “at social risk”. 
 
The Expert was concerned about harassment, abuse and stigmatization of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, and said that a comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation was needed to protect those women from multiple forms of discrimination, and it could also enable registration of civil society organizations dealing with issues of sexual orientation and gender identity.
 
Replies by the Delegation
 
Each individual case of women with disabilities had to be considered individually, said the head of the delegation, and reminded the Committee that Belarus had ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
 
Another delegate explained that each person in detention receiving legal aid had the right to meet with her lawyer, and those meetings did not count as meetings with relatives.

Poverty among women in Belarus was lower than among men: 3.6 percent of urban women compared to 4.6 percent of urban men lived in poverty, while in rural areas, 8.1 percent of women and 9.7 percent of men were poor.  There were more than 1.1 million rural women representing two percent of the total population.  The employment rate of rural women was 62 percent and was increasing steadily.
 
Women retired at the age of 55 and men at the age of 60, and the difference of pensions between women and men was three percent.  Social pensions were guaranteed to everyone and represented 50 per cent of the minimum age.
 
Questions by Experts
 
A Committee Expert spoke about incapacitated women, such as those with dementia, Alzheimer and other illnesses, and the fact that they were deprived of their rights including parental rights.
 
The Experts also raised issues of marital property, economic burden of divorce, and the protection of women’s rights upon dissolution of de facto unions.
 
Replies by the Delegation
 
Responding, the delegation explained that Decree 18 did not refer to women with disabilities, but to socially dangerous situations in families due to substance abuse or violence.  There were proposals to change alimony laws as well as laws governing division of property. 
 
As for civil unions, there was an obligation for partners to offer the other partner the first option to buy the property.  The divorce rate in Belarus was rather high and it had been proposed by the National Council for Gender Policies to carry out a study into the phenomenon of divorce. 
 
Belarus was one of the few countries which allowed the correction and change of sex; 89 persons had applied to the Commission and just over 30 had gone ahead with the surgery.  There had been no code for sex in identity documents since 2003.
 
Asked about the status of the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,  the delegation said that that the ratification document was about to be signed by the Head of the State.

Concluding Remarks
 
MARIANNA SHCHOTKINA, Member of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus and Chairperson of the National Council on Gender Policy under the Council of Ministers, underlined the importance of the Convention for the younger generation of girls who were growing up now; Belarus was aware that much remained to be done and would not rest on its laurels. 
 
YOKO HAYASHI, Committee Chairperson, commended Belarus for its efforts and encouraged it to address various recommendations which the Committee would issue with the purpose of more comprehensive implementation of the Convention throughout the State party.

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