Belarus: Crackdown on rights forcing citizens to flee says UN expert

NEW YORK (26 October 2022) – Belarusian nationals were being forced to leave their country because of tightening legislation that restricts civil and political rights in the country and the systematic use of arrests and detentions as a tool to suppress any form of dissent and silence human rights defenders and journalists who report on human rights violations, a UN expert said today.

“Reprisals and persecutions undermine the safe exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the territory of Belarus,” said Anaïs Marin, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation of Belarus in her annual report to the General Assembly.

Marin said that while sources quote different numbers, hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have left their country in the past two years for a complex combination of reasons. “An unprecedented number are fleeing persecution and prospects for a safe return under the current leadership grow bleaker,” the UN expert said.

The Special Rapporteur received credible reports indicating that even after their relocation abroad, many Belarusian exiles continue to live in fear while their family members risked intimidation in the form of interrogation and arbitrary arrests back home. Some have reported that their property was intentionally destroyed by law enforcement agents during raids on their homes.

According to Marin, victims of human rights violations who left the country recounted a gradual erosion of rights to political participation, and freedoms of assembly, association, opinion and expression, with critical points around elections. In her report, the Special Rapporteur documents the systematic crackdown on civil society groups, human rights defenders, media and other independent professions in Belarus since 2020. The crackdown included raids on private homes and offices, arbitrary arrests and detention, fiscal harassment and criminal prosecution on politically motivated grounds, lack of independent oversight and investigation into allegations of torture and ill-treatment, and violations of the right to due process and fair trial.

Since the completion of her report, the human rights situation in Belarus had continued to deteriorate, the expert said. The number of people detained on politically motivated charges grew to 1,350. Over 634 organisations have been forced to discontinue their activities, including virtually all human rights groups working in the country.

Criminal legislation has been changed to introduce trials in absentia on “extremist” and “terrorist” grounds. Moreover, Marin said she received information about draft legislation aimed at preventing Belarusians from leaving the country on grounds of “national security”, and depriving people in exile of their citizenship for participation in so-called “extremist activities”.

“Contrary to international human rights law, Belarusian legislation provides loose definitions, giving prosecutors and courts in Belarus a broad margin of interpretation,” the expert said. “These loopholes are used against the political opposition, independent journalists, cultural workers,  human rights defenders, and other independent professions in Belarus.”

Marin said authorities in Belarus had launched some 11,000 criminal cases against alleged “extremist orientation” since 2020.

She said authorities in Belarus must immediately and unconditionally release all those unlawfully or arbitrarily detained and engage in constructive dialogue on human rights. The Special Rapporteur urged the Belarus government to open up channels for political and public participation.

“The international community should spare no effort to counter the climate of impunity created by Belarusian authorities and hold perpetrators of grave human rights violations accountable,” Marin said. “In the absence of options for the safe return of Belarusians in exile, I encourage all States to guarantee and protect the fundamental rights of Belarusians under their jurisdiction,” the expert said.

ENDS

Ms. Anaïs Marin is the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus.

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights country page: Belarus