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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| UN local rights group suspended in Belarus |
| 2021-06-22 |
| Direct translation of the article. Edited. MINSK , June 21, 2021 , 17:43 - REGNUM The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Minsk has suspended its activities. The political leadership of Belarus has declared the undesirability of the presence in the post-Soviet republic of a senior human rights adviser to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Thus, the official Minsk achieved what it wanted, being in a protracted and acute conflict with the UN Human Rights Council. Speaking on June 21 at the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet stated: "The situation in Belarus continues to deteriorate." She drew attention to the fact that in Belarus there are "severe restrictions on civil space, including the right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association", the security forces are carrying out "raids against civil society and independent media." The authorities of the post-Soviet republic are under attack not only by human rights activists and journalists, but also by civic activists. Unacceptable measures are being taken against them, which is why the High Commissioner "continues to receive numerous reports of arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and ill-treatment”. Bachelet also said that she regrets the official Minsk decision that negatively affected the work of the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry does not comment on the situation. The National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP) was approved by the government of Belarus in 2016. It was announced as a comprehensive document. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry periodically reported on the success of its implementation against the background of directly opposite assessments coming from the Belarusian public and international organizations. For many years, official Minsk has refused to recognize the mandate of the UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the situation with human rights in Belarus. |
| Posted by:badanov |