On 19 March 2025 in Geneva, the United Nations Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus is presenting its first report to the UN Human Rights Council. Its aim was to examine the root causes of human rights violations committed in Belarus since the presidential “election” on 1 May 2020.
13,500 persons were arrested in more than 100 localities in the six days following the election. Within a year, the total number of people arrested and detained had reached over 37,000. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Lukashenko further reinforced his power by depriving members of the opposition of the right to take part in elections. Any dissent was suppressed through various restrictions, surveillance, intimidation, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, and forced exile.
A conclusion by the Group of Experts: there are reasonable grounds to believe that detentions perpetrated by Belarusian authorities amount to a crime against humanity in that they were a part of a widespread and systematic attack against a specific segment of society, and the perpetrators were aware of the illegitimate nature of their action.
❗ The livestream of a discussion on the Group’s report at the UN Human Rights Council can be watched on the UN Web TV site starting on 12.15 EET.
The Group of Experts was established in 2024, replacing an earlier mechanism on Belarus under the auspices of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, while being given a stronger mandate with greater powers. This coming autumn, the Group of Experts will also present its first report to the UN General Assembly. The Group of Experts is mandated to investigate, collect and document evidence of the violations of international law perpetrated by Belarusian authorities, as well as to identify those responsible with the aim of holding them accountable.
The experts also examined the historical causes of restrictions to fundamental freedoms and of State-sanctioned violence. After assuming power, Alexander Lukashenko restricted democratic structures in the country, seizing control over the legislative and judicial powers, curtailing civic and political rights, persecuting and intimidating human rights defenders. Already before the presidential “elections” of May 2020, the regime quelled peaceful protests against possible electoral fraud in the upcoming election with brutal repression.
The violent response by Belarusian authorities to mass protests following the 2020 presidential “election” was the latest manifestation of a long-standing pattern of a repressive policy. The wide-scale violations of human rights were possible due to absence of genuinely democratic institutions, the lack of an independent judiciary, perception of civil society as a threat by the ruling regime.
Violations of human rights committed by Belarusian authorities
- Arbitrary detention – a repressive instrument constantly used by the Belarusian regime. People are being tried multiple times for the same “offences.” Both prison sentences and fines are being imposed for individuals’ online activities and for content deemed “extremist” by the authorities. Courts, ignoring signs of torture in detainees, have been issuing predetermined sentences to almost all defendants in expedited trials.
- Torture and ill-treatment perpetrated by Belarusian authorities at all stages of detention. During detention and interrogation, the detainees were subjected to torture sessions lasting for several hours and consisting of rounds of beatings, kicks, electric shocks, and sexual violence. Political prisoners were also subjected to ill-treatment – sleep deprivation, exposure to constant artificial lighting and extreme temperatures, being kept in anti-sanitary cells, denied basic hygiene items and medical assistance. Political prisoners in penal colonies were found in breach of prison rules for made-up reasons and placed in solitary confinement for extended periods.
At the conclusion of its report, the Group of Experts sets out a number of recommendations to Belarus: among other things, to immediately release all political prisoners, re-engage with UN human rights mechanisms, cease using laws to silence dissent, end the use of torture and sexual violence, bring conditions in detention facilities into line with international standards, and properly investigate violations of human rights.
The Group of Experts recommends that the States Members of the United Nations keep the situation of Belarusian political prisoners high on the international agenda, work towards the accountability of alleged perpetrators, facilitate international protection of Belarusian refugees, and continue supporting Belarusian human rights organizations in exile.
The discussion with the Group of Experts on the said report will include statements by EU Member States, the Baltic states and Nordic countries (NB8), and the European countries. In all those formats, Latvia will strongly condemn the violations of human rights committed by Belarus on a long-standing basis.
At the conclusion of its 58th session in early April, the UN Human Rights Council is expected to adopt a resolution sponsored by EU Member States to extend the mandates of the Group of Experts and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus for another year.
Since 2024, the post of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus has been held by Nils Muižnieks, and he intends to present his first report at the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council this coming June.