On 30 October 2020, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has submitted a report on the situation with lawyers in Belarus to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights under the Human Rights Council Resolution 45/1 entitled “Situation of Human Rights in Belarus in the run-up to the 2020 Presidential Election and in its Aftermath”.
The 3rd cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) took place on 2 November 2000, in Geneva, where the situation in Belarus was considered. It is important to note that under the procedure, the primary documents for this review was prepared in 2019 and early 2020, the situation with the pandemic influenced the postponement of the review of Belarus from the spring to the autumn 2020.
The HFHR in cooperation with the World Organization Against Torture has also submitted to the 36th session of the Human Rights Council a thematic report on the independence of the legal profession in Belarus.
The report submitted by the HFHR following the Resolution 45/1 demonstrates the development of the situation described in the UPR report. All reports and documents on Belarus submitted within the UPR are here.
As noted by the UN Watch “the UN procedure known as Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is meant to scrutinize governments and thereby strengthen the basic rights and freedoms of their citizens, according to a UN Watch count, 51 out of 92 countries, or 55 percent, praised Belarus for its human rights achievements. 41 countries have turned their attention to human rights violations in Belarus”.
The UPR working group is planning to adopt recommendations on Belarus on November 6 at 15:00.
