Mandate Of UN Special Rapporteur On Belarus Renewed For One More Year

The decision was made by the UN Human Rights Council.

The mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus has been renewed for another year. The decision was made by the UN Human Rights Council at the 41st session in Geneva, writes tut.by.

The mandate of a special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus was established by the Human Rights Council in its resolution in connection with the wave of mass arrests and repressive actions taken by the law-enforcement agencies in response to the events in the country after the 2010 presidential elections . The Special Rapporteur took up his duties on November 1, 2012.

The official Minsk does not recognize the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, and calls on the UN Human Rights Council to abolish it, pointing to its “unjust and politicized character”. However, the UNHCR each year extends the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Belarus.

In November last year, Anaïs Morin was appointed Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus. However, she still could not visit Belarus in her official status - she sent a letter to the Foreign Ministry, asking for permission to come to Belarus with an official visit, but received no answer.

“For me it was a disappointment. I hoped that a window of opportunity would open to me to establish new, better foundations for interrelations with the Belarusian authorities. Alas! As a result, I had to work without access to the country, the government and official data. I have no contact with the authorities of Belarus. For work, I use the information that can be found in the public domain on the Internet or which I receive from representative offices of various international organizations in Minsk. And, of course, non-governmental and human rights organizations of Belarus share their data with me, and I am very grateful to everyone for that,” said the Special Rapporteur.