Civil society organisations call for the immediate operationalisation of the Human Rights Council’s new mandate on Belarus

We, the 65 undersigned Belarusian and international human rights organisations, welcome the resolution passed by the UN Human Rights Council mandating the High Commissioner to create a new robust monitoring and reporting mandate focused on accountability for human rights violations in Belarus that have taken place since 1 May 2020. In so doing, the Council demonstrated its determination to hold Belarusian authorities to account. This mandate needs immediate action. We urge the international community to support this critical next step.

The establishment of the High Commissioner’s new mandate is a response to the serious and escalating human rights violations taking place in Belarus and surrounding the August 2020 presidential elections. The mandate should provide a complementary and expert international mechanism to regional accountability processes already under way. Furthermore, it should assist in the identification of those responsible for the most serious violations for future prosecution.

With the mounting human rights crisis in Belarus, the Council’s action today is timely. It will require ongoing assistance and systematic follow-up by Human Rights Council members and the Office of the High Commissioner. In order for this new accountability mandate to meaningfully and substantively address the human rights crisis in Belarus, it is critical that the Office of the High Commissioner receives the assistance it will need to:

1. Ensure that this new mandate is sufficiently
2. Appoint credible international experts with sufficient experience and expertise, including in international criminal law to fully and completely examine all alleged human rights violations committed in Belarus since 1 May
3. Operationalise the mandate with the requisite investigators, forensic experts, gender specialists, and legal
4. Provide a sufficient operational window for the
5. Report immediately and publicly to the Council on non-cooperation by the Belarusian authorities in the accountability mandate’s
6. Commit to sharing advanced copies of its interim oral report and comprehensive written report with Belarusian, regional, and international civil society in the same manner and at the same time it is shared with member States and Belarusian

This is an important moment for the United Nations. The Belarusian people demand accountability for past and on-going human rights violations. Member States and the Office of the High Commissioner must ensure that this new mandate meets these demands.

Signed by:

1. Agir ensemble pour les droits humains, France
2. Amnesty International, International
3. ARTICLE 19, United Kingdom
4. Assoiation UMDPL, member of Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv, Ukraine
5. B.a.B.e. Budi aktivna.Budi emancipiran., member of Human Rights House Zagreb, Croatia
6. Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House, Belarus
7. Belarusian Helsinki Committee, member of Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House, Belarus
8. Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan /FIDH, Kyrgyzstan
9. CCE “Almenda”, member of Human Rights House Crimea, Ukraine
10. Center for Civil Liberties, Ukraine
11. Centre for Peace Studies, member of Human Rights House Zagreb, Croatia
12. Centre for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, Russian Federation
13. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, South Africa
14. Civil Society and Freedom of Speech Initiative Center for the Caucasus, Russian Federation
15. CROSOL — Croatian Platform for International Citizen Solidarity, member of Human Rights House Zagreb, Croatia
16. DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project), Uganda
17. DRA (Deutsch-Russischer Austausch), Germany
18. ECPM (Together Against the Death Penalty), France
19. Educational Human Rights House — Chernihiv, Ukraine
20. Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center, member of Human Rights House Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan
21. FIDH, France
22. Foundation of Regional Initiatives, Ukraine
23. Georgian Centre for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims – GCRT, member of Human Rights House Tbilisi, Georgia
24. Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor, Armenia
25. Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Poland
26. Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan
27. Human Rights House Foundation, International
28. Human Rights House Yerevan, member of Human Rights House Yerevan, Armenia
29. Human Rights House Zagreb, Croatia
30. Human Rights Monitoring Institute, Lithuania
31. Human Rights Watch, International
32. humanrights.ch, Switzerland
33. International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), United Kingdom
34. International Centre for civil initiatives “Our House”, Belarus
35. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), Switzerland
36. Kharkiv Regional Foundation “Public Alternative”, Ukraine
37. La Strada International, Netherlands
38. Law Society of England and Wales, United Kingdom
39. Legal Initiative, member of Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House, Belarus
40. Legal policy research centre, Kazakhstan
41. Libereco — Partnership for Human Rights, Germany
42. Media Institute, member of Human Rights House Tbilisi, Georgia
43. Mental Health and Human Rights Info, Norway
44. Netherlands Helsinki Committee, Netherlands
45. NGO MART, member of Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv, Ukraine
46. Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Norway
47. Paris Bar / Barreau de Paris, France
48. Pink human rights defender NGO, member of Human Rights House Yerevan, Armenia
49. Promo LEX, Moldova
50. Public Association “Dignity”, Kazakhstan
51. Public Verdict Foundation, Russian Federation
52. Rights Georgia, member of Human Rights House Tbilisi, Georgia
53. RSF, Reporters Without Borders.ю International
54. Russian Research Centre for Human Rights, Russian Federation
55. SAR Europe, Ireland
56. Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, Southern Africa
57. Swedish OSCE-network, Sweden
58. UNITED for Intercultural Action, Hungary
59. Viasna Human Rights Centre, member of Baryz Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House, Belarus
60. Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR), France
61. Vostok SOS, member of Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv, Ukraine
62. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, International
63. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), Switzerland
64. ZMINA, member of Human Rights House Crimea, Ukraine