The UN Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus has published a new report, confirming that human rights violations in the country are widespread and systematic, and that attacks on civilians are not accidental but part of a state policy aimed for years at suppressing dissent.
The report:
- Names institutions responsible for repression: HUBAZiK, Almaz, AMAP, KGB, the Department of Corrections, and the courts;
- Emphasized that individual criminal responsibility may apply not only to perpetrators but also to senior regime officials, including Aliaksandr Lukashenka, Yury Karayeu, and Mikalai Karpiankou. Under international law, any official bears personal responsibility if they issued orders, facilitated crimes, or knowingly ignored mass violations committed by subordinates;
- Notes that Belarus itself has effectively acknowledged the scale of violence: only on election day and immediately afterward, about 5,000 complaints about unlawful actions by the security forces were submitted to investigative bodies;
- Emphasizes victims’ rights, including the right to truth and to compensation.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Legal Affairs, Leanid Marozau: “This document reaffirms that crimes against humanity in Belarus are not accidental but state policy. The international community must treat senior regime officials as personally responsible. Impunity cannot prevail – neither diplomatic immunity nor official position can shield them from justice”.
The report will be presented this Friday in Geneva. The full text is available here.
