Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Legal Affairs, Leanid Marozau, spoke in Montreal at the Quebec Rule of Law Summit, dedicated to the protection of democratic institutions and contemporary challenges facing the rule of law.
At the invitation of the Bar of Quebec (Barreau du Québec), Mr. Marozau was one of the keynote speakers at the session “When the Rule of Law Disappears: What We Can Learn from the Rest of the World”. The discussion focused on what happens to a state and society when legal mechanisms and independent institutions cease to function.
In his remarks, Leanid Marozau presented the Belarusian experience of a legal system breakdown — a situation in which the law ceases to protect people and is instead used as an instrument of repression. He spoke about widespread human rights violations and politically motivated persecution in Belarus, political prisoners, and the Lukashenka regime’s attempts to persecute Belarusians beyond the country’s borders.
He addressed in detail transnational repression and the regime’s abuse of international mechanisms, including Interpol, as well as the opportunities and limitations of the UN system and other international institutions in protecting human rights and holding perpetrators accountable.
Addressing Canadian and North American partners, Leanid Marozau specifically called on them to continue supporting Belarusians forced into exile and seeking safety and international protection in Canada, the United States, and other democratic countries:
“The experience of Belarus shows how quickly the law can turn from a mechanism for protecting people into a mechanism for persecuting them when independent institutions are dismantled. The rule of law is not something that can be taken for granted forever. It must be protected. And today, we should both prepare for the restoration of the rule of law in a democratic Belarus and protect Belarusians who are already paying a price for their desire to live in a free country”.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office remains in constant contact with international partners, keeps them informed about the situation of Belarusians, and works to ensure that people fleeing repression can receive the support and protection they need.
