On March 19, in Geneva, the 55th session of the Human Rights Council will feature the presentation of the report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, titled “Situation of Human Rights in Belarus in the Run-Up to the 2020 Presidential Election and in its Aftermath”. The advance unedited version of the document is already available here.
The report was prepared by the High Commissioner with advice from three experts appointed by him for this task. The document covers the period from May 1, 2020, to December 31, 2023. During the investigation, 657 interviews were conducted with victims of human rights violations, as well as witnesses to these actions. The testimonies provided in the interviews are supported by over 5400 items of information and evidence.
The commissioner’s report does not describe the full scale of the repression unleashed by the Lukashenka regime in 2020 and still faced by the Belarusian people. However, it provides a clear understanding of what has been happening in Belarus all these years: torture and cruel treatment, gender-based violence, enforced disappearances, incommunicado detention of political opponents, and many other human rights violations. Assessing the scale and systematic nature of the violations, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights notes that it has reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of persecution may have been committed by the Lukashenka regime.
In the report, the commissioner also provides clear recommendations for overcoming the human rights crisis – including by holding the perpetrators of crimes against humanity accountable under universal jurisdiction.
The 55th session of the Human Rights Council, where the report will be considered, will begin today at 16:00 (London time). It will be broadcast at the link.
