Lawyer of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Office Kristina Rikhter commented on the consequences of the denunciation.
- What is the Covenant?
“The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a treaty that contains a list of human rights. And the states that have signed the Covenant must respect them. The Optional Protocol is an additional document to the Covenant which specifies a mechanism to put pressure on the states to observe human rights. This mechanism is a petition from citizens to the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) if they believe that their rights have been violated”.
- Have Belarusians ever appealed to the HRC?
“In 1992, Belarus adopted the Optional Protocol to the Covenant. Politicians, activists, journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders, and workers dismissed on political grounds have resorted to applying to the HRC. Nevertheless, Belarus has not implemented a single decision of the HRC, justifying its position by calling its documents “non-regulatory”. This is untrue: the principles of international law oblige the state to execute the HRC decisions and report to the Committee on their execution”.
- What does denunciation mean?
“In October 2022, Belarus denounced the Optional Protocol to the Covenant (i.e., effectively terminated it). From February 8, 2023, Belarusians will not be able to submit individual communications about violations of their rights to the HRC. By denouncing the protocol, the state makes it clear that it does not intend to fulfill its obligations in defending human rights.
Moreover, denunciation of the Optional Protocol to the Covenant runs counter to the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, which enshrines the priority of fundamental principles of international law and the right of citizens to appeal to international bodies and organizations.
The regime might believe that forbidding citizens to appeal to international bodies will prevent the international community from knowing about the repressions and politically motivated persecution. This will not happen.
In the future, Belarus will fulfill its international obligations in defending human rights. Belarus will ratify the Optional Protocols to the Covenant, as well as other international human rights agreements”.
