Good Afternoon, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all, I’d like to congratulate ISANS on having this critical and timely event.
You have gathered a fantastic group of Belarusian experts who work hard to restore justice in Belarus, including my advisor Kristina Rikhter, Victoria Fedorova from the International Committee for the Investigation of Torture, brilliant lawyer Maria Kolesova Hudzilina and Sergey Golubok, Andrey Kalikh and Yuri Dzibladze, of course.
To end impunity and restore justice – it’s not an easy task. Today, the country found itself in a state of legal default. Laws in Belarus don’t work anymore, and Belarusian people cannot count anymore to exercise their fundamental rights.
But Belarusians must know that, in the future, all their rights will be restored, and all perpetrators will be brought to account. Without restoring justice, we will never build the Belarus we all are dreaming about – democratic, independent, free, and fair.
Human rights violations are linked to threats to security, and OSCE has an obligation to act. But, as we well know, it is not enough to rely on our international partners. We have an obligation to act ourselves as well.
Our civil society organizations have enough expertise to contribute to the accountability agenda.
First, gathering data about human rights violations will stimulate our international partners to exercise their mandate as well. If we keep highlighting the issue of political prisoners and bogus trials, the OSCE may be more motivated to demand visits to the prisons and courts.
Second, all collected information will inform eventual trials in the ICC or the special tribunals. International obligation to investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators of human rights violations is not enough – there should be clear data on who is suspected of what.
Third, civil society organizations and human rights defenders can and should play an active role in promoting accountability. We should make sure that the regime is accountable not only internationally but also to the people of Belarus. Civil society is best positioned to promote this.
The regime of Lukashenka has a long record of crimes. And we must do all possible not to allow him and his cronies to escape responsibility. It doesn't matter whether these crimes are big or small, done a long time ago or after 2020.
Yes, restoring justice will take time. But this is what we should work on already today.
Thank you for this opportunity to address you today, and I wish you a very successful discussion.
