On November 3, 2025, the 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council took place in Geneva, dedicated to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Belarus. This was the fourth UPR cycle — previous reviews were held in 2010, 2015, and 2020.
Representatives of the regime tried to present a distorted picture, claiming that human rights were being respected in the country. However, according to an alternative report prepared by the human rights community, almost none of the recommendations from previous cycles have been implemented, and the level of repression remains critical. Of the 266 recommendations received by Belarus during the third cycle, only two (1.3%) were fully implemented, and 24 (15.5%) were partially fulfilled.
Following the session, democratic countries expressed solidarity with the people of Belarus. They issued statements and recommendations to the Lukashenka regime, including the following:
🇬🇧 United Kingdom:
- Emphasized its deep concern over the human rights situation in Belarus, where since 2020 large-scale repressions have continued against civil society, independent media, and the political opposition.
- Called for a moratorium on the death penalty, the release of all political prisoners, and a review of laws restricting freedoms of assembly and association.
🇳🇿 New Zealand:
- Expressed deep regret over the lack of progress on recommendations from the previous review.
- Urged Belarus to immediately release all political prisoners; bring detention conditions in line with international standards; ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aimed at abolishing the death penalty; and accede to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.
Advisor to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Legal Affairs, Leanid Marozau: “The level of repression in Belarus remains extremely high, with more than 1,200 people still imprisoned. There is no freedom of speech or assembly, and civil society inside the country has been destroyed. However, it is encouraging that EU countries and other democratic states continue to support the democratic movement and prevent the Lukashenka regime from misleading the international community”.
