BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/11/2007

UN Criticizes Belarusian Human Rights Record

A UN General Assembly committee on November 21 voted 68 to 32 with 76 abstentions in favor of a resolution criticizing Belarus's human rights record and calling for an end to politically motivated persecution in the country, Belapan reported. The resolution was submitted by the United States, the European Union, Israel, Canada, Switzerland, and Japan. The document expresses concern "that the situation of human rights in Belarus in 2007 continued to significantly deteriorate." It cites the "severely flawed" presidential election in March 2006 "due to arbitrary use of state power" and the government's failure to ensure that local elections in January 2007 met international standards, including its use of intimidation and arbitrary registration standards to exclude opposition candidates. The document expresses "deep concern" at the government's continued use of criminal prosecution to silence political opponents, human rights defenders, and journalists. It calls on the Belarusian government "to release immediately and unconditionally all individuals detained for politically motivated reasons and other individuals detained for exercising or promoting human rights." In response, Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrey Papou pointed out that only a third of UN members backed the resolution. "We are certain that the resolution on Belarus adopted by the UN Third Committee has neither legal nor political grounds," he said. AM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2007/11/3-cee/cee-261107.asp