Annual Report on Human Rights 2008 - Belarus

The overall human rights situation in Belarus remains poor, with the Belarusian authorities continuing to harass civil society, NGOs and the independent media. However, we should not overlook some improvements that took place in 2008.

In August, in the run-up to parliamentary elections, the government released all remaining political prisoners, including opposition former presidential candidate Aleksandr Kazulin, meeting one of the basic requirements of the EU, set out in the Commission's document What the EU could do for Belarus of November 2006.

The parliamentary elections on 28 September 2008 fell short of democratic requirements. However, the electoral campaign and the process of voting were characterised by a far lower level of repression of democratic candidates than in the 2004 parliamentary elections and 2006 presidential elections. The OSCE noted that the cooperation extended to the Election Observation Mission by the Belarusian authorities was considerably improved compared with previous elections.

The Central Electoral Committee registered 78 candidates from United Democratic Forces and 22 candidates from European Coalition. According to the initial report of the OSCE, opposition representatives were generally able to campaign in the mass media and conduct meetings with the electorate. Although voting was generally well conducted, many cases of falsifications were observed during the vote count. Additionally, OSCE monitors were prevented or hampered from observing the counting in 35 per cent of cases. Promises by the Election Commission to ensure transparency during the vote count were not implemented and only pro-government candidates won seats in the new parliament.

On 13 October, in response to the Belarusian government's increased willingness to engage with the OSCE, and the release of political prisoners, the Council of the European Union suspended for 6 months the travel restrictions imposed on leading Belarusian officials. However, the travel ban remained for those involved in the disappearances that occurred in 1999-2000 and that of the President of the Central Electoral Commission. The Council has the power to re-apply travel restrictions sooner, if the Belarusian government takes regressive steps in the sphere of human rights. Renewal of the suspension will require the unanimous agreement of all EU member states.

The decision of the Council, which we have supported, stems from a willingness to encourage the Belarusian authorities to adopt positive measures to strengthen democracy and respect for human rights. We believe that through the demonstration of the benefits of closer cooperation, the EU will be able to support democratisation of this country better. We will continue to monitor developments in Belarus to decide whether suspension of travel restrictions should be cancelled, or supplemented by steps to deepen dialogue and co-operation with the Belarusian authorities.

Progress still needs to be made on the position of NGOs, which remains poor. Expensive registration fees and excessive legal requirements are basic obstacles to NGO activity. Any political organisation independent from the government is perceived by the authorities as a serious threat.

The Belarusian government has denied its citizens the right to access independent information and ideas. The state controls all media outlets in Belarus, making it difficult for any views, other than those officially approved, to be heard by most of society. Access to the internet is currently controlled through the monopoly of the national company Beltelkom and strict rules are imposed on owners of internet cafés who are obliged to report when users visit banned websites. But there are some signs of change. In December two 'independent' newspapers (Norodnaya Volya and Nasha Niva) were allowed to register for state-run distribution and are now on sale at news kiosks. And following a seminar on the internet on 24 November the Head of Ideology at the Presidential Administration met members of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) and suggested that the media law may be amended to take account of concerns raised by BAJ and others. No guarantees were given, but there is hope for improvement to current legislation.

We are concerned by the harassment of those who exercise their right to peaceful assembly, for example during the demonstration on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of Belarusian Republic's independence declaration on 25 March. However, we note that during the course of 2008 the Belarusian authorities have shown increasing restraint, for example opposition supporters were able to demonstrate peacefully at the demonstration on election night in central Minsk. We also note that entrepreneurs were given permission to demonstrate on 15 December We hope that this new approach towards the right of civil society to express its opinion publicly will be permanent and durable. We are concerned about the treatment of Aliaksandr Barazenka, who was tried for his role in the early 2008 entrepreneurs' demonstrations, and was given a sentence in December of 'restricted freedom' under which he is not allowed to leave his home between 7pm and 6.30am.

Belarusian authorities have still failed to open an independent investigation on the disappearances of three opposition representatives: Victor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky and Yuri Zakharenko, and an independent journalist Dmitry Zavadski in 1999-2000. Our position remains that a truly independent investigation is needed to explain these dramatic and disturbing events.

Belarus continues to exercise a death penalty. The authorities are reluctant to provide accurate data and therefore we do not know how many people were executed or are on death row

Our Embassy in Minsk, along with EU partners, continues to raise human rights concerns with the authorities. We maintain regular contacts with civil society organisations devoted to human and civil rights and observe their public demonstrations.

The UK continues to use funds to support civil society, both bilaterally and through the OSCE. The UK contributed short- and long-term observers for the parliamentary elections in September, forming 10 per cent of the OSCE delegation. We have funded projects over the past year in a number of key human rights areas, principally via the Global Opportunities Fund.

Europe Minister Caroline Flint met Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky when he visited the UK in November. This was the first meeting between UK and Belarusian ministers since the EU introduced a ban on ministerial contact in 1997. Caroline Flint discussed the opportunity given to Belarus by the EU's suspension of sanctions for six months. She emphasised the need for Belarus to demonstrate that it had made progress on human rights and democracy to get EU agreement for any continuation of the suspension on restrictions.

The six-month temporary suspension of travel restrictions which the EU agreed in October will, after April 2009, require the unanimous agreement of all EU member states.

Regardless of the outcome of this process, we will continue to lobby the Belarusian government to address human rights issues and to deliver European standards in this field. Together with EU partners we remain committed to intensifying our support for civil society, among others, through funding projects that help to develop democracy, NGOs and the media.