News

On 18 February, a virtual side-event on the human rights violations in Belarus took place in the run-up to the 46th session of the Human Rights Council. The event aimed to discuss the ongoing human rights violations in Belarus and possible ways of how the international community, and the UN Human Rights Council in particular, could contribute to ensuring the accountability for those violations.

Former Presidential candidate and the leader of democratic Belarus Ms Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is now residing in Lithuania, took part in the discussion, called for a new election in Belarus and asked the UN to launch an international independent and impartial investigation of the human rights violations in her country. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Mr. Jeppe Kofod, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus Ms Anaïs Marin, representatives of the Belarusian civil society organizations as well as the Permanent Representatives of Lithuania, Germany, Acting Deputy Permanent Representative of the U.S. Permanent Mission, and the Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom in Geneva called for action to support the Belarusian civil society in their fight for human rights and fundamental freedoms and to address the widespread impunity through establishing, by an HRC resolution, a robust accountability mechanism for Belarus.

The event was organized by the Permanent Mission of Denmark in Geneva and the Human Rights House Foundation, together with the Permanent Missions of Lithuania, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the Delegation of the European Union in Geneva.