Statement of Permanent Representative of Belarus within the 32nd HRC session
22.06.2016Distinguished Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished Members of the Council,
At the very outset of my statement I would like to express my regret that the Human Rights Council one more time will be involved in consideration of the report which does not reflect reality in the Republic of Belarus in objective and impartial manner.
It is widely known that Belarus is a liable actor of the international relations. Internal situation in the country does not represent any threat to the regional or global security. On the contrary, Belarus makes its feasible contribution to peace and development.
The Government of Belarus is working on comprehensive development and modernization of pubic and socio-economic relations in the country, guided by the will of the Belarusian people and with respect of its international obligations, including in the field of human rights. The best testimony of our development is our position on the top of the group of countries with the high level of human development according to the UNDP Human Development Report.
Belarus cooperates in good faith with the UN bodies in the field of human rights. Our country underwent two rounds of the Universal periodic review in 2010 and 2015. This year Belarus will eliminate its single backlog to the treaty bodies and will submit its report to the Human Rights Committee. Shortly we will engage in dialogue on our national reports with the Committee against Torture, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities signed in September last year is expected this year. Thus we enlarge the scope of our international obligations.
Meanwhile the Government of Belarus is working on the first in the history of the country a National action plan on implementation of the UPR and the treaty bodies’ recommendations. This work is undertaken in cooperation with NGOs and the UN team in Belarus. We are confident that the National Plan, the idea of which came after a meeting in the autumn of last year between the President of the Republic of Belarus and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, will become an important additional tool for further improvement of human rights in Belarus.
We have invited Mr. Zeid Al Hussein to visit Belarus. We are open to cooperation with thematic human rights special procedures and have extended standing invitations to ten mandate holders.
Belarus appreciates cooperation with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights nevertheless we believe that this cooperation could be more proactive. The OHCHR could take advantage of the UN Development Assistance Framework (2016-2020), the UNDP, the UNECEF and the UNFPA Country Programmes for Belarus which provide ample opportunities for human rights activities. I emphasize that these Programmes have been approved by the Government of Belarus.
We are open to dialogue and cooperation with the foreign states, which are concerned about the human rights situation in Belarus. To this end, relevant bilateral consultations have being conducted with the USA and the European Union. There are no issues that Belarus would not be ready to discuss, including the death penalty and the electoral legislation.
We declare responsibly that there was no and there is no situation in Belarus which would require an urgent attention of the Council.
Once again we shall also deplore the fact that the funds for activities of the Special Rapporteur are not spent on the needs of people in need and urge the Council to abolish this mandate as useless.
Previous practice of the HRC and current of the HRC are proving that country specific resolutions and mandates are useless in terms of their contribution to the development of human rights in specific countries. Instead, they only raise the atmosphere of confrontation and polarization in the Council.
