A/HRC/RES/46/20
1.
Expresses deep concern about the overall situation of human rights in Belarus
and its deterioration in the run-up to the presidential election held on 9 August 2020 and in
its aftermath;
2.
Condemns the ongoing grave violations of human rights in Belarus in
connection with the 2020 presidential election, including the systematic denial of human
rights and fundamental freedoms, the arbitrary arrests and detention of opposition members,
journalists and media workers, human rights defenders and citizens in general for exercising
their human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the prison sentences handed down to
media workers for performing their professional duties;
3.
Regrets that the Government of Belarus has not fulfilled its obligations with
regard to the right of every citizen to vote and to be elected at free and fair periodic elections,
which should be by universal and equal suffrage and should be held by secret ballot,
guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors, in accordance with its obligations
under article 25 (b) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and also
regrets the failure of Belarus to implement previous recommendations of the Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe on holding free and fair elections that meet international standards, and its noncooperation in issuing a timely invitation, which precluded the deployment of a mission by
that Office to observe the recent presidential election;
4.
Expresses serious concern at reports that human rights violations were
committed in Belarus in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and in its aftermath,
including numerous acts of torture; enforced disappearances; abduction and arbitrary
expulsions, including the politically motivated arbitrary expulsion from the territory of
Belarus of members of the Coordination Council; arbitrary arrests and detention, including
of minors; acts of sexual and gender-based violence; arbitrary deprivation of life; attacks
against and harassment, intimidation and arbitrary detention of members of the political
opposition, including members of the Coordination Council, human rights defenders, civil
society representatives, journalists and other media workers, and people seeking to peacefully
exercise their civil and political rights; denial of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly;
and denial of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, both online and offline,
including through attacks on the media and the regular harassment of journalists while they
exercise their legitimate functions in the context of assemblies, by revoking foreign media
workers’ accreditations, blocking independent media websites and shutting down the
Internet;
5.
Expresses particular concern at reports of numerous acts of torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by law enforcement and prison officers,
including in prisons and detention centres, which urgently require an independent
investigation, and regrets that, despite being a State party to the Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Belarus has, according to
reports, not complied with its obligations under that treaty, reflecting long-standing, chronic
patterns of systemic violations and impunity;
6.
Calls upon the Belarusian authorities to cease using excessive force against
peaceful demonstrators, and torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment and enforced disappearance, and to stop carrying out arbitrary arrests, detentions
and imprisonment of persons for exercising their human rights, and urges the Belarusian
authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners, journalists and
other media workers, human rights defenders, members of strike committees, students and
those arbitrarily detained in the lead-up to, during and after the presidential election for
exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms;
7.
Also calls upon the Belarusian authorities to ensure free and fair elections, and
to enter into a genuine dialogue with the political opposition, including the Coordination
Council and civil society, in order to restore and maintain the rule of law, democracy and
respect for human rights law and standards, and to that end to engage meaningfully with the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe;
8.
Recognizes the important role played by journalists and civil society, including
human rights defenders, in particular women human rights defenders, in continuing to carry
out essential human rights work, including by documenting and monitoring, in challenging
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