Statement delivered by Permanent Representative of Latvia, Mr. Andrejs Pildegovičs
Thank you Madam Chair,
Madam Special Rapporteur,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Nordic – Baltic countries – Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and my own country Latvia.
We are seriously concerned about the continuously deteriorating human rights situation in Belarus. Such violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms as arbitrary detentions, undue restrictions of the rights to freedom of assembly and expression both offline and online and, violence against peaceful protesters, including youth and women, and the numerous cases of torture and sexual violence are unacceptable.
We are also particularly concerned about politically motivated detentions and forced exile, as a result of which none of the members of Coordination Council are free to do their work in Belarus.
We strongly support the UN urging[1] Belarusian authorities to stop the violence, to release everyone who has been detained for exercising their human rights, to stop suppression of civil society, and to stop torture and other forms of ill-treatments of detainees and effectively investigate all alleged cases of human rights violations.
We also call on the Belarusian authorities to immediately stop all undue restrictions on freedoms of opinion, expression and information and the freedom of the media and to cease detention of and violence against media workers and journalists, and blockages of the internet.
We call on the Secretary General, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the international community to continue following developments in Belarus closely, to condemn violations of human rights, and to keep urging the Belarusian authorities to immediately stop violating human rights and to start a meaningful dialogue with the whole society. In this regard, we welcome the Human Rights Council’s resolution on the human rights situation in Belarus adopted on September 18.
Considering that the human rights situation in Belarus continue to deteriorate, we would like to hear your assessment of what could be the next practical steps taken by the (1) Special Rapporteur herself, (2) by other Special Rapporteurs in their thematic mandates and (3) by the international community in order to make sure that human rights are respected in Belarus.
Thank you.