76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
Virtula event on Women and girls standing up for human rights and democracy in Belarus: Dialogue with Belarusian Women Human Rights Defenders
Statement by DPR Andre Lipand
October 27, New York
We thank today’s speakers for their relentless work and courage – hearing your voices at the UN is essential.
We welcome the efforts of the EU and CIVICUS to make today’s event possible. Not only are the human rights violations in Belarus gross and systemic, the situation continues to deteriorate day by day.
Those standing up for their most basic human rights continue to face blatant repressions targeting every aspect of their life.
The face of the opposition to these violations has been strongly female, reflecting its key features that I must underline: it is a non-violent movement of diverse people from all walks of life and of all ages who just want respect for their rights, their freedoms, democracy and rule of law.
The women who have been part of these protests have shown inventiveness and resilience despite intimidation, threats, imprisonment, torture and violence – including sexual and gender-based violence, and smear campaigns.
As the Special Rapporteur has noted, these measures often make use of the stereotypes and existing inequalities in society and aim to put women “back in their place”. Silencing women journalists, activists, cultural figures is part of an effort to silence and stub out the civic space in Belarus.
Our duty, the duty of the international community, is not to leave them alone. We need to hear them and demand monitoring and accountability for violations against them – through the UN treaty bodies, special procedures and intergovernmental bodies.
Estonia will continue to raise the human rights violations in Belarus in international fora, including in the UN Human Rights Council and the Security Council. Bringing representatives of the Belarusian civil society, including women, to the UN discussions has been part of this effort.
We will also continue to support the Belarussian civil society, media freedom and services to those women and men who have been targeted by the regime.
