Joint Oral Statement at the OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference on Belarus
5 oktober 2022

Joint Oral Statement at the OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference on Belarus

Belarus

Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L), the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), European Lawyers (CCBE) and Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights delivered an oral statement on the situation of lawyers in  Belarus. The statement was delivered during the OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference.

The statement reads as follows:

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, the International Commission of Jurists, and Lawyers for Lawyers deplore the deterioration of the human rights situation in Belarus, including violations against lawyers.

Since the 2020 elections, Belarusian lawyers have been subjected to politically motivated persecution, including disbarment, arbitrary arrests and detention, and prosecution, simply for performing their professional duties.

Since May 2022, over 200 lawyers have left the bar following detrimental amendments to the Law on the Bar and Legal Advocacy, becoming effective as of November 2021. This unlawfully and arbitrarily restricts human rights defenders’ and other individuals’ right to independent, effective legal representation, in violation of Belarus’ legal obligations.

We condemn the lack of accountability for gross human rights violations in Belarus since the 2020 elections, including widespread and systematic torture and ill treatment, disproportionate use of force, arbitrary arrests, and detention.

We urge the authorities to address the recommendations in the 2020 Moscow Mechanism report, and to cooperate with international human rights procedures, and call on OSCE participating States and the international community to take all possible actions to ensure accountability.

Thank you. 

Meer nieuws uit Belarus

26 juni 2024

International Day in Support of Victims of Torture: public letter to the Belarusian authorities on the continued incommunicado detention of Maksim Znak

Belarus

On 26 June, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Lawyers for Lawyers expresses concern over the continued incommunicado detention of lawyer Maksim Znak. According to information received, Mr Znak has now been refused access to his family

Lees verder
16 april 2024

‘Flight to Lithuania’ — interview with Natalia Matskevich and Paulius Griciunas

Belarus

A new law has been passed in Lithuania which allows lawyers from outside the European Union to register as third-party lawyers in Lithuania. This legislative advance is of great symbolic importance according to Belarusian lawyer Natalia Matskevich. By Trudeke Sillevis

Lees verder
21 maart 2024

Joint oral statement to Human Rights Council on Belarus

Belarus

On 19 March 2024, Lawyers for Lawyers, the Law Society of England and Wales, and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute delivered an oral statement during the interactive dialogue on the interim oral update of the High Commissioner on the situation of

Lees verder
7 februari 2024

Report on Belarus: The Crisis of the Legal Profession Continued Repressions 2022 – 2023

Belarus

In cooperation with the American Bar Association (ABA) and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), the Center for Constitutionalism and Human Rights, Right to Defense, and Lawyers for Lawyers have prepared this report to summarize the ongoing worrying

Lees verder