Human Rights Developments

Defending Human Rights

The Role of the International Community

United Nations

On January 31, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women met in New York to consider the third periodic report on Belarus. While the report focused largely on gender inequality, especially in political life, one committee expert expressed concern about the lack of freedom of expression in general.

On June 12, the U.N. special rapporteur on the independence of the judiciary visited Belarus, meeting with relevant government officials, judges, and lawyers, along with law professors and human rights groups. The Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights met at its fifty-second session in August and, soft-peddling its criticism, stated that Belarus' human rights record was "mixed."

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

The OSCE's Advisory and Monitoring Group (AMG) in Minsk spent much of the year in fruitless negotiations between the government and the opposition to resolve the political impasse over parliamentary elections. The OSCE issued several protests about the arrest and trialof leading opposition figures and the arbitrary detention of peaceful demonstrators. The OSCE technical assessment mission said of the October parliamentary elections, "The minimum requirements were not met for the holding of free, fair, equal, accountable and open elections." The European parliamentary troika-the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the European Parliament, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe-concurred with that statement.

Council of Europe

Though Belarus' special guest status in the Council of Europe remained suspended, on July 31 a Parliamentary Assembly delegation paid an official visit to Belarus to assess whether conditions existed for free and fair elections. The delegation concluded that the Council of Europe should not send observers to the parliamentary elections, citing "disappointment" with Belarus' lack of progress, although surprisingly, the assembly later agreed to send a limited mission.

European Union

The European Union voiced concern over the arbitrary and violent arrest of demonstrators, along with the trials of opposition activists. It cosponsored negotiations between the opposition and the government over the parliamentary elections. In November 1999, the Belarusian government gave formal approval, following slight amendments, to a 5 million euro program aimed at developing civil society.

United States

The U.S. government continued its policy of selective engagement, funding independent media outlets, supporting pro-democracy initiatives, and providing no direct aid to the government. On July 3, in recognition of labor rights violations, the U.S. stripped Belarus of its trade status, known as the Generalized System of Preferences, worth U.S.$26.7 million in 1999 to Belarus. The State Department regularly condemned the prosecution of opposition activists and called for charges against Mikhail Chygir, among others, to be dropped. The State Department called the parliamentary elections "not free, fair, or transparent" in an October 16 statement.