Alternative Report on Youth Rights in Belarus
BNYC “RADA” sent an alternative report on the rights of youth in Belarus to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The legal situation in Belarus has radically deteriorated since the August 2020 elections. More than 400 nongovernmental organizations were closed or forced to close. Many of them worked in fields related to economic, social and cultural rights. For many people from the field this means the end of their work as there is an administrative punishment for acting on behalf of an unregistered organization so they cannot continue to deliver their services and products to their target audience legally.
In addition, at the end of 2021, Belarus adopted a draft law which criminalizes participation in dissolved and unregistered organizations. Which would mean a violation of the norms and principles of this covenant.
More than 439 political prisoners are young people.
The analysis of data developed by the authoritative Belarusian human rights centre “Viasna” shows that more than 439 political prisoners are with the date of birth after 01.01.1986, i.e. young people. That is an obvious and unprecedented violation of the rights of young people in Belarus.
The Belarusian National Youth Council “RADA” has already submitted the Universal Periodic Review on the Rights of Young Belarusians to the UN Human Rights Council in 2020, the National Youth Council of Belarus still believes that the rights of young people in Belarus remain under threat and continue to be violated in an unprecedented scale in Belarus.
The report will be considered at the 71st session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to be held from 14 February to 4 March 2022. The broadcast of the Committee meeting will be available here.
