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• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights     Adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 217A (III) of 10 December 1948--on the Human Rights Watch Web site
  • An English-language copy on this A Belarus Miscellany Web site

  • An Belarusian-language copy on this A Belarus Miscellany Web site

  • A Belarusian-language version is on the   United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR)   Web site   (Geneva, Switzerland)
    If the direct link (above) to the Declaration does not work, start at the UNHCHR Home Page and navigate until you locate it.

• Organizations in Belarus

• Belarus: Country and People in Crisis!

• Women's Issues (including Gender Studies)

• Belarusian Diaspora Organizations

• Jewish Issues (Cultural, Religious, & Human Rights)

• International Organizations with efforts in Belarus

• Links to Censorship-Related Web Sites about Belarus
  • Refer to Some Recent Major Examples of Censorship in Belarus

• Also refer to a summary of articles about the referendum of November, 1996, for other background information about the current regime and the reaction to it.

• Links to General Resources about Human Rights on the Web

One of the newer topic areas for the A Belarus Miscellany Web site, human rights, regrettably, appears to be a much more important issue with every day that passes.

Included in this very broadly defined topic area are also efforts in Belarus related to civil society (the rule of law, and so forth), democracy building, free access to information, and related issues. Traditional Belarusian culture and language are also being threatened.

All of these areas, and more, are special challenges within the post-Soviet existence of Belarus.

An excellent, but excruciatingly sad, starting point when considering human rights in Belarus today is the following Web site about Kurapaty:

• Kurapaty -- Site of Soviet Massacre of 200,000 Belarusians, 1937-1941.   Today, many people in Belarus still either don't believe this happened or else blame it on the Nazis. Keep this in mind when considering Human Rights in Belarus today.

• Follow this link for information about the source book of the material on the Web.

• Background and follow-up articles about the atrocities at Kurapaty, and the current regime ruling Belarus' actions regarding these facts of history. . . .

The following article about the Cherven Massacre (1941) also provides important historical information that should not be forgotten:

• Follow this link for information about the massacre of thousands at Cherven, Belarus (Mensk Region), by the Soviet NKVD in 1941.

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Belarusian Diaspora Organizations

Back to A Belarus Miscellany Topic List     Back to Human Rights Topic List

Coalition in Defense of Democracy and Human Rights in Belarus

This coalition had been inactive since the break up of the Soviet Union. Recent events (i.e., in the mid-90's) in Belarus have necessitated its re-activation, sad to say.

Coalition in Defense of Democracy and Human Rights in Belarus
9 River Road
Highland Park
New Jersey 08904

TEL: (732) 247-1822, 254-6527
FAX: (732) 418-9838, 254-8951

E-Mail Contact: Alexander Silwanowicz

Sponsored by:

Belarusian American Association, Inc.
Belarusan Congress Committee of America
Belarusan Autocephalous Orthodox Church
Belarusan Institute of Arts and Sciences
Association of Belarusan American Veterans
The World Association of Belarusan Jewry
Organization of Belarusan American Youth
Belarusan American Cultural & Educational Society
Bielarusian Coordinating Committee of Chicago
Belarusan American Women's Association
Belarusan-American Union
Belarusan-American National Council
Belarusian Canadian Alliance
Belarusan Canadian Coordinating Committee

Links to General Resources about Human Rights on the Web

Go to the A Belarus Miscellany Topic List     Go to the Human Rights Topic List

• The Human Rights Web Home Page       FYI: Web site appears to be no longer available -- April, 1999

• Inex Online, Index Index -- entry for Belarus
  "Index on Censorship, the bi-monthly magazine for free speech, widens the debates on freedom of expression with some of the world's best writers. Through interviews, reportage, banned literature and polemic, Index shows how free speech affects the political issues of the moment."

  "Index Index incorporates information from the American Association for the Advancement of Science Human Rights Action Network (AAASHRAN), Amnesty International (AI), Article 19 (A19), the BBC Monitoring Service Summary of World Broadcasts (SWB), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Canadian Committee to Protect Journalists (CCPJ), the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ/FIP), the International Federation of Newspaper Publishers (FIEJ), Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), International PEN (PEN), Open Media Research Institute (OMRI), Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), the World Association of Community Broadcasters (AMARC) and other sources."

  "This site is supported by the European Commission."

• Also refer to The British Helsinki Human Rights Group Web site.

  BHHRG is a registered charity in the United Kingdom and relies on volunteers to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the human rights basket of the Helsinki Process. For information about the Group's activities and the prices of its reports, please contact the Group at this address:   e-mail:   bhhrg@bhhrg.org

  One of their publications, "Belarus: The End of Independence? (1995)," was excerpted in the Fall, 1995, edition of the Belarusian Review.

  The BR noted that the report is 43 pages long, costs 15 pounds sterling ($23, US), and also gave their street address as:

  This report is now available on the BHHRG Web site, and can also be downloaded in a "ZIP" file.

  The British Helsinki Human Rights Group
  22 St. Margaret's Street
  Oxford OX2 6RX
  UK

• See also Intelligence Watch Report (IWR) Daily Updates About Belarus Intelligence Agencies - KGB

• Also refer to Organizations' Web Pages about Belarus   at this Web site