UN Committee Against Torture's Recommendations on Belarus
UN Committee Against Torture's Recommendations on Belarus
The United Nations Committee against Torture considered Belarus' third periodic report on the implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment at its meetings on November 15, 16, and 20, 2000. The committee expressed concern about the following:
the deterioration of the human rights situation in Belarus since the consideration of its second periodic report in 1992, including limitations of the independence of the press, and of the right to peaceful assembly;
the absence of a definition of torture in Belarusian laws, as provided in article 1 of the Convention;
the numerous continuing allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment or treatment, committed by officials particularly affecting political opponents of the government and peaceful demonstrators, and including disappearances, beatings, and other actions in breach of the Convention;
the lack of an independent procuracy, in particular as the procurator has the competence to exercise oversight on the appropriateness of the duration of pre-trial detention, which can be for a period of up to 18 months;
officials' failure to conduct prompt, impartial, and full investigations into the many allegations of torture reported to the authorities, as well as a failure to prosecute alleged perpetrators;
the lack of an independent judiciary, with the president maintaining the sole power to appoint and dismiss from office most judges;
Presidential Decree No. 12 which restricts the independence of lawyers, subordinating them to the control of the Ministry of Justice;
the overcrowding, poor diet, and lack of access to basic hygiene facilities and adequate medical care, as well as the prevalence of tuberculosis, in prisons and pre-trial detention centers;
the continuing use of the death penalty, and the inadequate procedures for appeals, lack of transparency about those being held, and the reported refusal to return the bodies of those executed to their relatives, inhibiting investigation into charges of torture or ill-treatment of them in prison.
The committee recommended that:
Belarus amend its domestic penal law to include the crime of torture, consistent with the definition contained in article 1 of the Convention, and supported by an adequate penalty;
take urgent and effective steps to establish a fully independent complaints mechanism, to ensure prompt, impartial and full investigations into the many allegations of torture reported to the authorities, and the prosecution and punishment, as appropriate, of alleged perpetrators;
consider establishing an independent and impartial governmental and non-governmental national human rights commission with effective powers to investigate all complaints of human rights violations;
take measures, including the review of the Constitution, laws, and decrees, to establish and ensure the independence of the judiciary and lawyers;
improve conditions in prisons and pre-trial detention centers and establish a system allowing for inspections of prisons and detention centers by credible impartial monitors, whose findings should be made public;
provide independent judicial oversight of the period and conditions or pre-trial detention;
make public the committee's conclusions and recommendations."
Source: BelaPAN, No. 220; Wednesday, November 22, 2000; 8:35 p.m.)