UN Human Rights Council 50: UK statement on Belarus
The UK's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Simon Manley, delivered a general comment ahead of a vote on the resolution on the human rights situation in Belarus.
Mr President, the Special Rapporteur’s report makes it abundantly clear that the Belarusian regime utterly lacks respect for the Belarusian people’s human rights and fundamental freedoms
Brave protests and calls for democracy by the people of Belarus have been met with violence, suppression and cruelty. There are now over 1200 political prisoners. Civil society has been decimated. Independent media has been quashed. And now Lukashenko has set his sights on violating the rights of Ukrainians through senselessly facilitating Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
It is therefore of great importance that the mandate of the Special Rapporteur is extended for another year, so that she is able to continue monitoring and reporting on the situation in the country.
Mr President,
In reference to OP3, the United Kingdom sees the statement condemning ‘arbitrary deprivation of life of persons’ as imprecise. The UK interprets this to refer to the deaths in custody as a result of deliberate neglect.
We would like to thank the EU for the inclusive and transparent negotiations held on this draft resolution, and for engaging constructively on the proposals put forward by members.
We urge our fellow members of the Council to join us in supporting the resolution.
Thank you.