NGOs presented their position on the situation of LGBT rights in Belarus to the Human Rights Committee

Belarus is presenting its fifth report at the session.  It should be noted that the previous time a report was submitted in 1997, and to date, there has been no desire on the part of the government to cooperate with the Human Rights Committee (HRC).

All members of the HRC welcomed the delegation from Belarus and noted the importance of building constructive dialogue, which could not previously be established. Elena Bogdan from the Ministry of Health of Belarus was present from the delegation.

The Committee noted the steps taken to eliminate discrimination against HIV-positive people, but was nevertheless concerned about the pace of the implementation of programs to counter the stigmatization of marginalized groups.

Civil society organizations had the opportunity to express and present their opinions through alternative reports. ECOM, together with the Belarusian initiative group “Identity and Law”, prepared a report on violations of LGBTI rights in Belarus and presented it to the Committee on October 8.

In his statement, Yuri Yoursky, ECOM’s Human Rights and Legal Issues Officer, discussed the main conclusions about violations of LGBTI rights, including the lack of antidiscrimination legislation, hate speech towards LGBTIQ people in public speeches by officials, discrimination towards trans people, and the lack of proper investigations of crimes committed on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

During an informal briefing, Natalya Mankovskaya, representing the initiative group “Identity and Law” responded to additional questions from the Human Rights Committee regarding LGBT issues.

One of the Committee members, Margo Waterval, raised a number of issues related to LGBTI people in Belarus, to which the official delegation, for the time being, could not respond. In particular, she asked a question regarding the use of hate speech by the President of the Republic, Alexander Lukashenko, from 2011-2013, one example of which included the statement “It’s better to be a dictator, than to be gay”.

Margo Waterval, also stressed the availability of information about the large number of cases where hate crimes are reported to the police, but no proper investigation takes place.

In paragraph 75 of its report, Belarus officially stated that LGBT people in the country enjoy the same rights equally as other citizens. Nevertheless, a representative of the Committee questioned the existence of special mechanisms to protect people from discrimination, and whether SOGI are included as factors in the protection of rights.

The official delegation of Belarus did not provide any answers to questions from the representatives of the Committee about LGBT issues. Representatives of the country are expected to answer the Committee’s questions on October 9, which, aside from the questions mentioned above, also related to gender reassignment procedures for trans people, and the obligatory recording of health status in military passbooks, which may create problems for trans people when applying for jobs.

The full report on the observance of LGBT rights in Belarus can be accessed at this link.