Naujienos

Birželio 4 d. Ženevoje vykstančios Jungtinių Tautų Žmogaus teisių tarybos 23-osios sesijos metu, Lietuvos Nuolatinis atstovas prie JT biuro ir kitų tarptautinių organizacijų ambasadorius Rytis Paulauskas interaktyviame dialoge su JT specialiuoju pranešėju dėl žmogaus teisių padėties Baltarusijoje Miklos Haraszti išreiškė palaikymą spec. pranešėjo veiklai bei apgailestavo, kad Baltarusijos valdžia nebendradarbiauja nei su juo nei su kitais JT mechanizmais. Lietuva pritarė M. Haraszti pateiktoms rekomendacijomis ir ragino Baltariją besąlygiškai paleisti bei rehabilituoti visus politinius kalinius.

Statement by Permanent Representative of Lithuania

H.E. Ambassador Rytis Paulauskas

23rd Session of the Human Rights Council

Geneva, 4 June, 2013

 Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on situation of human rights in Belarus

Thank you, Mr President.

Lithuania aligns itself with the statement delivered by the EU.

We welcome Special Rapporteur Mr. Miklos Haraszti and would like to express our appreciation for his comprehensive report to this Council. Lithuania has consistently supported the establishment of the mandate and encourages the Human Rights Council to renew it during this Council session.

We commend the efforts of the Special Rapporteur to pursue the collection of information from primary sources and to engage with all stakeholders, in particular with the representatives of the Government of Belarus in order to assess fully the situation on the ground. At the same time, we regret the fact that the Belarusian authorities have not yet used the opportunity to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur. We also note the lack of cooperation of Belarus with other special procedures mandate holders. We believe that an open and frank dialogue with United Nations human rights mechanisms could contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights in the country, therefore we call upon the Belarusian authorities extend full cooperation with the Special Rapporteur and other special procedures.

We have looked very closely into the Report of the Special Rapporteur. We remain concerned by the continued lack of respect by the Belarusian authorities for human rights, the rule of law and democratic principles. We note with concern that human rights remain systemically and systematically restricted, as pointed out in the report. The effective denial reported of the full enjoyment of the freedoms of expression and opinion, of peaceful assembly and of association, as well as intimidation and judicial harassment of human rights defenders reaffirm that regrettably civil society has very limited possibility to operate in the country and to undertake its work in a safe and secure environment. We believe that national response to the issues such as- human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, protection and promotion of labour rights, which were identified in the report, could benefit from civil society engagement by complementing efforts by the country to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Lithuania fully supports conclusions and recommendations contained in the report. We urge the authorities of Belarus to immediately and unconditionally release and rehabilitate all political opponents, human rights defenders and activists. We are deeply concerned about the situation for those deprived of their liberty, particularly well-known political prisoners. We note with appreciation the visit paid by the representatives of the Holy See to the imprisoned political opponents and human rights defenders and call upon the authorities not to restrict access to other actors.

Overall, Lithuania strongly supports excellent work of the Special Rapporteur and commends him for the efforts in this very challenging task.

I thank you.