EU wants UN rights probe in Belarus

(GENEVA) - The European Union will lead calls for the appointment of a UN human rights investigator to Belarus in the wake of a report condemning serious violations there.

The UN Human Rights Council will discuss on Wednesday a report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) which says the situation there has "significantly deteriorated" since the 2010 presidential election when a crackdown on protesters and opposition saw hundreds detained.

The EU, supported by the United States, will on Thursday lodge a resolution requesting the assignment of a special rapporteur.

The council's 47 members are then expected to vote on the issue at the end of its current sitting, on either July 5 or 6.

The UN rights body previously appointed a special rapporteur in 2004 but the mandate was discontinued in 2007 at the request of the government.

In June last year the council adopted a resolution condemning rights violations before and after the presidential election.

US ambassador to the council Eileen Donahoe said there was a need to step up action against the government of Alexander Lukashenko amid its continued lack of cooperation with the OHCHR and "the further degradation" of the rights situation.

"The United States believes the next step should be the creation of a Special Rapporteur to continue to investigate and put a spotlight on the situation in Belarus," the ambassador told reporters in Geneva last week.

In its latest report covering December 2010 to March this year, the OHCHR highlighted allegations of the torture of detainees and pressure on defence lawyers.

"Since the election, the human rights situation has further deteriorated, particularly the rights to freedoms of association, assembly and expression, and the right to a fair trial," it said.

"The lack of an independent judiciary and a national human rights institution aggravate the human rights situation and impede progress."

The OHCHR was not allowed access to Belarus and so based the report on various sources including information provided by the government, it said.

The body said that mostly peaceful demonstrations in Minsk contesting Lukashenko's victory were followed by "a massive crackdown" on political opponents, human rights groups and independent media.

More than 600 people were arrested and detained on or shortly after election day, and 43 opposition leaders, activists and independent journalists were sentenced, including five out of nine opposition candidates, the report said.

The repression is continuing, according to the report which said police arrested at least 100 people taking part in a silent protest in Minsk on June 29 last year.

The OHCHR urged the Belarussian authorities to release those not involved in any violence surrounding the election and carry out an "impartial, credible and objective investigation" into the circumstances in which they were arrested and detained.

It also called for a probe into all reported cases of torture against detainees and an end to all forms of political pressure on and harassment of political opponents.

Belarus is the only country in Europe that still has the death penalty in place for certain crimes during war and peacetime.