Belarus Government

COUNTRY DESCRIPTION:  Belarus became an independent republic on August 25, 1991, after the breakup of the Soviet Union.  In November 1996, a constitutional referendum, not recognized by the international community, centralized power in the executive branch (president), headed by Alexander Lukashenko.  Economic and political reform in Belarus has stalled or is being reversed under his authoritarian government.  The Government’s human rights record remains very poor and has worsened in some instances; the Government continues to commit numerous serious abuses and to deny citizens the right to change their government.  Both Belarusian and Russian are official languages, and Russian is widely spoken throughout the country, particularly in the cities.  Tourist facilities are not highly ... [Read More]

Belarus (10/04)

Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religions continued in 2003 and 2004. Efforts to further infringe upon press freedoms included the continued use of libel laws, limitations on foreign funding, pressure on businesses not to advertise with independent media, limitations on access to newsprint and printing presses, censorship, restrictions on the import of media-related materials, temporary suspension of independent and opposition periodicals, and detention of those distributing such material. The government continued to make use of its monopoly on television broadcasting to present biased news coverage and to minimize the presentation of opposing points of view. On September 9, 2003 President Lukashenko called upon mass media to be used as an instrument for promoting a pro-government state ideology. Additionally, although several Internet service providers have emerged in Belarus, they are all state-controlled. Despite constitutional prov ... [Read More]

2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Belarus

The Government's human rights record remained very poor and worsened in some areas, and the Government continued to commit numerous serious abuses. The Government continued to deny citizens the right to change their government through a transparent democratic process; opposition political parties and movements were subjected to increased pressure through both judicial and extrajudicial measures. The Government refused to register many opposition parliamentary candidates. The authorities did not undertake serious efforts to account for the long term disappearances of well known opposition political figures and a journalist and continued to discount credible reports regarding the role of government officials in those disappearances. Police abuse and occasional torture of prisoners and detainees continued. Prison overcrowding remained a problem. Security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained citizens for political reasons; in addition, individuals were sentenced to jail terms for such ... [Read More]

Belarus

Both the 1994 and 1996 Constitutions provide for freedom of speech as well as the freedom to receive, retain, and disseminate information; however, the Government restricted these rights in practice. Laws and decrees restrict freedom of expression by limiting citizens' use of symbols and words on posters and by overly broad interpretation of libel laws to restrict criticism of government officials and activities. During the year, the Government engaged in an apparently calculated campaign to restrict media freedom. The Government continued to make use of its monopoly on television broadcasting to present biased news coverage and to minimize the presentation of opposing points of view. On September 9, President Lukashenko called upon mass media to be used as an instrument for promoting a pro-government state ideology (see Section 3). ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

Cyprus is a destination country for women trafficked from Eastern and Central Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Traffickers who forced women into prostitution continued to fraudulently recruit victims for work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on short-term "artiste" visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment visas, or for illegal work on tourist or student visas. There was increasing evidence of Chinese women being trafficked for sexual exploitation in Cyprus. The Government of Cyprus does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Cyprus made some progress in its anti-trafficking efforts over the past year. The new police anti-trafficking unit produced successful results and showed vigilance in combating the problem. Government recognition of the problem improve ... [Read More]

Belarus International Adoption Notice

U.S. Department of State [Read More]

U.S. Statement on the Resolution on Human Rights in Belarus

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus noted persistent reports that as of February 1, 2005 the Belarusian Government has been enforcing draconian-prohibitive legal requirements and requesting exorbitant monetary sums for registration and continued operation of non-governmental organizations. There are persistent reports of harassment and closure of non-governmental organizations, national minority organizations, independent media outlets, opposition political parties and independent trade unions, and the harassment of individuals engaged in democratic activities, including independent media. ... [Read More]

International Adoption Belarus

Fax: 375 – 17-231-0617 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS:  A prospective parent may be single, divorced or widowed.  A prospective parent must be at least 16 years older than the adoptive child.  Single parents are permitted to adopt a child of either sex.  RESIDENTIAL REQUIREMENTS:  There are no residency requirements for Belarusian adoptions. [Read More]

U.S. Government Equipment Illegally Seized by Belarus

All U.S. government assistance to Belarus falls under the 1996 U.S. Belarus bilateral assistance agreement. These seizures contradict the Belarusian government's assurances that U.S. assistance under the bilateral agreement is exempt from Decree No. 8. Moreover, under the bilateral assistance agreement, U.S. assistance may be used only for the purposes of assistance. The Belarusian authorities therefore have a duty either to return the equipment to its intended recipients, or to the U.S. -- and, failing that, they are obligated to refund its value in dollars. It appears that the Belarusian authorities continue to show the same contempt for their international obligations they displayed in seizing ambassadorial residences in Drozdy in 1998, in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. ... [Read More]

Situation of Human Rights in Belarus

That senior officials of the Government of Belarus have been implicated in the enforced disappearance and/or summary execution of three political opponents of the incumbent authorities in 1999 and of a journalist in 2000 and in the continuing investigatory cover-up, as documented in the report adopted in resolution 1 371 of 28 April 2004 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and endorsed by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on September 30, 2004; Over the findings of the Final Report, dated December 9, 2004, of the Election Observation Mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which stated that the October 17, 2004 parliamentary elections in Belarus fell significantly short of OSCE commitments, that the October 17, 2004 referendum to eliminate term limits on the presidency took place with unr ... [Read More]