GENEVA: Serious human rights violations remain rampant in Belarus, United Nations investigators said Friday, adding that some of the abuses by President Alexander Lukashenko’s government amounted to crimes against humanity.
“The government of Belarus has committed widespread human rights violations against the country’s civilian population, some amounting to crimes against humanity, as part of a brutal effort to quash all opposition” to Lukashenko’s rule, a UN group of independent experts said in a statement.
Publishing its first report since its establishment nearly a year ago, the group said it had documented “egregious violations,” including widespread torture, and warned that arbitrary arrests and detention on politically motivated grounds had “become a fixture of the tactics of Belarusian authorities.”
Among its conclusions, the report said “the crime against humanity of persecution on political grounds has been committed against Belarusians perceived as being critical of, or opposed to, the government.”
The expert group was created last April by the UN Human Rights Council, and tasked with investigating and establishing “the facts, circumstances and root causes of all alleged human rights violations and abuses committed in Belarus” since May 1, 2020.
The experts, who are independent and do not speak for the United Nations, were also asked to “collect, consolidate, preserve and analyze evidence of such violations and abuses and, where possible, to identify those responsible,” to help bring them to justice.
Belarus was gripped by months of unprecedented anti-government demonstrations after an August 2020 election resulted in a sixth term for Lukashenko — a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Lukashenko went on to win a seventh term last month in what critics termed a “sham election.”
The 2020 protests were followed by a brutal crackdown.
The UN experts said they conducted nearly 200 interviews in person and remotely with victims, witnesses and others in exile, and examined a large trove of video, photo and other documents for their report.
They said they had gathered “ample evidence” that men and women arrested on politically motivated grounds between 2020 and 2024 “were subjected to torture and ill-treatment at all stages of their detention.”
They reported beatings, electric shocks and rape threats against both detainees and their partners.
“Security forces displayed marked brutality toward LGBTIQ+ individuals, using physical violence and dehumanizing language,” the experts said.
People detained on politically motivated grounds in penal colonies across the country had meanwhile “described a discriminatory regime of detention designed not only to punish them, but also to crush any form of political resistance,” the report said.
It also highlighted how the Belarusian government last year adopted measures that “purged most potential sources of dissent and opposition,” including through enhanced digital surveillance used to monitor online activities, often leading to prosecutions.
Last year alone, at least 228 civil society organizations were “liquidated,” it said.
The experts called on the Belarusian government to immediately release all those unlawfully or arbitrarily detained, and to promptly launch independent and transparent investigations into all abuses, especially those thought to amount to crimes against humanity.
And the group called on the international community to help ensure accountability for the abuses, including through universal jurisdiction.
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Belarus committing ‘crimes against humanity’: UN investigators
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Belarus committing ‘crimes against humanity’: UN investigators
- “The government of Belarus has committed widespread human rights violations against the country’s civilian population,” a UN group of independent experts said
- The report said: “the crime against humanity of persecution on political grounds has been committed against Belarusians perceived as being critical of, or opposed to, the government“
Macron to set out how France’s nuclear arms could protect Europe
PARIS: France will on Monday unveil how it could use the European Union’s only atomic arsenal to protect the continent in an unstable world, with Russia becoming increasingly aggressive and the United States turning away.
The speech by French President Emmanuel Macron, at France’s Ile Longue nuclear submarine base, comes after the launch of US and Israeli attacks against Iran in a campaign that risks destabilising the Middle East.
“What we are experiencing demonstrates that in the world to come, power and independence will be two indispensable forces for dealing with the proliferation of threats,” said a member of Macron’s team.
Macron is set to update France’s nuclear doctrine as Russia’s war against Ukraine grinds into a fifth year and NATO allies worry about Washington’s wavering commitment to Europe.
“There will undoubtedly be some significant shifts and developments,” a source said of the speech set to be delivered from 1415 GMT Monday.
European nations, which have relied on the US nuclear deterrent throughout the Cold War and in the decades since it ended, are increasingly debating whether to bolster their own atomic arsenals.
Paris has been in talks with countries including Germany and Poland over how France could use its atomic arsenal to help protect the continent.
Last year, Macron said he was ready to discuss possible deployment of French aircraft armed with nuclear weapons in other European countries.
Macron said in February he was considering a doctrine that could include “special cooperation, joint exercises, and shared security interests with certain key countries.
France maintains the world’s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal, estimated at around 290 warheads. Britain, which is no longer a member of the EU, is the only other European nuclear power.
By contrast, the United States and Russia, the world’s two main atomic powers, have thousands of nuclear warheads each.
‘27 buttons’
Reassurances from US officials that Washington’s deterrent would continue to cover Europe under the NATO alliance have done little to quell European fears of fickleness under US President Donald Trump.
“It is clear that we will need to reflect together on how French and British deterrence can fit into a more assertive European defense,” Bernard Rogel, who served as top military adviser to Macron, told AFP.
But how exactly nuclear cooperation would work between the EU’s 27 states is another story.
Rogel insisted that control over the launch decision will remain in French hands.
“I can’t see us having 27 buttons. From a credibility standpoint, that just doesn’t work,” he said.
‘Only a good thing’
Rafael Loss, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said leaders should find confidence in European support for strengthening nuclear deterrence.
He said people in Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland now tend to support rather than oppose the idea of developing an alternative European nuclear deterrent.
“If there’s going to be some kind of bigger European investments in France or UK’s nuclear deterrence, that’s only a good thing,” Finland’s defense minister Antti Hakkanen told AFP in February.
Florian Galleri, a historian specializing in nuclear doctrines, warned that Macron would have to tread carefully, pointing to his low approval ratings one year before the end of his presidency.
Macron’s address could also spark a backlash ahead of the 2027 presidential election, in which Marine Le Pen’s euroskeptic far-right is seen as having its best chance yet at winning the top job.
“There is a consensus on possessing nuclear weapons in France, but not on nuclear policy,” Galleri said.
The far-right has already issued a warning.
“If Mr. Macron thinks he can give France’s nuclear weapon to the EU, he will face impeachment proceedings for treason,” Philippe Olivier, an adviser to Le
The speech by French President Emmanuel Macron, at France’s Ile Longue nuclear submarine base, comes after the launch of US and Israeli attacks against Iran in a campaign that risks destabilising the Middle East.
“What we are experiencing demonstrates that in the world to come, power and independence will be two indispensable forces for dealing with the proliferation of threats,” said a member of Macron’s team.
Macron is set to update France’s nuclear doctrine as Russia’s war against Ukraine grinds into a fifth year and NATO allies worry about Washington’s wavering commitment to Europe.
“There will undoubtedly be some significant shifts and developments,” a source said of the speech set to be delivered from 1415 GMT Monday.
European nations, which have relied on the US nuclear deterrent throughout the Cold War and in the decades since it ended, are increasingly debating whether to bolster their own atomic arsenals.
Paris has been in talks with countries including Germany and Poland over how France could use its atomic arsenal to help protect the continent.
Last year, Macron said he was ready to discuss possible deployment of French aircraft armed with nuclear weapons in other European countries.
Macron said in February he was considering a doctrine that could include “special cooperation, joint exercises, and shared security interests with certain key countries.
France maintains the world’s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal, estimated at around 290 warheads. Britain, which is no longer a member of the EU, is the only other European nuclear power.
By contrast, the United States and Russia, the world’s two main atomic powers, have thousands of nuclear warheads each.
‘27 buttons’
Reassurances from US officials that Washington’s deterrent would continue to cover Europe under the NATO alliance have done little to quell European fears of fickleness under US President Donald Trump.
“It is clear that we will need to reflect together on how French and British deterrence can fit into a more assertive European defense,” Bernard Rogel, who served as top military adviser to Macron, told AFP.
But how exactly nuclear cooperation would work between the EU’s 27 states is another story.
Rogel insisted that control over the launch decision will remain in French hands.
“I can’t see us having 27 buttons. From a credibility standpoint, that just doesn’t work,” he said.
‘Only a good thing’
Rafael Loss, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said leaders should find confidence in European support for strengthening nuclear deterrence.
He said people in Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland now tend to support rather than oppose the idea of developing an alternative European nuclear deterrent.
“If there’s going to be some kind of bigger European investments in France or UK’s nuclear deterrence, that’s only a good thing,” Finland’s defense minister Antti Hakkanen told AFP in February.
Florian Galleri, a historian specializing in nuclear doctrines, warned that Macron would have to tread carefully, pointing to his low approval ratings one year before the end of his presidency.
Macron’s address could also spark a backlash ahead of the 2027 presidential election, in which Marine Le Pen’s euroskeptic far-right is seen as having its best chance yet at winning the top job.
“There is a consensus on possessing nuclear weapons in France, but not on nuclear policy,” Galleri said.
The far-right has already issued a warning.
“If Mr. Macron thinks he can give France’s nuclear weapon to the EU, he will face impeachment proceedings for treason,” Philippe Olivier, an adviser to Le
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