UN says human rights situation worsens in Belarus :: Charter'97 :: News

The special rapporteur for the UN human rights commission for Belarus Wednesday painted a dismal picture of the current human rights situation in Belarus. "Unfortunately, human rights situation in Belarus worsen and worsen. The situation is deteriorating instead of improving,`` Adrian Severin, told reporters in Brussels Wednesday.

Severin, a former foreign minister of Romania, urged the international community to take action to protect the human rights of the citizens in Belarus.

"One should not isolate the country, but one should use necessary leverage and sanctions to send a message that the present situation cannot be tolerated," he said speaking at a press conference organised by the UN regional information centre for Western Europe in Brussels.

He said the EU visa ban on Belarusian officials should be kept in place
The UN rapporteur, who is to present his report on Belarus, to the Commission in March, said he has `little hopes` that the upcoming elections in Belarus will be free and fair.

Meanwhile, the new director of the UN regional information centre for Western Europe in Brussels, Afsane Bassir-Pour, who is of Iranian origin, told reporters that today`s press conference is the start of a series of news briefings on specific issues or countries that the UN centre will organize.