Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2006 :: Charter'97 :: News

Under its constitution, the Republic of Belarus has a directly elected president and a bicameral National Assembly. However, since his election in 1994 as president, Alexander Lukashenko has systematically undermined the country`s democratic institutions and concentrated power in the executive branch through authoritarian means, flawed referenda, fraudulent elections, and arbitrary decrees. Presidential elections on March 19 that declared Lukashenko president for a third consecutive term failed to meet international standards for democratic elections. The government`s human rights record remained very poor and worsened in some areas as the government continued to commit frequent and serious abuses.

Throughout the Presidential election campaign and in the months afterward, political opposition and civil society activists, including four domestic election observers and a former presidential candidate, were beaten, harassed, fined, or imprisoned. The government failed to account for past disappearances of opposition political figures and journalists. Prison conditions were extremely poor, and there were numerous reports of abuse of prisoners and detainees. Arbitrary arrests, detentions, and imprisonment of citizens for political reasons, criticizing officials, or participating in demonstrations were common. The outcomes of court trials were usually predetermined, and trials frequently were conducted behind closed doors and without the benefit of an independent judiciary or independent observers. The government further restricted civil liberties, including freedoms of press, speech, assembly, association, and religion. The government seized published materials from civil society activists and closed or limited the distribution of several independent newspapers. The few remaining independent publications often were fined, usually for alleged slander or for not following restrictive registration procedures. State security services used unreasonable and often brutal force to disperse peaceful protesters. NGOs were subjected to harassment, fines, prosecution, and closure. Religious leaders were fined or imprisoned for performing services and ceremonies, and churches were either closed, deregistered, or had their congregations evicted. Trafficking in persons remained a problem; however, some progress was made to combat it. There was official discrimination against Roma, ethnic and sexual minorities, and against persons who spoke Belarusian. Authorities harassed independent unions and their members by severely limiting the ability of workers to form and join independent trade unions and to organize and bargain collectively.

The U.S. strategy to promote human rights sought to exert pressure in the form of targeted sanctions on senior Belarus officials, while empowering political and civil society activists who remain committed to democratic principles and institutions in a repressive society with little exposure to democracy and the rule of law. Assistance priorities included: supporting democratic political processes, particularly with regard to the March 19 presidential elections and subsequent local elections; strengthening the NGO sector; increasing access to independent information through print, broadcast and electronic media; and building the legal defense capacity of human rights NGOs and university programs. U.S.-funded exchange programs were designed to familiarize students and professionals with, and expose them to, democratic, market-based systems. To combat trafficking in persons, the United States focused its assistance on prevention and victim protection by increasing trafficking awareness among vulnerable populations and addressing the underlying causes of trafficking, including poverty and unemployment through job skills and internship programs.

Democracy and human rights issues were the central themes of speeches, media interviews, and other public events, which U.S. officials in Belarus organized or in which they took part. The United States monitored the government`s attacks on civil society and opposition political parties, and closely cooperated with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and European Union (EU) missions in the country to demonstrate solidarity for pro-democracy activists. U.S. officials also repeatedly raised the problem of Belarusian human rights at the OSCE, and cosponsored a UN resolution, which was adopted in December by the General Assembly. It expressed deep concern over the human rights situation in the country and urged the government to cease politically motivated prosecution and harassment of political opponents. Also in December the United States raised the plight of Belarusian political prisoners at the UN Security Council.

U.S. activities with regard to political processes were aimed at promoting institutional growth of democratic organizations and strengthening the political skills and outreach capabilities of pro-democracy party leaders and activists. U.S. assistance helped pro-democracy forces develop and implement a process for democratically selecting a single candidate and a consolidated platform for the March presidential elections. The coalition candidate attracted small, but credible support from voters and mounted a much stronger opposition effort than that of the opposition in the previous presidential election in 2001. U.S. activities also focused on facilitating local-level political party development, including establishment of common democratic platforms for the municipal elections of January 2007, and on training nonpartisan election observers.

During the year U.S. officials met often with election officials and government authorities to encourage them to adhere to democratic principles, to conduct free and fair elections, and to invite international observers to monitor elections. Following the presidential elections, the U.S. Government condemned the flawed outcome, stating that the election was characterized by the arbitrary abuse of state power, detentions, and a disregard for basic civil and political rights. In response, the U.S. Government imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel restrictions on key government officials and other persons responsible for human rights abuses and political repression.

Bolstering freedom of speech, access to information, and independent media remained a central component of the U.S. strategy. The U.S. Government sponsored 70 projects to strengthen media capacity to provide citizens with objective sources of information. For example, during the year European Radio for Belarus, an independent station based in Poland and funded in part by the United States, began broadcasting into Belarus. U.S. programs also helped independent print and electronic media outlets remain in operation in an environment hostile to free media, and provided financial support to independent media through a Media Development Fund. In addition, the U.S. provided financial and technical assistance to help make independent newspapers available via the Internet. The level of public trust in the independent media continued to remain high because of increased professionalism and objectivity, despite ongoing government efforts to close down all nongovernment print and electronic publications.

As in previous years, NGOs and civil society groups continued to rely on outside technical and financial assistance. The U.S. Democracy Commission small grants program continued to promote political and social activism by strengthening NGOs and civil society organizations. Approximately 2,000 leaders from trade unions, NGOs, and independent media participated in more than 1,300 U.S. Government-sponsored training sessions and seminars. During the first 10 months of the year, the United States funded 51 grants to support civil society projects within the country and 12 grants to link civic groups with counterparts in neighboring countries.

U.S.-sponsored professional and academic exchange programs provided support for 12 undergraduate and graduate students and four university faculty at U.S. universities within the framework of the Fulbright scholar program. At the same time, five American Fulbright fellows conducted research and lectured at universities in the country. Despite the government’s efforts to hinder the U.S.-funded future leaders exchange program, 57 high school students visited the United States and attended a conference in Washington, DC during a three-week program in June and July. In an effort to break the country`s increasing isolation and to promote mutual understanding, the U.S. Government provided three to five-week training programs in the United States for entrepreneurs, professionals, and NGO leaders under the auspices of the Community Connections program. U.S. officials in the country supported nine projects that encouraged networking among exchange program alumni to promote democratic advancement and economic reform, and also helped alumni to implement the teaching concepts they studied during their U.S. exchange programs. In addition, nine U.S. specialists visited the country under the auspices of a U.S. speaker program to give lectures and seminars on topics ranging from the rule of law to business entrepreneurship.

Although stymied by government interference and the forced closure of an independent, legal aid office in April, the U.S. Government continued to provide assistance for programs aimed at promoting the rule of law. Projects included hosting political and legal education and information events for different sectors of society and providing free legal assistance to persons whose rights were violated by the government. U.S.-sponsored NGO lawyers provided free legal consultations, prepared documents, and supported human rights activists, NGOs, and independent newspapers at court trials, particularly during the presidential election campaign. U.S.-supported NGOs also published human rights bulletins to inform the public about key legal issues on how to protect their rights, and reported on rights violations in their localities. The U.S. Democracy Commission small grants program funded more then 30 public seminars on legal issues regarding labor, housing, and elections. The U.S. Government also funded the travel of Belarusian law students to Washington, DC to participate in a prestigious international law competition and organized exchange programs for other students to attend legal education courses in the United States.

The U.S. ambassador and other U.S. officials, often in coordination with EU counterparts, regularly observed, or attempted to observe, the trials and sentencing of opposition figures and human rights activists, such as those of former presidential candidate Aleksandr Kozulin, youth leader Dmitriy Dashkevich, and independent election observers of the NGO Partnership. All were sentenced to jail terms ranging from six months to 5 1/2 years. U.S. officials also attended trials of NGOs and religious groups that were targeted by the authorities for closure on politically motivated pretexts. To demonstrate solidarity with imprisoned political activists, U.S. officials in the country hosted several events for families of political prisoners. The United States issued statements urging the government to honor its OSCE commitments to observe human rights, and supported efforts by the organization to assist the government to meet those commitments. The United States continued to press the government to conduct an independent, transparent, and impartial investigation into the disappearances of several opposition activists and one journalist. To support women’s rights and help create a wider network for women’s groups, the United States continued its series of events focusing on women’s issues in various aspects of civil society and invited a communication consultant as a guest speaker to meet with women`s activists and conduct a series of workshops for female entrepreneurs. In addition, the U.S. Government sponsored the participation a prominent female activist in the Global Women’s Summit in Egypt.

The United States closely monitored violations of international norms and urged the government to respect religious freedom. However, the government’s Committee of Religious and Nationalities Affairs repeatedly ignored official requests for meetings to discuss religious freedom issues. U.S. officials met with representatives of a wide spectrum of religious groups to demonstrate U.S. support for religious freedom. The U.S. ambassador, together with EU ambassadors, visited the embattled New Life church during a hunger strike by church members to protest the government’s forced sale of church property. The U.S. Government denounced incidents of anti-Semitism that occurred throughout the country and took action to help prevent future acts, including regularly following up on reports of desecrated Jewish memorial sites and cemeteries.

In response to violations of workers` rights, the U.S. Government maintained close contact with local independent labor leaders and with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to assess the government`s efforts to meet the organization`s recommendations to improve freedom of association and collective bargaining. The United States also continued to support ILO efforts to promote workers` rights and independent trade unions in Belarus. To help combat human trafficking, U.S. assistance helped to increase awareness among vulnerable groups and provided job skills training and an internship program for approximately 1,000 at-risk women and trafficking victims. The focus of the project addressed two of the underlying causes of trafficking, poverty and a lack of job opportunities. Of the 463 participants who completed internships, approximately 50 percent found permanent jobs. In addition, the U.S. Government hosted a film screening of a U.S.-produced investigative documentary on trafficking victims from Eastern Europe. The film was followed by a roundtable discussion with independent journalists and leading members of the antitrafficking community.