Brian Bennett: “I do not think UN intention was to suggest Belarus is no longer a problem” :: Charter'97 :: News

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Belarus H.E. Brian Bennett has commented to the Charter’97 press-center Belarus’ being taken off a list of countries whose rights records receive special scrutiny by the UN Human Rights Council. “Inner workings of the UN are strange. The view from Minsk is somewhat different from the view from New York. I think there are problems here in Belarus on the human rights front, with fundamental freedoms: freedom of the press; the fact that there are people in prison for political reasons; the inability of the press to operate freely. As you know, there are a lot of problems with the elections. I think there is much to be done in Belarus on the human rights front, and I’m not sure that the United Nations’ suggestion was that maybe Belarus is no longer a problem. I do not think that was an intention,” the diplomat said. The full text of the interview of H.E. Brian Bennett to the Charter’97 press-center will be published at our site tomorrow.