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UN Council to Hold Urgent Debate on Human Rights Situation in Belarus

Lisa Schlein

   GENEVA - At its opening session, the U.N. Human Rights Council approved
   a proposal by the European Union to hold an urgent debate on the human
   rights situation in Belarus by a vote of 25 in favor, two against and
   20 abstentions.

   The European Union cited the steep deterioration of human rights in
   Belarus following the allegedly rigged August 9th election of President
   Alexander Lukashenko in its request for an urgent debate.

   In her opening speech to the council, U.N. High Commissioner for Human
   Rights, Michele Bachelet validated these concerns. She said her office
   has been receiving alarming reports of ongoing violent repression of
   peaceful demonstrations, involving excessive use of force by law
   enforcement officials.

   "Thousands of arrests, many of them apparently arbitrary, and hundreds
   of allegations of torture or ill-treatment, including against children,
   with some reports indicating sexual violence," said Bachelet.
   "Recently, abductions by unidentified individuals of people associated
   with the opposition have also been reported'¦There has been limited
   evidence of any steps by the authorities to address these reports."

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