Minsk urges UN rights body to abolish position of rapporteur on Belarus

A Belarusian diplomat on Wednesday called on the UN Human Rights Council to abolish the position of its special rapporteur on Belarus.

Speaking at the Council's session, Yury Ambrazevich, Belarus’ permanent representative to the UN Office at Geneva, said that the UN body had voted only by a narrow majority to establish the position, which he said undermines trust in its work and discredits it in the eyes of UN organizations and the international community in general.

"The approval of the [rapporteur's] mandate by de facto a very narrow group of countries also makes one question the mandatory's subsequent impartial activity," he said. "The creation of mandates without consent from the government of the concerned country is an inefficient method of work and interference in the state's internal affairs."

Mr. Ambrazevich said that the position of the UN body's rapporteur on Belarus had been established on the initiative of the United States and the European Union. Minsk has been holding bilateral consultations with Brussels and Washington on a variety of subjects, including human rights, which is "proper evidence of Belarus' openness," he said.

"Two years of cooperation with the EU without its unilateral sanctions against Belarus have borne more fruit for all those involved than the previous 15 years of restrictions and prohibitions," said the envoy.

Belarus still views the rapporteur's position as senseless and useless, according to Mr. Ambrazevich.

"We are certain that the human rights situation in Belarus does not differ significantly from those in most countries of the world and poses no threat to Belarus' citizens, our neighbors and the international community in general," he said.

Mr. Ambrazevich did not comment on the rapporteur's critical report, which was delivered at the Council's session.

In the report, special rapporteur Miklos Haraszti expresses regret about a "rapid and steep" deterioration in the overall human rights situation in Belarus between April 2016 and March 2017.