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US State Department points to impossibility for citizens to change their government as one of three main human rights problems in Belarus

In its 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the US Department of State points to the impossibility for citizens to change their government as one of the three most significant human rights problems in Belarus, BelaPAN said.

According to the Department of State, the other two problems are frequent and serious rights abuses on the part of authorities and the imprisonment of people on politically motivated charges.

“Since his election as president in 1994, Alyaksandr Lukashenka has consolidated his rule over all institutions and undermined the rule of law through authoritarian means, including manipulated elections and arbitrary decrees,” the report says. “All subsequent presidential elections, including the one held in 2010, were neither free nor fair and fell well short of international standards. The September 23 parliamentary elections also failed to meet international standards.”

“Other human rights problems included abuses by security forces, which beat detainees and protesters, used excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrators, and reportedly used torture or mistreatment during investigations and in prisons,” the Department of State says.

“Authorities arbitrarily arrested, detained, and imprisoned citizens for criticizing officials, for participating in demonstrations, and for other political reasons,” the report says. “The judiciary suffered from inefficiency and political interference; trial outcomes often appeared predetermined, and trials frequently were conducted behind closed doors or in absentia. Authorities continued to infringe on the right of privacy. The government further restricted civil liberties, including freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, religion, and movement. The government seized printed materials from civil society activists and prevented independent media from disseminating information and materials. The government continued to hinder or prevent the activities of some religious groups, at times fining them or restricting their services. Official corruption in all branches of government remained a problem. Authorities harassed human rights groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and political parties, refusing to register many and then threatening them with criminal prosecution for operating without registration. Violence and discrimination against women were problems, as was violence against children. Trafficking in persons remained a significant problem. There was discrimination against persons with disabilities, Roma, ethnic and sexual minorities, persons with HIV/AIDS, and those who sought to use the Belarusian language. Authorities harassed and at times dismissed members of independent unions from employment in state-owned enterprises, severely limiting the ability of workers to form and join independent trade unions and to organize and bargain collectively.”

“Authorities at all levels operated with impunity and failed to take steps to prosecute or punish officials in the government or security forces who committed human rights abuses,” the report says.

While speaking at Friday’s briefing on the 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Uzra Zeya, the State Department’s acting assistant secretary for democracy, human rights, and labor, noted that the reports “are the factual foundation upon which we build and shape our policies.”

“Human rights are on the agenda for all our bilateral relations,” she stressed.