Human rights centre “Viasna” tries to register again
- 26.01.2009, 16:35
Human rights activists press for registration under a new name, “Nasha Viasna”.
On January 18 a foundation meeting of the public human rights association “Nasha Viasna” was held in Minsk. Ales Bialiatski, a well-known human rights activist, vice President of the International Federation of Human Rights has been elected its leader. Founders of “Nasha Viasna” are human rights watchdogs, journalists and public leaders from different regions of the country, who had been members of the organisation liquidated by the authorities on the decision of the Supreme Court of Belarus in October 2003.
Members of the liquidated human rights centre “Viasna” tried to register another human rights organisation, but they were denied registration on far-fetched and illegal reasons.
As we have informed, in 2007 a decision of the UN Human Rights Committee on necessity to restore to its rights was adopted. The Committee’s decision was that “liquidation of the association is a disproportionate measure, and does not comply with the requirements of the article 22 part 2… that is why the Committee believes that the author and co-authors of the address have a right for adequate means of legal defense, which include re-registration of “Viasna” and compensation”.
However, the Justice Ministry, and later the Supreme Soviet ignored the decision of the UN Human Rights Committee.
Ales Bialiatski said that holding the foundation meeting is another attempt to return into the legal terrain from which we were pushed out 6 year ago. Considering great problems with human rights in Belarus: political prosecution, information dissemination, education in the sphere of human rights, capital punishment existence, absence of developed institutions of human rights and many other issues, -- we have enough work to do, and there would be enough of it. The new human rights organisation will help the state to solve these issues to the state and to the Belarusian society. On our part, we are interested in cooperation in the abovementioned spheres, both with the state-run organisations, and with the public ones,” the human rights activist said.
Statement by founders of Public human rights association “Nasha Viasna”
“On 26 January 2009 the Nasha Viasna human rights organization applied for registration to the Ministry of Justice of Belarus.
The decision by the Supreme Court of Belarus of 28 January 2003 to liquidate the human rights center Viasna was an outrage against the freedom of association, guaranteed by the Belarusian Constitution and international human rights agreements. On 24 June 2007 the UN Human Rights Committee adopted a resolution, stating that by closing down Viasna the Belarusian authorities violated Article 22-1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In its resolution the UNHCC confirmed Viasna’s right to adequate means of legal protection, including re-registration and compensation. It also obliged the Belarusian government to take precautions against similar violations in future.
Guided by the Committee’s decision, Members of the human rights center Viasna declared that the official registration of the organization would be an adequate compensation for the rights violated by the authorities, and in August 2007 applied for registration of the human rights association Viasna. However, the Belarusian government failed to correct its fault and ignored the decision by an authoritative international structure by showing contempt of the rights of its citizens and international commitments. The Ministry of Justice and later the Supreme Court of Belarus denied the right to found an association due to trivial and groundless reasons.
Making another attempt to obtain state registration from the Ministry of Justice, the founders of the human rights association Nasha Viasna call upon the Belarusian authorities to maintain the constitutional rights of Belarusian citizens, as well as its international commitments in the field of human rights.
In case Nasha Viasna is denied registration due to trivial and groundless reasons, the founders of the association will consider it as an evidence of a systematic political discrimination by the Republic of Belarus and its inability to introduce comprehensive changes, aimed at further liberalization of its political and civil system, including the filed of the freedom of association.
Founders of the Public Human Rights Association Nasha Viasna:
Ales Bialiatski
Valiantsin Stefanovich
Uladzimer Labkovich
Tatsiana Reviaka
Minsk, January 26, 2009”