A/HRC/RES/26/25 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 16 July 2014 Original: English Human Rights Council Twenty-sixth session Agenda item 4 Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council 26/25 Situation of human rights in Belarus The Human Rights Council, Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other applicable human rights instruments, Recalling all resolutions adopted by the Commission on Human Rights, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council on the situation of human rights in Belarus, including Council resolutions 20/13 of 5 July 2012 and 23/15 of 13 June 2013, and deploring the inadequate response and lack of cooperation by the Government of Belarus to the requests of the Council made in those resolutions, including the denial of access to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus and other special procedures mandate holders to the country, Recalling also Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1 and 5/2 of 18 June 2007, 1. Welcomes the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus;1 2. Expresses deep concern at the continuing violations of human rights in Belarus, which are of a systemic and systematic nature, as well as at the use of torture and ill-treatment in custody, the lack of response by the Government of Belarus to cases of enforced disappearance of political opponents, the impunity of perpetrators of human rights violations, the violations of labour rights amounting to forced labour, the significant gaps in anti-discrimination legislation, the pressure on defence lawyers, and the lack of participation of opposition political parties in Parliament, urges the Government to undertake an electoral reform in line with the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur so as to ensure that elections in Belarus at all levels are in accordance with the norms and standards of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and calls upon the Belarusian authorities to cooperate fully to that end with relevant United Nations 1 A/HRC/26/44 and A/68/276. GE.14-08666 (E) *1408666*