A/HRC/35/40 Government) for even a single absence from work and send them to compulsory work. Those who cannot pay the fines are forced to undertake unpaid work. 115. The large protests in many cities of the country against the implementation of decree No. 3 illustrate the limits of the Government’s drive to criminalize self-employment and non-registered unemployment. The Special Rapporteur notes that for 2017 the President suspended the collection of fines envisaged in the decree, which otherwise remains valid. 116. The absence of a flourishing economic perspective for individuals encourages recourse to degrading means of obtaining money. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women noted that many women are victims of exploitation in prostitution, owing to the lack of alternative economic opportunities (see CEDAW/C/BLR/CO/8, para. 24). It is estimated that about 22,000 women are sex workers in Belarus, where prostitution is prohibited by article 17.5 of the Code of Administrative Offences and punishable by fines. 117. The Special Rapporteur notes the attempt by the newly elected member of parliament, Hanna Kanopatskaya, to present a draft law entitled “Decriminalization of economic relations in Belarus. New opportunities for interaction between parliamentarians and businesses”, which contains provisions to remove criminal charges for crimes of an economic nature. 118. The Special Rapporteur is alarmed by the continuation of forced labour, including by minors. Resorting to free human resources is not a way to tackle the economic disarray of the country. 119. The Special Rapporteur has received reports of local authorities instructing managers of State-owned companies to release their employees to, for instance, harvest crops or clean up the verges of highways. If employees resist, they risk disciplinary measures or termination of their contracts if they are employed on short-term contracts. Forced labour in Belarus also includes compulsory unpaid work on weekends (“subbotniks”). Similarly, individuals who are dependent on substances, notably on alcohol, are forced to perform work for free. 120. Forced labour affects minors, who are also requested to participate in similar activities. The Special Rapporteur was dismayed at the report of the death of 13-year-old Viktoryia Papchenia, who was hit by a truck when harvesting potatoes. 30 121. In terms of the right to education, the Special Rapporteur notes that the Minister of Education stated in August 2016 that an independent agency to monitor the quality of higher education, in accordance with the requirements of the Bologna Process on comparability in the standards and quality of higher education qualifications, was not necessary.31 The Special Rapporteur wonders why Belarus joined the Bologna Process in 2015 if the intention was to ignore its regulations. 122. The inter-agency plan contains only two provisions pertaining to labour rights: one which calls for the implementation of a State programme on social protection, which does not tackle the issue of forced labour; and another activity which reads as raising awareness of the national labour law among the international community. That last activity is only designed to promote the state of play on Belarus labour policies in international forums. The plan fails to list any activity that would put an end to the practice of forced labour or to the fining of unemployed or self-employed individuals. J. Discrimination 123. The Special Rapporteur deplores the continuing absence of a specific antidiscrimination law in Belarus, which would prohibit discrimination based on the grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity, language, political conviction or 30 31 See www.charter97.org/en/news/2017/1/31/239371/. See www.naviny.by/new/20160830/1472557054-ministr-obrazovaniya-ne-schitaet-neobhodimymsozdavat-nezavisimuyu-strukturu. 17