A/HRC/RES/41/22 further restrictions on online media; and urges the Government to fully respect the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association; 4. Deplores the lack of response by the Government of Belarus to cases of arbitrary arrest and detention of political and social activists, the unwillingness of prosecutors to investigate cases of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, the impunity of perpetrators of crimes involving human rights violations and abuses, the pressure on defence lawyers and the lack of effective legal remedies, and also deplores discrimination particularly affecting individuals belonging to vulnerable groups and religious minorities; 5. Reiterates its call upon the Government of Belarus to carry out a comprehensive review of relevant legislation, policies, strategies and practices to ensure that the provisions are clearly defined, consistent with its international human rights obligations and commitments, and are not used to impede or unduly restrict the exercise of any human right, and to invest in capacity-building and appropriate training of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies; 6. Notes the concern expressed by the Special Rapporteur with regard to children sentenced for drug-related offences, and stresses the need for the best interests of the child to be taken into account; 7. Welcomes the adoption by the Government of Belarus on 24 October 2016 of an inter-agency plan on human rights for the period 2016–2019 for the implementation of the recommendations accepted by the Government during the second cycle of the universal periodic review of Belarus and the recommendations by some treaty bodies, encourages the Government to review and amend the plan by including recommendations by human rights mechanisms and by taking into account suggestions made by civil society organizations, welcomes the registration of an independent trade union in January 2019, and also welcomes the engagement of Belarus with the Human Rights Committee for the first time in 21 years and its review by the Committee against Torture in April 2018; 8. Notes the continued attention paid by the Special Rapporteur to the issue of the death penalty in Belarus, and in particular expresses deep concern at its use without guarantee of due process and at the limited amount of relevant information with regard to its use, and, taking into account that transparency is a requirement of fair and effective criminal justice, requests the Special Rapporteur to continue to monitor developments and to make recommendations; 9. Urges the Government of Belarus to take all measures necessary to ensure the full independence and impartiality of the judiciary, to guarantee the right to a fair trial and the right to an effective review of sentences and convictions by a higher tribunal, and to provide for the right of all defendants to freely choose legal representation throughout all proceedings; 10. Recalls that it welcomed the release of political prisoners in August 2015, and called for the full reinstatement of the civil and political rights of former political prisoners; however, those civil and political rights have not been reinstated and political activists continue to be ill-treated and faced with questionable and politically motivated charges, while there has been no progress on four cases of enforced disappearance of political opponents dating back to 1999 and 2000; 11. Strongly encourages Belarus to implement without delay the comprehensive reform of the electoral legal framework and to address long-standing systemic shortcomings pertaining to the electoral legal framework and practices, following the recommendations made by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission) and the Special Rapporteur, and especially in view of the upcoming parliamentary elections in November 2019 and the presidential election expected in 2020; 12. Again strongly encourages the Government of Belarus to establish a national human rights institution in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles), and to continue to engage actively in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; 2