A/HRC/29/43 distributing printed materials or carrying out photo shoots. A further restriction is the requirement to complete an application process for such events. Individuals have often been detained and fined for participating in unregistered events. 57 There have also been reports of cases of detention and prosecution for participating in previously approved events. 58 89. The Special Rapporteur notes reports that the authorities in Belarus banned more than 10 peaceful assemblies scheduled for Human Rights Day 2014.59 90. On 27 July 2014, Aliaksandr Makaeu was detained by police officers for having raised a white-red-white flag for the release of political prisoners during the public prayer on Nezalezhnasci square in Minsk.60 In November 2014, on the traditional commemoration day of Dziady, the deputy chairman of the Conservative Christian Party, Yuri Belenki, was charged with having violated the prescribed procedure for the organization of processions, despite the fact that the procession had been authorised by the Minsk city executive committee.61 On 22 January 2015, some 15 people lit candles and laid flowers at the monument of the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko in Minsk. Participants were detained and five people were sentenced to administrative arrests from five to 15 days.62 K. Freedom of association and human rights defenders 91. Since the establishment of the mandate on the situation of human rights in Belarus, the Special Rapporteur has noted that, in Belarus, the right to freedom of association is severely restricted in law and practice and that violations of that right have become systematic. 92. At its universal periodic review in 2010, Belarus accepted various recommendations relating to improving its observance of freedom of association and legal conditions for the activities of civil society. Despite this, there have been no improvements with regard to freedom of association in Belarus; indeed, since 2010, new legal acts and laws have been adopted that restrict freedom of association and virtually disable civil activism.63 93. The Special Rapporteur commends Belarus for the amendments adopted on 20 February 2014 to the law on public associations and on political parties, which reduced the number of founders from various regions required to establish a public organization, and also increased requirements for their dissolution. However, these improvements hardly compensate for the numerous administrative hurdles obstructing civil society organizations from functioning. 94. Three main restrictions effectively cripple the right to freedom of association: the permission-based rules on registration; the ensuing widespread refusal of registration; and the criminalization of unregistered civil activities and funding. All public activities and events require prior authorization by different government levels. The registration of a civil society organization is a legal prerequisite for any activities conducted by it. Registration is 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 16 Ibid. Viasna, “Situation of Human Rights in Belarus” (see footnote 3). Ibid. Belarusian Helsinki Committee et al, Analytical report (see footnote 47). Belarusian Helsinki Committee et al, Analytical review (see footnote 2), p. 7. Charter 97, “Participants of rally in memory of ‘Heavenly Hundred Heroes’ in Minsk sentenced to arrests”, 23 January 2015. Joint written submission by a coalition of national non-governmental organizations on ”Freedom of associations and legal conditions for civil society organizations (CSOs) in Belarus” (available at www.lawtrend.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/UPR_Belarus_II_2015-03.09.2014.pdf), p. 2.