A/HRC/4/16 page 4 I. INTRODUCTION 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus was established by Commission on Human Rights resolution 2004/14 and extended by resolution 2005/13. In its decision 1/102 of 30 June 2006 the Human Rights Council requested the special procedures to continue with the implementation of their mandates. At its second session, in October 2006, the Human Rights Council, in decision 2/102, recalled its decision 1/102. The Commission requested the Special Rapporteur to establish direct contacts with the Government and with the people of Belarus, with a view to examining the situation of human rights in Belarus and following any progress made towards the elaboration of a programme on human rights education for all sectors of society, in particular law enforcement, the judiciary, prison officials and civil society, and to report to the Commission at its sixty-second session. 2. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of Belarus, in 2006 as in 2004 and 2005, has not responded favourably to his request to visit the country and has in general not cooperated with him in the fulfilment of his mandate. The Special Rapporteur’s latest request was sent on 25 October 2006 and has not been answered. Therefore, the present report is based on the Special Rapporteur’s mission to the Russian Federation in early 2006 as well as discussions and consultations held in Geneva, Strasbourg, France, and Brussels with representatives of Permanent missions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the United Nations and specialized agencies, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Council of Europe. It is also based on media reports and various documentary sources. It covers the period from September to December 2006 and makes reference to the Special Rapporteur’s oral presentation to the Human Rights Council which covered the period from January to August 2006. 3. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for the professionalism and dedication of the staff assigned to service his mandate. II. ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR 4. As he said in his oral presentation before the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur was invited to Moscow in January 2006. He took the opportunity to present the main findings of his report, (E/CN.4/2006/36), conduct consultations with Russian officials and NGOs, and reiterate his readiness to take into consideration the views of the Belarus authorities should he be authorized to conduct a visit to Belarus. 5. In April 2006, the Special Rapporteur met with the High Commissioner and held consultations on the human rights situation in Belarus with a number of permanent missions and NGOs in Geneva. He exchanged views on one of the recommendations in his last report: to organize an international conference on the situation of human rights in Belarus, which would provide a forum to discuss possible ways to improve the human rights situation in the country and prepare the ground for an open-ended national round table on the situation of human rights in Belarus. The OSCE and the Council of Europe have agreed in principle, the latter being willing to co-organize the conference.