A/HRC/23/52 I. Introduction A. Background 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus was established by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 20/13. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur, Miklós Haraszti, who officially assumed his functions on 1 November 2012, describes the prevailing situation of human rights in Belarus since the establishment of the mandate on 5 July 2012 and includes information received until 31 March 2013. 2. The aftermath of the presidential elections held on 19 December 2010 and the ensuing deterioration in the situation of human rights still mark the human rights context of Belarus. A broad range of human rights concerns were laid out in the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 1 3. During the period under review, there were reports of limitations on the rights to the freedoms of peaceful assembly, of association, and expression and opinion; the lack of independence of the judiciary, due process and fair trial procedures; torture and illtreatment by law enforcement officials; arbitrary detention; harassment of human rights defenders; and growing concerns for the protection of labour rights and discriminatory practices towards minority groups. 4. On a more positive note, a recent report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) showed Belarus moving from 65th to 50th position in the Human Development Index rating among 187 States.2 This would reflect how the State has prioritized the Millennium Development Goals into its policies and programmes. 5. The parliamentary elections of 23 September 2012 saw 110 parliamentarians elected for a four-year term. No seats went to any opposition candidates. Prior to the elections and during the campaign, opposition parties and candidates decided to boycott the elections, citing procedural violations, media discrimination and the imprisonment of opposition activists. The observation mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) found that the elections had not met the State‟s commitments, including to citizens‟ rights to associate, to stand as candidates and to express themselves freely,3 while the election observation mission dispatched by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) found them to be in compliance with democratic norms and national legislation. 4 6. The impact of geopolitics on the situation of human rights in Belarus should not be underestimated. Relations between Belarus and the European Union are at this time quite defined by the sanctions imposed in the wake of the human rights violations reported since 1 2 3 4 A/HRC/20/8, para.75. Human Development Report 2013, The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World, UNDP, 14 March 2013. Available from http://hdr.undp.org/hdr4press/press/report/hdr/english/HDR2013_EN_Complete.pdf, p. 143. OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Election Observation Mission final report, 14 December 2012, available from www.osce.org/odihr/elections/98146. “CIS observers: Parliamentary elections in Belarus held according to democratic norms”, KyivPost, 1 October 2012. Available from www.kyivpost.com/content/russia-and-former-soviet-union/cisobservers-parliamentary-elections-in-belarus-held-according-to-democratic-norms-313745.html. 3