A/HRC/44/55 18. Being unable to visit Belarus, the Special Rapporteur relied on the information available from various sources, including Government statements and official publications; reports received from civil society, human rights defenders, and victims and witnesses of human rights violations; the diplomatic community; and international and regional organizations, including reports of United Nations treaty bodies. II. Legal framework and related developments 19. During the reporting period, no progress has been made in terms of establishing an independent and pluralistic national human rights institution in Belarus. The Special Rapporteur notes that the establishment of such an institution, in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles), could play a crucial role in promoting and monitoring adherence to human rights standards at the national level. 20. While the Constitution of Belarus and other legislative acts include nondiscrimination provisions, the Special Rapporteur is concerned that the existing legal framework does not provide for comprehensive protection against discrimination on all the grounds prohibited under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Special Rapporteur stresses that equality and non-discrimination are central to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Unless Belarus adopts comprehensive antidiscrimination legislation, vulnerable groups, including women, persons with disabilities, ethnic and religious minorities, and LGBTQI persons, will remain vulnerable to discrimination. 21. The Special Rapporteur strongly encourages the Government of Belarus to adopt a new inter-agency Human Rights Action Plan, as the previous Plan expired in 2019. III. Human rights concerns A. Right to life and physical integrity 1. Death penalty 22. As of 2020, Belarus remains the only country on the European continent that imposes and executes the death penalty as the highest measure of criminal punishment. The recommendations of the United Nations human rights mechanisms, the Council of Europe and numerous international non-governmental organizations on the abolition of death penalty have not yet resulted in any change in law or in practice. Since 1990, more than 400 persons have been sentenced to death, and only one has been subsequently pardoned. 1 23. According to the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, the question of abolishing capital punishment can only be decided through a national referendum and Belarus is moving forward in this direction. 2 The last referendum on abolishing capital punishment in Belarus was held in 1996, and a majority voted for maintaining it. The Special Rapporteur reiterates that many countries succeeded in banning the death penalty in law, or at least in practice, without recourse to a referendum. Moreover, it is up to the State to engage in education and advocacy in favour of abolition. 24. Belarusian law classifies information on the death penalty as a “State secret”. It makes it impossible for relatives to know about the date of a convicted person’s execution, and prevents the return of human remains to the families. This also has implications for the monitoring and reporting of death penalty cases. The Special Rapporteur underlines that the traumatic experience of not knowing the date and place of execution, or the place of burial, 1 2 4 See https://belsat.eu/en/news/just-before-european-games-another-prisoner-executed-in-belarus/. See www.svaboda.org/a/30266503.html (in Belarusian).