A/HRC/32/48 election held in 2010.1 Therefore, the release of the prisoners on the eve of the election without restoring their right to stand for election may have only deepened the climate of fear that has characterized governance for decades. As reported by the Special Rapporteur in several previous reports, the repressive legal framework has only tightened since 2010, as has the systematic use of criminal and administrative sanctions against opponents and critics, or any expression of dissent, even when peaceful. 8. Both the conduct and the results of the September 2016 parliamentary elections will constitute a test of the resolve of the President to reform the governance of human rights in Belarus. The Parliament of Belarus is the only one in the European continent that does not muster any modicum of opposition, merely rubber-stamping the President’s decisions. This has been the case of every Parliament in the past 20 years, regardless of whether the opposition attempted to participate in or decided on a boycott in protest against the restrictions. 9. The Special Rapporteur hopes that the next parliamentary elections will be not only free of violence and repression but will also allow for political opinions other than those of the President to be aired, and as a result political forces will be able to win seats in a number proportionate to their independently verified votes. 10. The persistent presence in the criminal code of the death penalty and its repeated application remain another pattern of non-compliance with human rights standards that sets the State apart on the European continent. The Special Rapporteur deplores the use of the capital punishment by tribunals. The most recent sentence thereof was handed down on 16 February 2016, one day after the Council of the European Union lifted most of its sanctions against individuals and companies from Belarus. 11. During the period under review, the Special Rapporteur noted no change in the “permission-based” regime governing freedoms of assembly, expression and association, and other human rights. This entrenched system is, in the Special Rapporteur’s view, the basis of the prevailing climate of fear that deters any attempt to express views or to organize assemblies or associations that the Government deems undesirable. It consists in the de jure criminalization of any public activity that has not gained previous authorization from the administration. The authorities themselves decide in every case whether de jure criminalization should be made a de facto one, and in what form, on a wide scale of punishment ranging from administrative to penal, from fines to incarceration, and to loss of unrelated civil rights. All changes in the past two decades, including the most recent instructions given to law enforcement bodies, have remained within the scope of this system, moving forwards and backwards alternatively while the Government has retained full control over public life. 12. On 4 May 2015, Belarus underwent its second universal periodic review. While the Special Rapporteur was encouraged by the level of engagement of the authorities with the process, he noted that the recommendations made by Member States were similar or even identical to those made during the previous review, reflecting the absence of change in the overall situation of human rights in the country. In particular, no progress was made on any of the recommendations accepted by the State involving civil society organizations other than those established by the Government. 13. A national human rights institution has yet to be created, as recommended by the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review in 2010 and again in 2015 (see A/HRC/15/16 and A/HRC/30/3). A national institution in accordance with the Paris Principles would assist the Government in addressing shortcomings and pave the way for 1 4 OSCE, “Belarus, Presidential Elections, 11 October 2015: Final Report”, 28 January 2016.