A/HRC/32/48 47. Three main restrictions undermine the right to freedom of association: the rules on registration; the widespread refusal of registration; and the criminalization of unregistered civil activities and funding. Most notably, article No. 93.1 of the Criminal Code criminalizes any activity undertaken by a non-registered non-governmental organization and its “members”. All public activities and events require prior authorization from bodies at different government levels, which exercise their power in full discretion. The process of applying for registration is highly obstructive. Civil society groups are repeatedly and arbitrarily denied registration on various grounds, many of which are not even mentioned in the relevant law or regulations. 48. The Special Rapporteur continued to receive information on the difficulties encountered by many who wished to create groups freely. For instance, on 1 December 2015, the Minsk City Executive Committee denied State registration to the cultural and educational public association New Alternative. The reason given for the decision was that the organization’s name did not correspond to the objectives specified in its charter. 49. Also in December 2015, the civil campaign “Tell the Truth” was, for the fourth time, denied State registration as a public association. The Ministry of Justice claimed that some of the annexes to the request were lacking signatures. When representatives of the movement asked for information on what exactly had been omitted, the registration authority refused to reply. 50. On 17 February 2016, a representative of the Belarusian State Medical University allegedly declared that three non-governmental organizations that addressed student matters were “unauthorized” and “illegal”. Subsequently, instructions were given to hold “preventive conversations” with the students to warn them against participation in the activities of the organizations, described as hosting anti-government elements. The Special Rapporteur is appalled to see the administration of an education entity exercise pressure to limit the freedom of association, which is further proof of the systemic oppression in Belarus. 51. The above cases contradict the commitments made by Belarus during its review by the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review to examine a number of recommendations on improving the exercise of and guaranteeing freedom of association (see A/HRC/30/3, paras. 129.61, 129.64 and 129.87, inter alia), in particular by the repeal of article No. 193.1 of the Criminal Code. 52. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women had also recommended in 2011 that Belarus de-criminalize participation in the activities of unregistered public associations, including women’s associations, and create an enabling environment and ensure funding opportunities for women’s associations (CEDAW/C/BLR/CO/7, para. 28). C. Freedom of peaceful assembly 53. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the fact that public gatherings have not triggered violence or immediate arrests by the police since October 2015. Disproportionate administrative fines seem to have been prioritized over immediate arrests by recent instructions, while both approaches remain legal. The Minister for the Interior, in a statement issued on 1 March 2016, explained that Ministry has “modified its approach to unauthorized demonstrations”. The reason for the shift was “a different direction in foreign and interior policy”; the Minister stressed, however, that the law and its aim to discourage unwelcome public gatherings had not changed. 10