On 12 March 2026 in Geneva, a report on the situation of human rights in Belarus will be presented in the UN Human Rights Council.
The presentations and discussions will be streamed live on UN Web TV. The session is scheduled to begin at approximately 3:15 PM Geneva time on 12 March.
The joint statement of the Baltic and Nordic countries will be delivered by the Norwegian Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Tormod Cappelen Endresen.
In this report, the Group of Independent Experts concludes that the Belarusian authorities continue to systematically violate human rights:
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- Arbitrary arrest, inhumane conditions of detention, torture, and ill-treatment of the members of the opposition.
- In 2025, at least 1,254 people have been convicted on politically motivated grounds, in violation of the right to a fair trial.
- Repression of civil society organisations. In 10 months of 2025, registrations of 32 organisations have been revoked.
- Certain violations of human rights, such as persecution and imprisonment, amount to crimes against humanity.
- Through the policy of shielding perpetrators of human rights violations from accountability, Belarus perpetuates a system of impunity benefiting the inner circle of the Presidential Administration and those loyal to it.
The Group of Independent Experts also points to new patterns:
- Forced exile: Belarusian citizens released from prison are forcibly expelled to a third country with their personal identification documents arbitrarily confiscated. In 2025, Belarusian authorities released and then expelled from the country a total of 192 individuals, including 162 political prisoners. 33 of those released were foreign nationals or individuals with dual citizenship.
- Forced pardons: pressuring detainees on politically motivated grounds into requesting pardons. Subjection to severe psychological violence in the event of refusal to sign a pardon.
- Transnational repression: Belarusian authorities make public threats against Belarusians who have fled the country, confiscate their property and freeze their assets, include them on the lists of “extremists”, initiate criminal proceedings, conduct trials in absentia, and security forces harass their relatives in Belarus.
- Disregard for the best interests of the child and the right to family life when deciding on detention: there are cases where both parents or the sole custodian of a child were detained.
- Women’s rights violations in detention: women who were detained on politically motivated charges are subjected to strip-searches, including in the presence of men. Women lack or are denied adequate healthcare and hygienic products.
UN Human Rights Council has mandated the Group of Independent Experts to investigate and document human rights violations committed in Belarus since 1 May 2020, as well as to make recommendations for ensuring accountability for the violations committed.
Report of the Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus
The report of the Group of Independent Experts should be read in conjunction with its reports of 7 February and 4 September 2025 and those of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for 2022, 2023 and 2024 on the situation of human rights in Belarus before and after the 2020 presidential election, as well as with the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus.