Miklós Haraszti: I still hope to get a Belarusian visa

First of all, please tell us about your plans, expectations ... What can you do as a Special Rapporteur on the situation in Belarus of the UN Council on Human Rights?

Miklós Haraszti: The UN Council on Human Rights and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights would like the Special Rapporteur to cooperate with the government and the civil society to improve the human rights situation and fulfill the recommendations contained in the resolutions of the UN Council on Human Rights, adopted in the past couple of years. At the moment, my greatest desire is to complement the excellent cooperation with the civil society in Belarus, which I am very happy about recently, with an equally full cooperation with the government. The second element is lacking so far. We applied for a visa several times , and we are still waiting for a visa. Nevertheless, we still hope that the Government will take steps to the further cooperation. Why? Because it is in the interests of Belarus, both as a country and the government. First of all, I'm monitoring the most serious issues: the situation of political prisoners and the very existence of political prisoners, prison conditions and a range of issues related to human rights violations in the area of ​​freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, as well as many humanitarian aspects of the human rights violations. We also note the progress in the fight against human trafficking. The government has made the first steps of creating a national human rights institution, as required by the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the UN Council on Human Rights. Most importantly, the government is now involved in the implementation of the mandate.

What are you going to write in your report on the situation with political prisoners in Belarus?

Miklós Haraszti: The problem of political prisoners and the problem of prison conditions are on the list of topics that are covered in the Report. We want to meet with Mr. Statkevich and Mr. Byalyatski. We meet a lot of people, but we can only meet with those who are able to travel outside Belarus. As I mentioned, I'm still waiting for my visa.

When did you apply for a visa?

Miklós Haraszti: I did it several times. The last time - in November, but there is still no visa for me. I want to stress once again, and this is very important: my desire to work with the government is constructive. I would really like to report that the Government thinks and how it interprets the problems that exist. I would like to underline once again that it is in the interests of the country and the government, not only for the sake of my report.

You will prepare a report on human rights in Belarus. What is the purpose of this report?

Miklós Haraszti: The report should allow the government to successfully implement the recommendations of the High Commissioner. And my mandate is an opportunity to help the Government implement the recommendations of the High Commissioner. Also, my mandate is to work with the civil society. The third important part of the mandate is the development of my personal recommendations.

Photo: Zmicier Lukashuk