Submitted by Louise on
Belarus - Twenty-second session - 2015
4 May 2015 - 9.00 a.m. - 12.30 p.m
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National Report
II. Legal and institutional framework for the promotion and protection of human rights
C. Improvement of legislation (recommendations 3 and 54)
17. To that end, since the period following the first cycle of the universal periodic review, the following laws and regulations have been adopted: [...] Presidential Decree on Urgent Action against Drug Trafficking, No. 6 of 28 December 2014, aimed at countering drug trafficking, preventing drug abuse, including among children and young people, and providing for drug rehabilitation services (Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 33)
18. In addition, the following amendments to the law have been made:
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Code of Civil Procedure: children from the age of 14 years have the right to participate in judicial proceedings, to be heard in court in person in order to defend their rights and interests and to make use, at any time, of the assistance of lawyers and other representatives in court without the consent of their parents, adoptive parents or guardians (Convention, art. 12); there has been further clarification of the complaints procedure for remand prisoners, persons deprived of liberty, persons serving life sentences and persons in custody, the application of penalties and the types of disciplinary action faced by them (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 9, para. 4, and art. 14, para. 1)
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Code of Administrative Offences: administrative penalties have been introduced for violence against family members and close relatives to supplement the provisions under criminal law (International Covenant, art. 7, and Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 19);
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Marriage and Family Code: amendments were introduced on the need to consider the views of children who have reached 10 years of age on matters involving the deprivation or restoration of parental rights or placement of children in foster care (Convention, art. 3);
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System for the Prevention of Child Neglect and Juvenile Delinquency Framework Act of 31 May 2003: a maximum length of stay (no more than 2 years) in special care and rehabilitation institutions for young offenders has been established;
19. A bill to amend the Citizenship Act was submitted to the parliament for review in 2014, which provides children born in Belarus with the opportunity to obtain Belarusian citizenship at birth if on the child’s birthday his/her parent (sole parent) is temporarily residing in Belarus and is a stateless person. This measure aims at preventing statelessness (Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 7, para. 2).
D. Engagement with United Nations human rights mechanisms (recommendation 9–14 and 16–19)
25. The Government gives considerable attention to the recommendations of United Nations treaty bodies and special procedures. In particular, the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, following a visit to Belarus in 2009, laid the groundwork for the Action against Trafficking in Persons Act of 7 January 2012.
E. Right to social security and right to a decent standard of living (recommendations Nos. 44 and 47–49)
61. Pension law was amended to support and protect the economic and social rights of the most vulnerable segments of the population in the face of the 2011 economic crisis, including payments to supplement retirement pensions and social benefits for persons with disabilities, children with disabilities and surviving dependent children. There were three pension recalculations in 2011 (two of which were unscheduled), and financial aid drawn from pension funds was rendered to non-working pensioners on two occasions. Pensions were raised on four occasions in 2012 in order to maintain purchasing power.
F. The right to the highest standard attainable of physical and mental health, including in the context of ensuring a healthy environment (recommendations 8, 45 and 46)
84. The Government is carrying out a joint project with UNICEF on adolescent crisis intervention, maladjustment and behavioural problems.
85. Belarus has developed the Child Injury Prevention Strategy for the period 2013–2015. In order to implement the Strategy, the Government is working with UNICEF on a child injury prevention project in accordance with WHO child injury prevention strategies and plans of action. The project seeks to establish a comprehensive system for monitoring and assessing the results of child injury prevention efforts; and introduce the most advanced protection measures to prevent adverse incidents, their sequelae and post-injury complications from occurring.
G. Right to education and human rights education (recommendations 50–52)
91. Every person has the right to receive, on a competitive basis, publicly funded higher education in State educational institutions. Prospective university students who have not passed the competitive examination may apply for admission on a tuition-fee basis or reapply for free admission the following year. Graduates who have received a publicly funded higher education are guaranteed placement in their first job, which helps to reduce youth unemployment and allows them to embark on their chosen career path. Graduates have the right to turn down offers of employment if they pay the State back for the costs of the education.
92. A range of human rights education measures is being carried out in accordance with the Policy Framework for the Continuing Education of Children and Students under the Human Rights Education Plan of Action for the period 2011–2015 and the National Plan of Action to Improve the Situation of Children and Protect Their Rights for the period 2012–2016. Courses on the rudiments of rights for pupils in years 1–4 and basic legal literacy for pupils in years 5–11 and students at institutions of higher education have been introduced under the policy framework and plans. Children and young people at all levels of education are taught about the rights of the child, human rights and international human rights law.
97. A number of human rights training workshops have been held for law enforcement officials, prosecutors, judges, representatives of other State authorities and organizations, and journalists, including on the topic of identifying refugees, reviewing the validity of court rulings in criminal matters, suppressing extremist activities and combating child pornography on the Internet, trafficking for the purpose of forced labour, racial discrimination and religious intolerance.
H. Rights of the child (recommendations 7, 32, 33 and 35)
101. Pursuant to recommendation 7, the National Plan of Action to Improve the Situation and Protect the Rights of Children for the period 2012–2016 currently underway includes, among other things, measures to fulfil the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child following its consideration in 2011 of the periodic report on the status of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two Optional Protocols.
102. In accordance with recommendation 32, in order to ensure that the rights and legitimate interests of children are protected, including those of children in conflict with the law, a blueprint for juvenile justice has been drafted that provides for the regulation of social relations and the involvement of minors through the establishment of a multilevel system of bodies to protect this category of children and streamline the procedures for cooperation between elements of this system, including juvenile courts.
103. Juvenile justice is currently administered through specialized courts. The relatively small share of criminal cases involving young offenders that are considered by the courts makes it possible to deal with each case against a minor in conflict with the law on a strictly individual basis (the share of minors convicted in 2013 was 2.5 per cent of all convictions).
104. Probation is widely used against minors brought before the criminal justice system. Measures such as deferred or suspended sentences, or orders of a rehabilitative nature, were applied to 62.8 per cent of young offenders in 2013 (and 56.3 per cent in 2012). Judges have handed down a number of special rulings to address the circumstances surrounding and causes of youth crime and have taken measures towards that end in one out of every eight criminal cases that have come before them in order to increase the rehabilitative impact of judicial proceedings.
105. With a view to ensuring consistency and legal certainty in the practice of the courts during proceedings involving minors, the Plenum of the Supreme Court has adopted decisions concerning criminal offences by minors, adoption cases and disputes over child-rearing and the deprivation or restoration of parental rights.
106. Cases that affect the rights and legitimate interests of minors are heard by the more experienced judges with expertise in developmental psychology, psychiatry and education.
107. Representatives of Belarus took part in an international conference of UNICEF on justice for children in Europe and Central Asia in 2013 in order to study international best practices with respect to juvenile justice.
108. Much attention is given to promoting the well-being of children in the family and reducing the number of children without parental care (recommendations 33 and 35). The main efforts in this area have been aimed at ensuring the well-being of children in the family, promoting adoption, wardship and trusteeship for every child deprived of a family environment and reducing the number of abandoned children.
109. Priority has been given, under the national law and in practice, to providing foster care to children who could not be kept with their biological families while preventive work was under way.
110. The measures taken to restore healthy parent-child relations and return family situations to normal have greatly helped to lower the risk of children ending up in adverse circumstances. The number of parents deprived of parental rights and children whose parents have been deprived of their parental rights is steadily decreasing.
111. A child protection system that has lowered the incidence of “social orphans” has taken shape with the adoption of Presidential Decree No. 18 of 24 November 2006 on additional measures for the State protection of children in problem families. The targeted efforts to prevent social orphanhood have resulted in: a 30 per cent reduction in the number of newly orphaned children between 2009 and 2013; a more than five-fold reduction in the number of parents who abandoned their children between 2002 and 2013; a drop in the number of parents deprived of parental rights between 2009 and 2013, to 61 per cent, and a 62 per cent reduction in the number of children taken away from their parents; and an increase in the frequency with which parental rights have been restored, owing to increased responsibility assumed by families for the care of their children (since 2006, by decision of the courts, 2,044 children were returned to their parents, which is the equivalent to the number of children in 27 care homes).
112. The diversity of family structures (adoption, guardianship, foster care, family-type children’s homes) significantly increases opportunities for the realization of the right of the child to live in a family environment.
113. Regulations on post-care-home assistance to orphaned children and young persons and children and young persons deprived of parental care have been developed to help such persons to adjust socially and be fully integrated into society.
M. Right to life, liberty and security of the person (recommendations 23 and 58)
158. Belarus is committed to the international trend towards the gradual abolition of the death penalty. It is worth noting that the legislation of Belarus established more stringent restrictions on the use of this type of punishment than that provided for under international law, in particular in article 6, paragraph 5, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. For example, the death penalty may not be imposed on criminal offenders under 18 years of age, all women, and men who have turned 65 by the time that a sentence is handed down.
Compilation of UN information
I. Background and framework
A. Scope of international obligations
3. In 2010, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, recommended ratification of the ICRMW.
4. In 2011, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recommended that Belarus ratify the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, the European Convention on Nationality and the Council of Europe Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in relation to State Succession. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) noted that accession to the first two conventions listed above had been put on hold in 2011. It recommended acceding to them.
B. Constitutional and legislative framework
8. CRC recommended that Belarus accelerate the process of transforming presidential decrees pertaining to children’s rights into laws enacted by the parliament, ensuring more stability for the promotion and protection of children’s rights.
C. Institutional and human rights infrastructure and policy measures
10. CRC recommended that Belarus strengthen and reactivate the National Commission on the Rights of the Child, or establish a new effective system of coordination for the implementation of the Convention, and ensure effective coordination mechanisms established at the national, regional and local levels. The United Nations country team in Belarus (UNCT) noted that, in 2012, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Government had reached a preliminary agreement on piloting the Child Rights’ Ombudsman in Minsk and that final approval was under consideration.
III. Implementation of international human rights obligations, taking into account applicable international humanitarian law
B. Right to life, liberty and security of the person
34. CRC reiterated its recommendation that Belarus prohibit all forms of corporal punishment at home, in schools and other institutions.
35. CRC welcomed the amendment of the Criminal Code (art.136) which made it a criminal offence to recruit persons under 18 years of age into armed groups other than the National Armed Forces.
C. Administration of justice, including impunity, and the rule of law
40. CRC was concerned that Belarus had still not set up a comprehensive system for juvenile justice and at the long sentences of deprivation of liberty imposed on juvenile offenders, the high level of recidivism and the absence of post-release programmes. CRC urged that international juvenile justice standards be fully implemented and that a comprehensive system for juvenile justice be set up.
D. Right to privacy, marriage and family life
41. CRC recommended that Belarus ensure that children in need of alternative care are placed in family-type care rather than in institutions and that they are returned to the family whenever possible. It further recommended a comprehensive periodic review mechanism for children placed in alternative care.
F. Freedom of religion or belief, expression, association and peaceful assembly, and right to participate in public and political life
44. CRC was concerned at restrictions on freedom of religion, including the freedom to worship or assemble in connection with a religion or belief, and establish and maintain places for these purposes.
48. In 2014, the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of human rights in Belarus stated that the Law on Mass Events imposed unreasonable limits on the right of assembly and required organizers to report the “financial resources” used. Under the Law, publicity was not allowed until official permission was granted and applications were routinely denied for technical reasons. He noted a record number of cases of administrative prosecution of protesters and opposition representatives in the first half of 2014 and that most unsubstantiated detentions and arrests of opposition and human rights activists had taken place in the run-up to the world ice hockey championship in May. CRC was concerned about the detention of adolescents during the demonstrations of December 2010 and recommended that Belarus ensure guarantees for the full implementation of the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association and peaceful assembly and access to appropriate information.
H. Right to social security and to an adequate standard of living
55. CRC was concerned about the situation of families with three or more children and single-parent households, which continued to be disproportionately affected by poverty. It recommended that Belarus ensure an adequate and sustainable standard of living for all children, with particular focus on the most marginalized and disadvantaged families.
I. Right to health
59. UNCT and CRC noted reductions in maternal and infant mortality. CRC was concerned that the morbidity rate for children remained high and that children who held temporary residence permits faced difficulties in availing themselves of free-of-charge regular medical treatment. It recommended that Belarus improve the health situation of all children, including by guaranteeing free-of-charge medical treatment for all children who hold a temporary residence permit. UNHCR had similar recommendations.
60. CRC welcomed the adoption of the Order on Child Palliative Care, but was concerned that the majority of palliative care was provided by NGOs without sufficient financial support. It recommended that Belarus establish a funding mechanism for the provision of palliative care for children and supporting palliative care services.
J. Right to education
62. CRC welcomed the wide availability of preschool facilities in urban areas and recommended that Belarus increase the availability of such facilities in rural areas. While noting that primary education lasts nine years and was compulsory and free, CRC was concerned that a significant proportion of children remained out of school.
63. CRC noted the reduced number of military schools for children, but was concerned that it remained high. It recommended that Belarus reduce their number, remove the military aspects of summer camps for children and shift responsibility for both to the Ministry of Education. It also recommended that Belarus consider all students under the age of 18 in the military academy as civilians and respect their rights as children.
64. While noting women’s high level of education, CEDAW remained concerned that women and girls continued to choose traditionally female-dominated fields of education. It recommended that Belarus diversify academic and vocational choices for women and men and take further measures to encourage women and men to choose non-traditional fields of education and careers.
65. CESCR expressed its concern at the low level of education of Roma and encouraged Belarus to address the insufficient level of education of Roma, retain Roma students at school and increase attendance rates. CERD, CRC and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had related observations.
66. CESCR was concerned about the limited use of the Belarusian language in education, particularly in higher education. UNESCO mentioned similar concerns with respect to higher education. CESCR requested that Belarus ensure that those wishing to study in Belarusian-language classes are provided with such opportunities.
L. Persons with disabilities
68. CRC noted as positive the implementation of rehabilitation and vocational training programmes to promote the integration into society of children with disabilities. It was concerned, however, that there was no comprehensive national policy on children with disabilities and that many children with intellectual disabilities were still living in residential institutions and did not receive access to education and other community-based services, especially in rural areas. CRC recommended that Belarus develop a national policy on children with disabilities, provide adequate support to parents of children with severe disabilities, ensure access to education for all children with disabilities and integrate them into mainstream education.
M. Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
70. CAT recommended that Belarus revise its current procedures and practices in the area of expulsion, refoulement and extradition in order to fulfil its obligations. Belarus should also guarantee better protection for asylum seekers, refugees and other persons in need of international protection and improve the quality of the refugee status determination procedure. CRC raised similar recommendations with regard to undocumented, unaccompanied or separated children.
72. CRC encouraged the establishment of an identification process to identify refugee and asylum seeking children who might have been recruited or used in hostilities abroad, and that the measures necessary for their recovery and reintegration be taken.
73. UNHCR recommended that Belarus seek its support and expertise on issues relating to statelessness and establish and operate a statelessness determination procedure. Noting a high number of stateless persons in the country, CRC made similar recommendations and urged Belarus to ensure the implementation of the right of all children to acquire a nationality in order to prevent statelessness and to collect data on stateless children.
N. Right to development and environmental issues
74. CRC reiterated its concern regarding the persisting negative consequences of the Chernobyl disaster on the health of children as well as its recommendation that Belarus improve the specialized health care provided to children affected by the disaster and strengthen its efforts at early detection and prevention of diseases related to nuclear contamination. UNCT stated that more efforts were needed to improve opportunities for income generation in Chernobyl-affected areas.
Stakeholders' information
I. Information provided by stakeholders
A. Background and framework
1. Scope of international obligations
9. Children-Not for Violence (CNFV) recommended accession to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse.
3. Institutional and human rights infrastructure and policy measures
12. CNFV and the Belarusian Children’s Hospice (BCH) noted the adoption of the National Action Plan for the improvement of the situation of children and the defence of their rights (2012-2016) (Action Plan on children).
C. Implementation of international human rights obligations, taking into account applicable international humanitarian law
1. Equality and non-discrimination
22. ERT recommended the promotion of education on equality and non-discrimination for politicians, journalists and the executive authorities; the provision of specialised training for judges, the legal profession and civil servants to improve their competence in the application of the rights to equality and non-discrimination; and the inclusion of these principles in the higher and secondary education curricula.
8. Right to social security and to an adequate standard of living
71. ERT recommended that Belarus continue its efforts to eliminate poverty, paying particular attention to the situation of children, single parents and the rural population.
9. Right to health
72. BCH noted the measures undertaken by the Government since 2010 related to the provision of palliative care for children, including the creation of regional structures and the inclusion and implementation of relevant measures in the Action Plan on children.
Accepted and rejected recommendations
II. Conclusions and recommendations
127. The recommendations listed below have been examined by Belarus and enjoy the support of Belarus:
127.19 Take further steps aimed at strengthening its national institution in the area of protection and promotion of the rights of the child (Egypt);
127.40 Make further investment in the protection and promotion of women’s and children’s rights (Viet Nam);
127.54 Actively combat domestic violence and violence against children (Tajikistan);
127.62 Continue efforts in the prevention of violence against children (Russian Federation);
127.65 Take necessary steps for prevention of violence against children and promotion and protection of women’s rights especially combating trafficking in women (Bosnia and Herzegovina);
127.93 Take measures aimed at guaranteeing targeted support for persons living under the poverty line, paying particular attention to the situation of children, single-parent families and the rural population (Luxembourg);
127.97 Improve the health situation of all children irrespective of status (Bangladesh);
127.100 Continue its national plans and programmes to improve the quality of education (Syrian Arab Republic);
127.101 Continue its initiatives in ensuring the provision of quality education for all its people (Brunei Darussalam);
127.102 Continue to further improve the quality of school education for children (Pakistan);
127.103 Increase the availability of preschool facilities in rural areas (Bangladesh);
128. The following recommendations enjoy the support of Belarus which considers that they are already implemented:
128.1 Step up its efforts to combat and prevent discrimination faced by persons belonging to Roma communities, including ensuring the right to education on a non-discriminatory basis for all Roma children(Finland)
129.The following recommendations will be examined by Belarus , which will provide responses in due time, but no later than the thirtieth session of the Human Rights Council in September 2015:
129.9 Enact a law on comprehensive protection of the rights of the child and of adolescents, which guarantees greater stability in the promotion and protection of these rights (El Salvador).