belarus executive summary - US Department of State

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BELARUS 42 UN and Other International Bodies: In December 2010 a Foreign Ministry spokesman announced that there were “no objective reasons” for extending the mandate of the OSCE office in Minsk, despite the fact that the mandate of the office had not been fulfilled and notwithstanding calls by the EU and others to extend the mandate. The office had operated since 2003 with a mandate to assist the country in the area of rule of law and with economic and environmental matters. A previous OSCE office with a broader mandate was terminated by the regime in 2001. The government claimed that the OSCE mandate “has been fulfilled” and pointed to the earlier closure of OSCE missions in neighboring countries. Government Human Rights Bodies: There is a standing commission on human rights in the lower chamber of parliament, but it was ineffective. Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, language, or social status. In practice the government did not always enforce these prohibitions. Problems included violence against women and children; trafficking in persons; and discrimination against persons with disabilities, Roma, ethnic minorities, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Women Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalizes rape in general but does not include separate provisions on marital rape. Rape was a problem. However, most women did not report it due to shame or fear that police would blame the victim. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there were 119 registered cases of rape during the year, down 16.8 percent compared with 2010. Domestic violence, including spousal abuse against women, was a significant problem. In February the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights raised grave concerns about the persistence of violence against women, in particular domestic and sexual violence, its underreporting, the lack of prosecution of violence within the family, the fact that rape was subject to private rather than ex officio prosecution, and the lack of shelters for victims of domestic violence. The criminal code does not contain a separate article dealing with domestic violence. According to a study released by the Belarus State University’s Center for Sociological and Political Research in March 2010, four out of five women Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011 United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
BELARUS 43 between ages 18 and 60 claimed that they were subjected to psychological violence in their families. One in four women suffered from physical violence, and 13 percent of women reported that their partners sexually abused them. Women remained reluctant to report domestic violence due to fear of reprisal and social stigma. According to the study, only 6 percent of male and 46 percent of female victims of domestic violence sought professional assistance. NGOs operated crisis shelters, primarily in Minsk, but they were poorly funded and received only limited support from the government. The deputy prosecutor general announced that the number of domestic crimes decreased by 16.4 percent, with 2,602 cases reported during the year. Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment reportedly was widespread, but no specific laws, other than those against physical assault, address the problem. Sex Tourism: A senior Internal Affairs Ministry official acknowledged that the scope of sex tourism expanded and reported that two Turkish nationals and a citizen of Bahrain were convicted of facilitating sex tourism during the year. Due to the closed nature of the government and sparse independent reporting, it was difficult to estimate the extent of any possible government complicity; however, credible sources asserted that the KGB and other security agencies controlled and profited from sex tourism and associated businesses, including gambling, hotels, and nightclubs. Reproductive Rights: Couples and individuals have the right to decide the number, spacing, and timing of children and had the information and means to do so free from discrimination. Access to information on contraception and skilled attendance at delivery and in postpartum care were widely available. Women and men had equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. According to data published jointly by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, UN Population Fund, and World Bank, the country’s maternal mortality ratio was 15 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2008. Discrimination: The law provides for equal treatment of women with regard to property ownership and inheritance, family law, and the judicial system, and it was generally respected in practice. The law also requires equal wages for equal work, although this provision was not always enforced. In December 2010 Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Security Ihar Staravoytau said that women’s wages were 20 percent less than those of men’s despite higher education levels. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011 United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
Page 1 and 2: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BELARUS Belarus i
Page 3 and 4: BELARUS 3 security or police office
Page 5 and 6: BELARUS 5 and bedding and inadequat
Page 7 and 8: BELARUS 7 bedding, lack of time out
Page 9 and 10: BELARUS 9 to the Minsk diplomatic c
Page 11 and 12: BELARUS 11 The law provides for the
Page 13 and 14: BELARUS 13 The prosecution overtly
Page 15 and 16: BELARUS 15 order to compel their te
Page 17 and 18: BELARUS 17 The law prohibits author
Page 19 and 20: BELARUS 19 Although authorities con
Page 21 and 22: BELARUS 21 welcomed the prosecutor
Page 23 and 24: BELARUS 23 Journalists reporting fo
Page 25 and 26: BELARUS 25 to include government op
Page 27 and 28: BELARUS 27 as a presidential electi
Page 29 and 30: BELARUS 29 Freedom of Assembly: The
Page 31 and 32: BELARUS 31 prodemocracy activists f
Page 33 and 34: BELARUS 33 During the year the Mini
Page 35 and 36: BELARUS 35 In practice the governme
Page 37 and 38: BELARUS 37 at local polling places
Page 39 and 40: BELARUS 39 pressuring a suspect to
Page 41: BELARUS 41 disrupted a news confere
Page 45 and 46: BELARUS 45 five years in jail. Acco
Page 47 and 48: BELARUS 47 Wheelchair Users estimat
Page 49 and 50: BELARUS 49 17. However, authorities
Page 51 and 52: BELARUS 51 Tight government control
Page 53 and 54: BELARUS 53 year, which gave the gov
Page 55: BELARUS 55 provide workers the righ

belarus executive summary - US Department of State

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