OSCE Office concerned over closure of NGOs in Belarus

MINSK, 11 September 2003 - Closure of non-governmental organizations for alleged violations of the law is a continuing concern for international observers, said the Head of the OSCE Office in Minsk, Ambassador Eberhard Heyken, today.

Mr Heyken was making a special reference to the closure on 8 September of another NGO, Legal Assistance to the Population, which was "liquidated" by the Minsk City Court.

During recent months, the OSCE Office has monitored several trials concerning the liquidation of NGOs. Many of the closed organizations have been regional resource centres providing support to other NGOs. In some cases the alleged violations have been of a formal and less severe nature. The Head of Office is concerned over the fact that independent NGOs continue to come under severe scrutiny by the authorities and forced to cease activities by court order.

"To liquidate an established and well-functioning NGO under such circumstances seems too harsh a measure and disproportionate in relation to their deeds," said Ambassador Heyken.

Other NGOs have recently received formal warnings for violations that cannot be viewed as anything other than negligible. For instance, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC) on 19 August received a warning from the Ministry of Justice for the incorrect use of BHC's name in letterheads and seals. According to BHC, the main reason for the reprimand was the absence of quotation marks in their organization's name in letterheads and seals.

"These events," Heyken added, "unfortunately, do not seem to be isolated, but rather part of a broader campaign on behalf of the authorities."

According to Belarusian law, an NGO that receives two warnings regarding the same kind of violation within one year can be liquidated.

On 28 August, Ambassador Heyken sent a letter to the Minister of Justice, Victor Golovanov, in order to address the continuing negative trend.

"In the letter I pointed to the imbalance between cause and effect, Belarus' international commitments regarding freedom of association, and expressed concern over the possible liquidation of our partner organizations, such as the NGO Legal Assistance to the Population", Heyken said.

What the Office and other international observers have witnessed continues to raise concern, he added. To use existing laws and regulations against NGOs as indicated above can hardly have been intended by the legislator and, at any rate, makes it difficult for the Office to work in accordance with one of its core tasks, which is to further develop and strengthen relations between the host Government and civil society of Belarus.