Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions

Cases
Case status
Unknown
Location of case in SG report
2023-017-001
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2023
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 53.709807

Longitude: 27.953389

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Belarus
From Region
UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
  • ILO
Dates of prior UN action
31 October 2022
Type of record
Named organization
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Type of rights defended
  • Economic/social rights
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal

opposition to violations against trade union workers’ rights and his submission of information to the ILO

Engagement with UN body
  • ILO
Type of attempted engagement
  • Submission of information to UN
Dates of mentioned reprisals
2022
Location of mentioned reprisals
Belarus
Reprisal information
  1. On 31 October 2022, at the 346th session of the ILO’s Governing Body13, the worker spokesperson noted that the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions and affiliated trade unions had been outlawed by the Supreme Court. She also noted that prosecutors had filed charges against Mr. Yarashuk, Chairperson of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions and member of the ILO Governing Body, owing to his opposition to violations against trade union workers’ rights and his submission of information to the ILO (para. 467). The Government noted that persistent attempts to interpret prosecution as persecution of trade union activity were particularly concerning and stated that the actions of certain trade unions had become extremely destructive and politicized. According to the Government, lawful trade union activities had never been grounds for persecution in Belarus (para. 464).
Types of reprisals suffered
  • Administrative reprisal
Alleged/likely perpetrators
State actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
Yes
Government response dates
20 July 2023
Government response content
  1. On 20 July 2023, the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report noting that trade unions can be formed, their representatives can carry out their legal activities and citizens can enjoy the right to join trade unions. The Government rejected as groundless the allegations that trade unions and citizens are persecuted for carrying out trade union activities or for the peaceful and legal exercise of civil rights, including cooperation with the United Nations. The Government stated that the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BCDTU) and its affiliated organizations were terminated in accordance with the decision of the Supreme Court based on part 2 of article 5 of the Law “On Trade Unions.” It also noted that, Mr. Aliaksandr Yarashuk, former chairperson of BCDTU was found guilty of participation in group actions that grossly violate public order and are associated with disobedience and causing harm to national security under part 1 of article 342 and part 3 of article 361 of the Criminal Code. The Government clarified that the appeal of 24 March 2023 confirmed the sentence of 26 December 2022 against Mr. Aliaksandr Yarashuk.
Was the case raised by a State at the UN?
No
Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
Yes