A/HRC/48/28 Annex I Comprehensive information on alleged cases of reprisals and intimidation for cooperation with the United Nations on human rights 1. Belarus 1. In preparation of the February 2021 report of the High Commissioner (A/HRC/46/4) mandated by Human Rights Council resolution 45/1, several human rights defenders and civil society organizations who regularly share information and testimony with the UN were reportedly targeted, including through raids, arbitrary arrests, and criminal charges. The harassment reportedly intensified in the context of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ (OHCHR) monitoring and reporting at the request of the Human Rights Council to “collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse information and evidence with a view to contributing to accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims and, where possible, to identify those responsible” (A/HRC/RES/46/20, para. 13(a)). Names and details of individuals affected are withheld for fear of further reprisals. 2. One organization targeted is Human Rights Centre Viasna, which promotes human rights and provides legal aid in Belarus. Viasna has a long-standing history of cooperation with the UN, which increased during the reporting period. According to information received by OHCHR, the targeting of its staff intensified after August 2020 in the context of widespread protests following the Presidential elections and following its increased and visible cooperation with UN human rights bodies and mechanisms. Viasna participated in a joint written submission to the November 2020 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Belarus1 and delivered a statement during the UPR adoption on 16 March 2021. 2 Viasna also participated in a UN Security Council Arria formula meeting on 4 September 2020 (S/2020/900), and made a joint public submission to the UN Committee against Torture in January 2021 for the list of issues prior to reporting for Belarus. 3 In February 2021, the organization and its staff were reportedly subject to office and home searches, confiscation of technology equipment, arrests, interrogations, and criminal proceedings. On 19 March 2021, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders expressed concerns about the arrest and additional charges against one of Viasna’s volunteer coordinators.4 3. On 12 March 2021, special procedures mandate holders addressed allegations of criminalization, arbitrary detention, and ill-treatment of Mr. Sergey Drozdovskiy, a human rights defender and director of the NGO Office for the Rights of People with Disabilities, as well as a wheelchair user and founder of the Association of Wheelchair Users in Belarus in 1997, in connection with the NGO cooperation with the UN (BLR 4/2021). 4. According to information received, on 21 January 2021, the Department of Financial Investigations (DFI) at the Committee of State Control announced on its official website that it had opened an investigation into the activities of certain members of the Office for the Rights of People with Disabilities. The DFI searched the NGO’s premises and confiscated equipment and documents. It also searched the homes of its members and confiscated personal property. Mr. Drozdovskiy, along with a lawyer for the organization, were reportedly questioned by the DFI. The Committee of State Control reportedly explained that the questioning was part of an investigation for possible misappropriation of charitable donations and international funding (BLR 4/2021). On 2 February 2021, Mr. Drozdovskiy and a lawyer of the organization were reportedly questioned again, during which time they 1 2 3 4 https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=7741&file=EnglishTranslation. UPR Belarus, 37th Meeting, 46th Regular Session Human Rights Council, at https://media.un.org/en/asset/k10/k103nw8z21 (time stamp 26:40). https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=2413&L ang=en. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26922&LangID=E. 21