The following testimony was delivered by by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, on behalf of UN Watch and Ingenieurs de Monde, before the 48th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, 24 September 2021.
“Last summer the presidential election in Belarus was stolen. It caused mass protests and a profound political and human rights crisis unprecedented for XXI century Europe.
More than 40.000 peaceful protesters were detained, among them more than 580 were journalists. Today almost 700 are recognized political prisoners, thousands are still in jail and at least 10 were killed.
This barbarity has now become a challenge for regional and international security. Lukashenka’s regime hijacks the airplane, uses irregular migrants as a human weapon and threatens neighbouring countries with military aggression. This terrorism has to be stopped.
To do this, I call on to support the mandate of the Examination effort established by the HRC resolution 46/20 and the important work of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, and to implement the recommendations of the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism Report.
The Belarusian question should also be put on the agenda of the UN Security Council and be considered in the Third Committee.
Justice must prevail and it will.”
