OSCE envoy: Consensus approach to rights in Belarus hasn't worked

Jun 17, 2011, 15:04 GMT

Vienna - A consensus approach to protecting human rights in Belarus has been exhausted, an independent investigator said Friday, effectively giving the United Nations and European Union the lead role in ending Minsk's crackdown on the political opposition.

In his report, Emmanuel Decaux, a special rapporteur for the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), called for an independent investigation into the use of force against demonstrators after Belarus' disputed December 19 presidential election.

Decaux, a French law professor, described the actions of Belarusian law enforcement officers as 'indiscriminate and disproportionate.' He laid out other allegations of abuse by the regime, including denial of fair trial and torture.

Decaux's fact-finding mission to Belarus was sought by 14 OSCE member states. But he was forced to conduct his research outside Belarus because Minsk would not issue him a visa.

He said the push to have the country adhere to its human rights commitments had been blocked by Belarus and Russia.

He said Belarus needs to decide what kind of country it wants to be. 'They can be a sort of frozen Albania in the heart of Europe. But they cannot say at the same time they are a good member of the international community.'

The 56-member OSCE makes decisions on the basis of consensus.

'It is impossible to say that a dictatorship is a dictatorship, but it is also impossible to say that everything is fine in the OSCE community, that there is democracy and we share the same values, and everybody is nice,' Decaux told journalists.

Although the consensus approach by the OSCE has failed, Decaux said, pressure on Belarus by the EU and the UN is growing.

The EU, which has already imposed a travel ban and asset freezes on top Belarusian officials, has talked about levying economic sanctions on the country as well.

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