Ales Bialiatski: PACE’s requirements are an additional stimulus for Viasna’s members to continue their activities

In its recent resolution on the situation in Belarus, PACE called upon the Belarusian authorities to allow registration to the Nasha Viasna human rights organization, which is one of the essential conditions for the country to meet the Council of Europe standards.
According to Ales Bialiatski, the requirement is an additional stimulus for Viana’s members to continue their activities.
‘PACE’s concern over the situation regarding freedom of association in Belarus is a crucial point. It is another evidence of the high human rights standards in the Council of Europe. If the Belarusian authorities are thinking about restoring and improving Belarus’ status in the CE, they have to fundamentally reform the situation regarding the registration of NGOs, since the situation in this field is far from being perfect. Any other CIS country, e.g. Armenia, has 10 times more registered NGOs per capita than Belarus. I think that these figures speak for themselves,’ said Mr.Bialiatski.