Belarus declares war on Ukrainian civil society

On 21 April, another Ukrainian human rights defender Mikhail Kamenev was not able to enter Belarus after he was declared an “unwelcome” person by the country’s authorities.

Mikhail Kamenev, deputy chair of the All-Ukrainian youth organization “Foundation of Regional Initiatives” and member of the Public Council of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, was not allowed crossing the Belarusian border, as he was going to Minsk as information aid to head of the International Observation Mission of the Committee of International Control over the Human Rights Situation in Belarus.

Mikhail Kamenev is the third Ukrainian human rights defender to be banned entering Belarus, after two representatives of the Mission were not allowed visiting the country this year. Another activist of the Mission Russian human rights defender Andrei Yurov was deported from Belarus in March. All of their actions were open and compliant with the UN and OSCE standards and obligations undertaken by Belarus.

“We believe that such actions can be considered as a direct obstacle to the activities of the International Observation Mission, as, for the sake of impartiality, only foreign human rights defenders may be its members, while they seem to be unwelcome in Belarus”, says Mrs. Marina Tsapok, coordinator of the Committee’s Kiev-based information center. “It is rather obvious that the recent entry bans are linked to human rights activities. In this context, the authorities’ statements on full implementation of their obligations to secure human rights look to use the mildest term false”, says Mrs. Tsapok.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has already filed a note of protest, demanding to provide comprehensive information on the reasons for the entry ban against Mikhail Kamenev. A MFA spokesman also expressed his hope there were no “black lists” for Ukrainian nationals, as it runs counter to the good neighbourly relations between the two countries.