UN to address discrimination of women in Belarusian detention centers

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has appointed three Special Rapporteurs to monitor the situation in Belarusian pre-trial prisons, as part of the case of Brest resident Mrs. Inha Abramava.

According to human rights defender Raman Kisliak who represents Mrs. Abramava in the case, Belarusian courts failed to consider properly the fact of discrimination used against the woman by the employees of a pre-trial prison in Brest Leninski district.

Mrs. Inha Abramava argued that the actions by the prison’s employees were offensive and constituted sexual harassment.

On 22 December 2008, Inha Abramava submitted an individual complaint to the UN Committee, reporting on the alleged facts of gender discrimination.

In July 2011, the Committee admitted the use of discriminative actions against Mrs. Abramava and urged the Belarusian authorities to compensate for the abuse. The Committee also made a number of general remarks on the discrimination of women in Belarus.