Baranavichy: Siarhei Housha applies to UN Human Rights Committee
Siarhei Housha
On 5 March Mr. Housha applied to the
United Nations Human Rights Committee to inform it about the
following situation.
The applicant is a member of the Human
Rights Center "Viasna", groundlessly dissolved on a verdict
of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus on 28 October 2003.
Mr. Housha was among then ten members of "Viasna" who had
appealed at the Committee the violation of their rights to
association. Having considered their appeal, the Committee concluded
that the Republic of Belarus violated the right to association of
Siarhei Housha and other applicants, and recommended the Republic of
Belarus to re-register the Human Rights Center "Viasna" and
pay a financial compensation to them.
Being guided by the
Committee's decision, Siarhei Housha and other applicants applied to
the Ministry of Justice once in 2007 and twice in 2009 with petitions
to renew the registration of the HRC "Viasna", but to on
avail.
Due to such circumstances, on 26 September 2009 Mr.
Housha applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the basis of
Article 25 of the Law "On International Treaties of the Republic
of Belarus", asking to facilitate the restoration of his
infringed right. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the institution
which is responsible for supervision over the implementation of
international treaties by Belarus. However, in its letter of 20
October 2009 the MFA answered that the implementation of Opinions of
the UN Human Rights Committee was within the competence of the court
system.
Taking into account this recommendation of the
Ministry, human rights defender Siarhei Housha applied first to
Maskouski District Court of Minsk and then – to Minsk City Court
and the Supreme Court, claiming a compensation from the Ministry of
Finances. However, all courts refused to consider his lawsuits as it
was "beyond their powers".
In his latest appeal to
the Committee Mr. Housha explains that he has been deprived of the
right to fair trial which is a violation of the Belarusian
legislation and the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights.
Thus, civil activist Siarhei Housha depleted all
remedies at the national level in his attempts to protect the right
to association, guaranteed by Article 36 of the Constitution.
That's
why he asks the UN Human Rights Committee to recognize him as a
victim of violation of the right to fair trial guaranteed by Article
14 (1) of ICCPR, and to recommend Belarus to take the measures which
would be sufficient for the implementation of the rights, indicated
in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rigths.
