Homel activists appeal ban on NGO registration

On August 26, founders of the republican human rights association “Pakt” (“Covenan”),a movement for the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, submitted to the Supreme Court their appeal against the refusal of the Ministry of Justice to register the public association.

Accordingto the NGO’s executive director Leanid Sudalenka, the organization was created to protect the interests of citizens, in whose cases the UN Human Rights Committee rules to find violationsof their civil and political rights by the state.

Refusing to grant state registration to the association,the Ministry of Justice referred to such inaccuracies in the documents as an error in the apartment number of one of the founders and the date of birth of another activist. The founders say these errors are technical and cannot affect any circumstances when making a decision on the state registration of the association.

As of today, the UNHuman Rights Committee has issued 62 decisions on Belarus, which established certain violations of rights of Belarusian citizens. However, none of them has been implemented on a voluntary basis on the part of the state. A total of165 complaints by Belarusians against violations of their rights by the state have been registeredby the Committee.

Source: gomelspring.org