Belarusian human rights groups appealed to the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus.
They ask to urgently intervene with the situation of human rights defender Yelena Tonkacheva, Viasna human rights centre reports.
The request notes that it is not the first case of pressing on the woman over her human rights activities. Her colleagues find unacceptable “such actions by the state when restrictions of individual rights and freedoms impede human rights activities of citizens and organisations. Such actions by the state violate Art. 6 and Art. 12 of the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and Art. 12, 17, 19, 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
The urgent use of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council is provided for cases requiring an immediate reaction of Special Rapporteurs to serious pressure on human rights activists in a particular country. This procedure is rarely used.
