Joint Report of the Coalition of Belarusian NGOs and Initiatives on the Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by the Republic of Belarus

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) – 90th session. 2025

This joint report prepared by the coalition of Belarusian NGOs and initiatives: Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, Human Constanta, Human Rights Centre “Viasna”, Human Rights Organization “Respect – Protect – Fulfil”, Law trend, Legal Initiative, Medical Solidarity Foundation BYMEDSOL, Office for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Rabochy Rukh – under the general coordination of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee. This report describes general context in Belarus since the 2020 post-election political crisis. As of 6 January 2025, 1,260 political prisoners are in custody, and the total number of political prisoners, including those released, reaches 3,747. Among them at least 168 are women political prisoners, while 514 women are former political prisoners. At least 401 women received a sentence of restricted freedom without being sent to an open-type institution as a result of politically motivated trials. Since the beginning of the political crisis in 2020, women have been persecuted for political reasons in at least 19,800 cases, including 2,989 criminal prosecutions. Conditions of detention of political prisoners constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or, in some cases, torture. According to various estimates, 300,000-500,000 Belarusians were forced to leave the country due to fear of political persecution. OHCHR, having assessed the evidence of human rights violations collected over 3 years, concluded that it has reasonable grounds to believe that the Belarusian authorities committed a crime against humanity in the form of persecution along with other related acts.

In this context, the report provides analysis of the following aspects related to gender equality: national machinery for the advancement of women, access to justice, freedom of association, women civic activists, freedom of expression and assembly, gender stereotypes, economic and social rights, disadvantaged groups of women, and formulates 18 recommendations for the government.

Belarusian Helsinki Committee. 2025

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