Dear All,
President Lukashenko of Belarus has unleashed yet another crackdown on the independent sector in his country, demanding the re-registration of NGOs, trade unions, and parties -- hundreds of citizens' groups active in a wide variety of issues. A number of groups have already been warned that they are not in compliance with the harsh new regulations. Many fear that they will face a loyalty test and be forced to pledge allegiance to Lukashenko's 1996 constitution before they will be registered.
At an OSCE meeting in Warsaw, a group of Belarusian activists signed the appeal below, and called on NGOs around the world to endorse their petition.
This is what could be done:
Endorse their appeal, and return your signature to the League by reply e-mail. We will collect names and forward them to the OSCE offices in support of this petition. (If you are reading this on a list-serve, don't hit reply! Write cfitz@ilhr.org)
If you can take more time, write a letter protesting the anti-NGO decree and urging that all citizens' organizations (parties, trade unions, and NGOs) be registered in compliance with international standards. Ask us for sample letters and the fax numbers of officials in Belarus
Adopt a Belarusian organization and keep in contact with your colleagues as much as possible as they struggle for legitimacy. We can work with local leaders to match your organization with a relevant group (e.g. environmental, human rights, women's rights, lawyers, workers, etc.)
Pass this e-mail on to everyone you know around the world -- the more groups we can sign on from both inside and outside OSCE countries, the more compelling the appeal will be to the Belarusian government and to OSCE. Please respond quickly, the deadline for re-registration in July 1. We need to make a significant display of support. Sincerely, Cathy Fitzpatrick Executive Director International League for Human Rights
ENDORSE TODAY! APPEAL OF REPRESENTATIVES OF BELARUSIAN NGOS TO THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE OSCE HUMAN DIMENSION SEMINAR ON HUMAN RIGHTS: THE ROLE OF FIELD MISSIONS
April 29, 1999 Warsaw, Poland President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus has passed a decree (dated January 26, 1999) requiring the registration of NGOs, trade unions, and political parties before July 1, 1999. The established procedures and regulations for re-registration are actually aimed at liquidating any organizations independent of the regime.
However, particularly NGOs, trade unions, and political parties form the basis of civil society, and in fact they guarantee the development of the "human dimension," which is, after all, one of the chief purposes of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
We, representatives of Belarusian NGOs, welcome the efforts of the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group in Minsk and Amb. Hans-Georg Wieck personally in defending the third or non-state sector in Belarus.
We appeal to this esteemed seminar with the request to support these efforts and to exercise oversight of the situation regarding the third sector in Belarus. We call on the secretariat of the OSCE, the current Chair-in-Office of the OSCE and the OSCE participating states to take all possible measures in order to prevent the banning in Belarus of the activity of human rights organizations, trade unions, and other NGOs and political parties.
Signed:
Belarusian Helsinki Committee
Free Trade Union of Belarus
All-Belarusian Club of Voters
Association of Women Lawyers
Belarusian Organization of Working Women
Belarusian Open Society Foundation
Spring 1996 Human Rights Center
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