United Nations Human Rights Council
60th Regular Session
Item 4
International Commission of Jurists in the interactive dialogue on the oral update of the Group of Independent Experts on Belarus
19 September 2025
Mr President,
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) reiterates its condemnation of the ongoing repression of civil society and the erosion of the independence of the legal profession in Belarus, in particular the continued reprisals against lawyers and human rights defenders.
The ICJ supports the findings of the Group of Independent Experts, including its assessment of Belarus persistent failure to ensure the right to fair trials and access to justice.
Lawyers have faced harassment, arbitrary detention, spurious prosecutions, criminal sanctions, and unjustified revocation of their licence in retaliation for their legitimate professional work and public statements. The Bar Association is not independent, and its disciplinary bodies are misused as tools to suppress lawyer’s independent work. Some have been disbarred, criminally prosecuted or forced into exile, leaving many detainees without access to legal defence.
Last month, the independent Belarusian Association of Human Rights Lawyers was declared by the authorities an “extremist formation”, exposing its members to possible prison sentences of up to 10 years.
The ICJ deplores Belarus’s continued practice of torture and ill-treatment, a large number of political prisoners, and the use and expansion of the death penalty.
The ICJ calls on all States to cooperate with the Group of Independent Experts and other relevant UN mechanisms. It urges the Belarusian authorities to immediately release all individuals arbitrarily detained for political reasons, including lawyers, and end their further persecution.
Thank you.
Statement delivered by: Paula Casas – International Commission of Jurists
Contact: Sandra.epal@icj.org
