Belarus rights abuses under fire at United Nations

GENEVA: Belarus faced harsh criticism at the UN on Monday, with diplomats slamming arbitrary detentions and torture allegations in the response to months of protests against President Alexander Lukashenko.

During a review of Belarus’s rights record at the United Nations in Geneva, many diplomats urged Belarus authorities to halt the crackdown on demonstrators, who since August have been protesting Lukashenko’s disputed re-election.

A long line of country representatives, speaking in the room or remotely due to coronavirus restrictions, demanded that detained protesters be released, and urged investigations into all allegations of torture and ill-treatment.

"We call on the authorities to abstain from all repression against peaceful demonstrators, to immediately release anyone arrested arbitrarily, and to investigate all rights abuses in the post-election context," Swiss ambassador Jurg Lauber said.