In addition, non-citizens of Belarus, citizens who do not permanently reside in the country and minors are excluded from the organization of certain assemblies; All public actions or mass gatherings require the prior approval of state authorities; There are far-reaching legal restrictions on where meetings can be held; And local authorities often use their power to force rallies on the outskirts of cities or in locations far from the target group. And excessive force is used against all peaceful protests that the government does not organize itself. The law also prohibits fundraising and supporting individuals for the purpose of paying fines for violating the rules for organizing mass protests. Journalists attending a mass event are also subject to the same public order requirements as organisers and participants. At the same time, the law prohibits live media and online coverage (live streaming) of mass events. On 5 October 2021, the Supreme Court and the Minsk City Court liquidated two other human rights organisations still registered in Belarus: Legal Initiative (LI) and „Zvyano“ („Channel“ in English). For the legislative initiative, the decision is final, as it was decided by the Supreme Court, while „Zvyano“ has the legal right to appeal the decision, since the Minsk City Court was competent for his case. Prior to their liquidation, both organizations and their members were victims of legal harassment. For more information, please consult iapbelarus.org or contact: Today, there are many laws and regulations concerning NPOs in Belarus. At the same time, there are only a few primary laws and regulations that deal specifically with the activity of NPOs as a special legal form. This legislation deals mainly with issues relating to the establishment and registration of non-profit organizations and not with issues such as the regulation of benefits for non-profit organizations. The basic legislation on issues related to the establishment of civil society organizations (CSOs) and their activities in Belarus includes (main legislation is in italics): Failure to comply with these requirements amounts to flagrant violations of professional obligations, and a journalist who violates labour law can be dismissed under labour law.
In addition, a journalist`s accreditation may be revoked if he or the media outlet has violated the accreditation procedure or disseminated information that „does not correspond to reality and discredits the commercial reputation of the organization that accredited the journalist or committed an intentional illegal act in the course of professional activities“. In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, legal acts of State authorities may be published and disseminated. At the same time, acts affecting the rights, freedoms and obligations of natural and legal persons enter into force only after their official publication. The Law of the Republic of Belarus On Amendments to the Law on National Security Issues to the Republic of Belarus #106-Z of 17. May 2021 (amendments to national security laws) amended a number of laws governing the legal status of various government agencies, including law enforcement (police), state border guards, internal armed forces, state guard, state security service (KGB), and others. All these state organs are authorized to use weapons and other forms of force, depending on the „established circumstances“ (undefined), the nature of the crime or offense and the personality of a person violating the law. The law provides that such an official who uses weapons or other force is not liable for damage caused by the use of such force if he has done so in accordance with the law. However, the requirements of the law are not strict and allow employees of authorized agencies to use weapons primarily at their discretion. In addition, financing, supporting, training or any other form of preparation for extremist activities is punishable by up to eight years` imprisonment. Furthermore, the vaguely defined „discrediting“ of the Republic of Belarus, including, for example, the dissemination of false information about the social or economic situation of Belarus or about the legal status of Belarusian citizens in the media or otherwise, if it „is intended to significantly harm the State and public interests“, which is not defined, punishable by imprisonment of up to four years, with or without a fine. In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the right of initiative belongs to: The development of Belarusian legislation in the field of freedom of association has been considerably influenced by continental European law.
The Civil Code lists a number of organizational and legal forms for non-profit organizations, listed below. They can be divided into two categories: „associative associations“ and „real estate associations“. The list of organizational and legal forms of non-profit organizations in the Civil Code is not exhaustive. For example, the Law on Local Self-Government in the Republic of Belarus of 4 January 2010, #108-Z (amended on 22 December 2011) provides that a collegiate body for territorial public self-government is also an NPO. According to the Arbitral Tribunals Act, a permanent arbitral tribunal may be a non-profit organization or a separate subdivision (subdivision) of a legal person. The legislation of the Republic of Belarus lists the purposes for which non-profit organizations may receive subsidies from Belarusian legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. Failure to comply with the method of production and use of this aid engages its administrative responsibility. Belarus` sanctions programme represents the implementation of several judicial authorities. Some of these powers take the form of presidential decrees. Other authorities are public laws (statutes) adopted by Congress.
These powers are also codified by OFAC in its regulations, which are published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Changes to these terms will be posted on the Federal Register. A law can be passed in the form of a code, which is a legal act of system building that establishes the principles and standards of legal regulation of the main public relations work and provides the most comprehensive legal regulation of a particular area of public relations. Every year, Belarusian legislation is updated with more than 10,500 legal acts. On 1 January 2021, a total of 243,761 legal acts were entered in the register. Regulatory activity is a publicly administered activity that includes planning, implementing regulatory initiatives, preparing, expert analysis, adoption (publication), official publication, amendment, official interpretation, suspension, resumption, renewal and termination of regulatory instruments. The Observatory recalls that in 2021 alone, the authorities closed more than 275 human rights and other independent organizations for political reasons, leaving no legally operational human rights NGOs in the country. At the time of publication, of the 1,000 political prisoners in Belarus, at least 33 are human rights defenders and hundreds more have left the country. While involvement in the activities of unregistered organisations becomes a crime, all remaining human rights defenders face additional prosecution for having only one job in an unregistered establishment. The Observatory considers that the liquidation of the above-mentioned organisations is politically motivated and part of the ongoing crackdown that began in Belarus in the midst of last year`s disputed presidential elections. More than 30 human rights defenders – human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists, including 7 members of the Viasna Human Rights Centre, affiliated to FIDH and OMCT – are currently behind bars.