About us

Disclaimer

On June 7, 2024, the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Homel declared this website and the BHC Facebook page as extremist materials. We consider this nothing less than an arbitrary restriction of our right to engage in human rights activities, specifically the right to disseminate information and knowledge about human rights and the mechanisms for their protection. This decision also infringes on our users' right to access the relevant information and knowledge.

About BHC in Brief

Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC) is a voluntary, independent, non-political, public human rights organization. The BHC has been operating since November 1, 1995 (registered by the Ministry of Justice).

The founders of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee were prominent public and cultural figures of the country: Vasil Bykau (also the first chair of BHC’s Supervisory Board), Ryhor Baradulin, Radim Haretski, Svetlana Alexievich, Henadz Buraukin, Yury Khadyka, and Karłos Sherman.

On October 1, 2021, the Supreme Court of Belarus revoked BHC’s registration; however, we continue our work. In July 2022, despite the authorities’ decision to liquidate the organization, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee was granted consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). We became the first Belarusian NGO with such status.

For 6 years now, we have been publishing the National Human Rights Index. We provide an overall assessment of the human rights situation and, across three categories—socio-economic rights, civil and political rights, and general human rights measures—assess specific rights, their components, and indicators of an ideal situation. The dataset includes ≈290 indicators each year.

In 2023–2025 we:

• Prepared more than 30 reports and submissions to international mechanisms (independently or in coalitions with partners). We covered all major UN mechanisms with alternative reports: UPR, SDGs, CEDAW, CERD.
• Involved 7 new Belarusian initiatives in working with international mechanisms.
• Advised 42 Belarusian initiatives on the human rights-based approach and on working with international human rights mechanisms.
• Provided over 500 individual consultations for citizens.
• Our analysis appears in such publications as Cambridge University Press and is cited by the UN OHCHR. In 2024, the Human Rights Index was highlighted in the Annual Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as an important tool for assessing the compliance of national laws, policies, and practices with international human rights standards.

Mission

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee is dedicated to reviving the idea of human rights and ensuring their integration into all aspects of life.

Target Audiences

NGOs: We assist civil organizations and initiatives in integrating human rights into their work through #collaborative reports to international mechanisms, #joint assistance to target audiences, a #human rights-based approach, and a comprehensive #database. Additional information for this target audience is available here.

Business: We help businesses grasp the concept of business and human rights and provide basic tools for adopting appropriate process and product approaches. We also assist investors in understanding the country's context in terms of business and human rights. #due diligence, #guidelines, #training for companies, and #country situation analytics. More information for businesses is available here.

Professional Legal Community (lawyers, attorneys, law students): We protect the professional community using international mechanisms, create educational materials, and offer internship programs for students. Some resources available include the video blog series "Reanimating Meanings", a manual on "Eliminating Gaps in Normative Legal Acts, Resolving Conflicts and Legal Ambiguities", and recommendations from Belarusian NGOs on amendments to the draft law "On Amendments and Additions to Some Laws of the Republic of Belarus on Improving the Activities of the Bar”.

Individuals: We develop guides on the most sensitive or complicated issues. Our lawyers provide free consultations to citizens on human rights violations and prepare expert amicus curiae opinions for various proceedings.

Key Themes

We focus on analyzing trends and policies concerning human rights in Belarus and the region. Our areas of interest include discrimination, business and human rights, the human rights-based approach, international human rights mechanisms, and socio-economic rights.

Key products

The National Human Rights Index. This product is developed by a group of civil society experts coordinated by the Belarusian Helsinki Committee. We provide a comprehensive assessment of the human rights situation in Belarus across three categories: socio-economic rights, civil and political rights, and general human rights measures. We consider specific rights, their components, and benchmarks for ideal scenarios. The Index serves three purposes:

1. allowing professionals to quickly access the overall human rights situation in Belarus without the need to gather information from disparate sources.

2. tracking changes over time in human rights aspects.

3. indicating the necessary directions for human rights reforms in the country.

In 2024 our National Human Rights Index was cited in the Annual Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as an example of good practice in assessing legislation and human rights practices.

Human Rights in Belarus: Key Trends in Public Policy. This review outlines the substantive shifts in Belarusian public policy in the field of human rights and international response in three areas:

• general measures: addresses systemic aspects — legislation, strategies, and policies, that set the backdrop for the implementation of human rights in Belarus; 

• law enforcement: covers specific violations of civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights;

• analysis of the key decisions and responses from international bodies concerning Belarus’s human rights issues. Our analysis aims to enhance understanding of human rights trends and general situation in Belarus, facilitate monitoring of systemic changes, and expand the human rights focus in related expert areas (economic, political, social, etc.). This review is also valuable for substantiating positions, opinions, policies, and strategies.

The Human Rights Standards Database for Lawyers and Project Managers. This resource is designed to save time and provide quick access to international human rights standards for key queries. It may assist in enhancing initial expertise on various human rights aspects and supporting legal documents (complaints, statements) with pertinent international standards. Such information is not typically available in popular professional databases. Our database equips project managers and government agency representatives with the necessary tools to effectively navigate the human rights landscape specific to Belarus.

Business and Human Rights Guidelines. This guide aids businesses in understanding the concept of “business and human rights” and offers fundamental tools for applying appropriate approaches to business processes.

All our analytical materials are available in the "documents" section.