UN Special Rapporteur Miklós Haraszti arrives in Minsk

UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus Miklós Haraszti has been invited to Minsk by the OSCE. Miklós Haraszti will take part in the 26th session of the annual OSCE Parliamentary Assembly that will be opened in the Belarusian capital on July 5, the human rights website spring96.org reports.

Haraszti has been UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus since 2012. The Belarusian authorities won’t recognize his mandate and are refusing to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur. Naturally, Miklós Haraszti could not visit Belarus without the Belarusian authorities’ permission. The international expert expressed his regret about the situation on his arrival in Minsk. He will be able to express his position as regards the human rights in Belarus at ‘a parallel event’ during the OSCE PA session. The arrival in Belarus may become the first step on the way to the recognition of his Special Rapporteur’s mandate by official Minsk, Haraszti is hoping.