FIELD OPERATIONS
textbook for secondary school students. Fundraising by the Office helped cover a substantial part of the production costs. The Office continues to co-operate with the Ministry and civil society institutions in providing methodological support to school teachers working on human rights programmes. Strengthening the rule of law. The Office continued its support for a joint project by the EU and the ODIHR that aims at making alternative punitive measures work more effectively, thus ultimately decreasing the high prison population in Belarus. Several training seminars for probation officers and roundtable meetings for judges and prosecutors were organized by the Office and the Interior Ministry‘s Department for Punishment Execution. The initiative also included two study tours for judges and probation officers to Poland and Latvia, where they were able to gain an insight into the countries’ community service. Following these visits, the participants prepared a set of recommendations for the Interior Ministry and local authorities in Belarus, outlining concrete steps to make community service more effective and broaden its use. The Office also held a competition on alternative sentencing for experts to encourage a scientific discussion and introduce practical recommendations on the use of non-custodial measures. Out of ten participants, three winners were selected and received a monetary prize. Promoting tolerance and non-discrimination. In an effort to strengthen contacts between national minorities and religious communities and their relationship to the Belarusian authorities, the Office and the Committee on Religions and Nationalities under the Council of Ministers prepared two books promoting tolerance and nondiscrimination. The first publication provides information on the customs and culture of national minorities in Belarus. The other is a compilation of active religious organizations in the country, covering their work and history as well as the regulations that apply to religious activities. Both publications are due to be published in early 2005 and distributed among repre-
sentatives of national minorities and religious organizations, besides government officials working in these fields. Development of the media. The Office organized a study-tour for Belarusian journalists to the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna, where they also attended the OSCE Annual Security Review Conference. In addition, the journalists visited Austrian TV and radio stations and interviewed a number of OSCE representatives. Their reports were published in the Belarusian independent press. Fighting domestic violence. A two-day conference in July, sponsored by the Office, generated fresh attention in the media and among the Belarusian public about the problem of domestic violence against women and children. More than 70 local and international participants discussed a variety of topics linked to the prevention and fight against domestic violence, including a draft law on the issue that had recently been reviewed by a parliamentary commission. The event proved to be a good example for successful co-operation between Belarusian governmental agencies, parliamentarians and NGOs to jointly address this particular problem. The conference participants adopted a set of recommendations and pledged to continue their work with the parliamentarians towards the adoption of the draft law. Human rights monitoring. The Office supported the ODIHR election observation mission for the Belarusian parliamentary elections in October. Parallel to these elections, a referendum on the extension of the presidential term was held in Belarus. The elections and the referendum were followed by protests and subsequent arrests by the police, including of senior opposition politicians. All these events were closely monitored by the Office. The Office also followed the situation of several prominent persons, such as Professor Yuri Bandazhevsky, former Minister of Foreign Economic Relations Mikhail Marinich, and the chairman of a market vendors strike committee, Valery Levonevsky as well as his deputy Alexander Vasilyev, and expressed its concern publicly about the cases.
OSCE/Mikhail Evstafiev
EASTERN EUROPE
Dealing with individual complaints. The Office received approximately 200 individual complaints of alleged human rights violations, mainly regarding the actions of law enforcement agencies. Complaints included both civil and criminal cases, many related to alleged violations of the right to a fair trial and the treatment of prisoners. The Office’s findings and concerns were regularly brought to the attention of the Belarusian authorities. Prompt replies were generally offered. On several occasions, the relevant body took remedial action in response to the intervention by the Office.
Head of Office: Ambassador Eberhard Heyken Revised Budget: €942,100 www.osce.org/belarus