UNITED NATIONS THIRD COMMITTEE: INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN BELARUS
Statement by Ms. Clare Skinner, First Secretary, Australian Mission to the United Nations
27 October 2025
Thank you Chair.
Australia is deeply concerned by reports of deaths in custody of political prisoners arbitrarily detained in Belarus for exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of opinion, belief, expression and association. We support calls for a full investigation into these deaths and for the immediate release of political prisoners.
Australia supports longstanding aspirations for a free, democratic and independent Belarus.
No election can be considered free, fair or in line with international standards when it is held in a climate of ongoing repression, marked by arbitrary detentions, restrictions on genuine political participation, and a clampdown on civil society.
We commend Belarusian civil society organisations and human rights defenders, including those in exile, who continue to undertake vital work in increasingly challenging conditions. We reiterate calls on the Belarusian authorities to comply with their international human rights obligations.
Australia also reiterates its condemnation of the Belarusian Government’s complicity in the Russian Federation’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, including its involvement in the forcible transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children. We call on Belarus to immediately cease its support for Russia’s war.
Special Rapporteur, how can the international community ensure the Belarusian Government is held accountable for the ill treatment and deaths of political prisoners arbitrarily detained in Belarus?
Thank you.