On 12 February 2010, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus refused to register the Belarusian Assembly of Pro-Democratic Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), the largest association of NGOs in Belarus.

Further Information

The Ministry of Justice did not formally notify the Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs of its decision and Siarhej Mackevich, the Chairperson of the Working Group of the Assembly of NGOs, had to go to the ministry in order to receive a copy of the letter of refusal. This is the third time that this association has attempted to legally register. Front Line previously issued an appeal concerning the refusal to register the Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs on 23 June 2009.

The Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs has attempted to register on three separate occasions and each time has been refused on the same grounds. The first reason given was that “the condition that the charters, aims and tasks and the nature of the activities of the member organisations must be similar is not respected”.

The second reason given was that the Ministry of Justice found that the activities of the member organisations are not in accordance with the specified aim of the Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs. Finally, the Ministry stated that the name of the association “contains no indication of the nature of the activities of its members”.

Yury Chavusau, the lawyer for the Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs, observed that the reason given that the member organisations are not permitted to create a common union because they have different aims and tasks is “not based on any legal requirement and contradicts the Belarusian practice of the establishment of unions and associations”.

Furthermore, Siarhej Mackevich said that the Ministry of Justice openly underlined its position that democratic organisations have no right to establish associations. The Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs is planning to appeal against the Ministry of Justice's decision in court.

The Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs unsuccessfully applied for registration in 2009 and in 2002. The refusal to register this association is of particular concern considering the fact that the Belarusian Criminal Code contains provisions of penal responsibility for members of non-registered organisations. According to Article 193.1 of the Criminal Code, the “illegal organisation or activities of public associations, religious groups or foundations or participation in their activities” is punishable by six month to two years in prison.

Article 193.1 criminalises any independent human rights initiative in Belarus and gives state officials the power to stop activities of human rights organisations at any time and to put human rights defenders in jail.

Front Line believes that the refusal to register the Belarusian Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs constitutes a blatant violation of the right to freedom of association, guaranteed by the Belarusian Constitution and international human rights instruments, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.