The Belarusian Helsinki Committee has released an overview of human rights policy trends for the period January-April 2025.
The authors note that the state is engaged in a dual process: on the one hand, a systematic and comprehensive review of legislation bringing some positive changes; on the other, the simultaneous legalisation of repressive practices. Throughout 2025-2026, further formalisation of grounds for liability can be expected, at least in the areas of administrative offences, labour relations, healthcare, and culture. This formalisation is taking place both through the introduction of entirely new norms and through the codification of existing repressive practices. In particular, legislation is creating conditions for intensifying repressive pressure across the administrative hierarchy. Presidential Directive No. 12 introduces provisions on the personal responsibility of managers for the quality of “ideological work”; Directive No. 11, On Improving the Functioning of the System of State Bodies and Governance and Strengthening Executive Discipline, designates executive discipline as a priority state task. Given their narratives, stated objectives, and systemic significance, an active period of monitoring their implementation can be expected.
Another trend is the use of the “family in a socially dangerous situation” (SDS) status as a tool for political repression. Since January 2025, the number of administrative cases in which parents may be placed under SDS has doubled (from six to twelve).
Also in January 2025, amendments entered into force that can be seen as an attempt by the authorities to correct the consequences of the so-called “passport decree”: the requirement to apply to the Belarusian civil registry office for proof of unmarried status in order to marry abroad was abolished.
The most significant trend in law-enforcement practice during the first quarter of 2025, and one directly undermining human rights, has been the restriction of tools for monitoring law-enforcement developments: public access to the online schedule of court hearings has been closed.
Previous 2023 digests of policy trends can be found at the link.
The authors note that the state is engaged in a dual process: on the one hand, a systematic and comprehensive review of legislation bringing some positive changes; on the other, the simultaneous legalisation of repressive practices. Throughout 2025-2026, further formalisation of grounds for liability can be expected, at least in the areas of administrative offences, labour relations, healthcare, and culture. This formalisation is taking place both through the introduction of entirely new norms and through the codification of existing repressive practices. In particular, legislation is creating conditions for intensifying repressive pressure across the administrative hierarchy. Presidential Directive No. 12 introduces provisions on the personal responsibility of managers for the quality of “ideological work”; Directive No. 11, On Improving the Functioning of the System of State Bodies and Governance and Strengthening Executive Discipline, designates executive discipline as a priority state task. Given their narratives, stated objectives, and systemic significance, an active period of monitoring their implementation can be expected.
Another trend is the use of the “family in a socially dangerous situation” (SDS) status as a tool for political repression. Since January 2025, the number of administrative cases in which parents may be placed under SDS has doubled (from six to twelve).
Also in January 2025, amendments entered into force that can be seen as an attempt by the authorities to correct the consequences of the so-called “passport decree”: the requirement to apply to the Belarusian civil registry office for proof of unmarried status in order to marry abroad was abolished.
The most significant trend in law-enforcement practice during the first quarter of 2025, and one directly undermining human rights, has been the restriction of tools for monitoring law-enforcement developments: public access to the online schedule of court hearings has been closed.
Previous 2023 digests of policy trends can be found at the link.
