On November 1, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee celebrated its 27th anniversary.
The organization was registered on November 1, 1995. Its founders were well-known public, political and cultural figures: Vasil Bykaŭ (who was also the first Chairman of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee Supervisory Sejm), Ryhor Baradulin, Radzim Harecki, Svetlana Alexievich, Hienadz Buraŭkin, Yury Gadyko, Carlos Sherman and others.
The Belarusian Helsinki Committee aims “to reanimate human rights meaning and to ensure that human rights are included in all spheres of life”. The Belarusian Helsinki Committee annually compiles the National Human Rights Index. The Index is created by a group of civil society experts under the general coordination of the Committee by means of a general evaluation of the human rights situation under the three categories (socio-economic rights, civil and political rights, and general measures as to the exercise of human rights), considers specific rights, their components, and indicators of the ideal situation.
In September 2021, the Committee had its registration withdrawn by the Belarusian authorities, however, the organization continued its activities. Since July 2022, the organization has had consultative status with the UN ECOSOC.
The head of the organization, Oleg Gulak, is a laureate of the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law.
