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Belarus

Republic of Belarus

Civil lawUnitary presidential republicReviewed· 2026-08-02
Capital
Minsk
Population
9,100,000
Languages
Belarusian, Russian
Currency
BYN
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Belarus · Rights

Rights in Belarus

What the atlas records on rights in Belarus, checked against the primary sources cited below.

Rights

A 1994 constitution reshaped by the 2022 referendum

Reviewed· 2026-08-02

The Constitution of 1994 was amended by referendum in 1996, 2004 and again in February 2022, which created the All-Belarusian People's Assembly as a standing constitutional organ and removed the previous neutrality and nuclear-free commitments.

Key rules

  • The All-Belarusian People's Assembly holds constitutional powers, including over the Constitutional Court.
  • The presidency is limited to two five-year terms under the 2022 text, counted from 2025.
  • The Constitutional Court reviews norms on referral, and from 2023 also hears individual complaints.
  • Presidential decrees have force of law and in practice override ordinary statutes.

Governing law

  • Constitution of the Republic of Belarus (1994)As amended in 1996, 2004 and 2022.
  • Law on the Constitutional Court (2014)Amended in 2023 for individual complaints.
  • Law on the All-Belarusian People's Assembly (2022)

In practice

The individual complaint added in 2023 requires exhaustion of all remedies and consent of the referring body in practice, so it has not functioned as an accessible remedy.

Sources

Rights

Outside the ECHR, with no national human rights institution

Reviewed· 2026-08-02

Belarus is not a member of the Council of Europe and is not party to the ECHR, so no regional court is available. It denounced the ICCPR Optional Protocol with effect from 2023, ending individual communications to the UN Human Rights Committee.

Key rules

  • There is no ombudsman or accredited national human rights institution.
  • Individual communications to the UN Human Rights Committee ceased with the 2022 denunciation.
  • Belarus is the only European state that retains and carries out the death penalty.
  • The UN mandates a Special Rapporteur and an examination mechanism on the situation in Belarus.

Governing law

  • Constitution, Section II (1994)Rights, freedoms and duties of citizens.
  • Law on mass events (1997)Basis for most assembly prosecutions.
  • Law on countering extremism (2007)Amended in 2021 to widen designation.

In practice

With no regional court and no UN complaint route, documentation is channelled to the UN examination mechanism and to universal-jurisdiction cases opened in Lithuania, Poland and Germany.

Sources

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