Belarus crackdown is silencing women and eroding their rights, UN expert warns

The report documents politically motivated prosecutions, arbitrary detention, loss of professional licences, employment restrictions and forced exile.

Political repression in Belarus since the 2020 presidential election has worsened discrimination against women, weakened protection of their rights and limited their role in public life, a UN expert told the General Assembly. Special Rapporteur Nils Muižnieks said women human rights defenders, activists, journalists and lawyers have faced persecution that silences independent voices and cuts women off from legal help and support. He warned that political repression and gender discrimination are increasingly reinforcing one another.

The report documents politically motivated prosecutions, arbitrary detention, loss of professional licences, employment restrictions and forced exile. Restrictions on work can continue after a criminal sentence ends, leaving women without livelihoods or economic independence, and exile may become their only viable option. The dissolution of independent women's organisations has also reduced services for survivors of gender-based violence.

Women's independent voices have been excluded from policymaking, Muižnieks said, with the National Council on Gender Policy dominated by state representatives and government-affiliated groups. The dissolution of independent trade unions has removed another avenue for women's representation and advocacy. The report also points to a 24–28 per cent gender pay gap, occupational segregation and women's disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care.

Repression weakens women's support and representation

The Special Rapporteur raised concern about Article 19.16 of Belarus's Code of Administrative Offences, which penalises sharing information perceived as promoting same-sex relations, gender transition or voluntary childlessness. He warned that its vague and broad wording could legitimise discrimination against lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women. The article also threatens freedom of expression, access to information and reproductive autonomy, and may expose human rights defenders, educators and health professionals to arbitrary penalties.

The report calls for women arbitrarily detained for exercising their rights to be released and rehabilitated, and for the misuse of extremism laws to end. Muižnieks urged Belarus to remove discriminatory employment restrictions and ensure women can participate meaningfully in public life. He also called for reprisals against women human rights defenders to stop and for independent civil society to be restored.

UN expert calls for action on equality and violence

The Special Rapporteur said the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women's 2025 recommendations provide a roadmap for reform, including stronger protection against gender-based violence. Belarus has adopted a 2026–2030 National Action Plan to implement the recommendations, a step Muižnieks welcomed. He called for the plan to be revised to address structural discrimination and give independent civil society a meaningful role in carrying it out and overseeing progress.