The International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB) welcomes the referral of the situation in Belarus to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the Government of Lithuania on 30 September 2024.

“The referral marks a significant first step towards investigating and prosecuting international crimes committed by the government of Belarus since May 2020”, says Andrea Huber, Head of the IAPB.  “But we must also acknowledge that this referral, if accepted, would cover only some of the crimes committed in Belarus.”

With its referral, the Lithuanian government requests the ICC to examine whether it has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes against humanity, including deportation, persecution, and other inhumane acts, committed by Belarusian senior officials since 1 May 2020.

According to Article 14 of the Rome Statute, as an ICC member state Lithuania can submit the referral because part of these crimes occurred on Lithuanian territory, bringing them within the Court’s jurisdiction. This builds on a previous ICC decision to accept jurisdiction over a non-ICC member state in the context of deportation (the Myanmar/Bangladesh situation).

According to the Lithuanian government in its statement of 30 September, “the [Belarusian] regime has forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands of lawful residents of Belarus to the territories of neighbouring Lithuania, and other States Parties (…), without grounds permitted under international law.”

“The IAPB has supported the efforts of criminal justice authorities to address the international crimes committed in Belarus. We hope that the ICC will assume jurisdiction and open an investigation, and we look forward to providing all available evidence to the ICC”, says Viktoria Fedorova, representative of the International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus, IAPB’s co-lead.

“Torture, gender-based violence, unlawful detention and other crimes must not go unpunished. Hence, we strongly encourage national prosecution authorities to continue investigating and prosecuting international crimes committed in Belarus”, says Andrea Huber.

Pavel Sapelko from Viasna, another IAPB co-lead, also stresses the need for additional steps.

”In order to enable accountability of crimes committed against Belarusians, Viasna and International Committee have interviewed over 2,500 victims and witnesses about events between 2020 and 2024”, Pavel Sapelko says and continues:

“These witness statements, alongside open-source information, has been collected to a criminal law standard and can be made available to prosecution authorities willing to help us counter the impunity of Belarusian perpetrators for grave human rights violations and international crimes.”

About the IAPB:

The International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB), created in March 2021, is a consortium of Belarusian and international NGOs that collects, consolidates, verifies, and preserves evidence of gross human rights violations allegedly committed by Belarusian authorities and others in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath.

The IAPB supports investigations of national prosecutors and international accountability bodies by providing access to the collected evidence and analytical products.

Since its establishment, the IAPB has received eight requests for assistance from five different states, four requests for information from the UN Examination of the human rights situation in Belarus of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), one from the OSCE Moscow Mechanism Rapporteur, as well as several requests from civil society organisations and lawyers working towards the investigation of crimes committed in Belarus.

It is a distinguished international human rights expert with more than 20 years of experience from Amnesty International, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and Penal Reform International who will lead the International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IABP).

»We are very excited that Andrea Huber will head International Accountability Platform for Belarus and our ongoing efforts to secure justice for the victims of human rights violations in Belarus«, says Rasmus Grue Christensen, CEO at DIGNITY.

International Accountability Platform for Belarus was established in 2021 by DIGNITY, Belarusian Human Rights Center Viasna, International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus, and REDRESS. In addition, several other Belarusian and international organizations are involved in the platform’s work.

They work together to ensure that evidence of gross human rights violations is collected, verified, analyzed, and preserved so it can be used by national and international accountability bodies in proceedings against the perpetrators.

The new head of the platform comes from a position as Head of the Human Rights Department at OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and has worked with human rights since she obtained her Master’s Degree in Law from University of Vienna in 1997.

»I’m very honored to be joining the International Accountability Platform, which I believe sets a new standard for this field of work. It sets a precedent for documenting and analyzing evidence and making it accessible for both prosecution and preservation,« says Andrea Huber.

»The scale and systematic pattern of the human rights violations in Belarus is exceptional, and it is of utmost importance that the international community does not let these violations go unpunished. «

Andrea Huber will join International Accountability Platform for Belarus on the 15^th of August 2024, and she will be based in Vienna, Austria.

About

INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY PLATFORM FOR BELARUS (IABP)
DIGNITY leads the work of the IAPB platform, which collects, verifies, and preserves evidence of possible international crimes committed by the Belarusian authorities and others in the run-up to and after the 2020 presidential elections. IAPB cooperates with, among others, the UN and national prosecutors investigating gross human rights violations in Belarus.

DIGNITY – DANISH INSTITUTE AGAINST TORTURE
DIGNITY is an international human rights and development organization that has been working for a world free from torture and violence since 1982. DIGNITY prevents torture and violence, treats traumatized victims, and helps document serious human rights violations so that those responsible can be brought to justice.

Today, the University of Graz in Austria is honoring the efforts to collect evidence of gross human rights violations in Belarus.  

On Friday, March 22, 2024, an international human rights prize will be awarded to the International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB), which collects evidence of gross human rights violations in Belarus and promotes accountability for perpetrators.

“This is an important recognition and strong boost to our work in Belarus and especially to the courageous Belarusian human rights activists who fight for justice every day”, says Rasmus Grue Christensen, CEO of DIGNITY, which is the lead organization of the IABP.

He will be accepting the award in Graz on Friday together with Victoria Federova from the International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus, one of the IAPB’s co-lead organisations.

“We will continue to collect evidence of crimes under international law, to support accountability efforts from criminal justice authorities and international mechanisms. We hope that this award will once again shine a spotlight on the ongoing and escalating human rights violations in Belarus, from 2020 up to the present day. Together we hope for the expansion of the fight against impunity in national jurisdictions. We will not stop in our quest for justice.”

Pavel Sapelko, representative and lawyer from Viasna, IAPB’s co-lead organization, also welcomes the recognition.

“We rely on the courage of the victims of torture and the efforts of human rights defenders, who share their stories and expertise with us. This prize is for them.”

The International Accountability Platform for Belarus was established in 2021 by DIGNITY, Belarusian Human Rights Center Viasna, International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus, and REDRESS. In addition, several other Belarusian and international organizations are also involved in the platform’s work.

They work together to ensure that evidence of gross human rights violations constituting crimes under international law is collected, verified, analyzed, and preserved so it can be used by national and international accountability bodies in proceedings against the perpetrators.

The award recognizes the initiative’s “outstanding efforts in combating impunity for human rights violations”.

The platform’s work is supported by a wide range of states, including Denmark, Germany, the UK, and the US as well as the European Union.

The Austrian University of Graz is behind the international prize, which has been awarded approximately every five years since 1992. Previous recipients include the 14th Dalai Lama and Volker Türk, who is currently the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY PLATFORM FOR BELARUS (IABP)

DIGNITY leads the work of the IAPB platform, which collects, verifies, and preserves evidence of possible international crimes committed by the Belarusian authorities and others in the run-up to and after the 2020 presidential elections. IAPB cooperates with, among others, the UN and prosecutors investigating gross human rights violations in Belarus.

DIGNITY – DANISH INSTITUTE AGAINST TORTURE

DIGNITY is an international human rights and development organization that has been working for a world free from torture and violence since 1982. DIGNITY prevents torture and violence, treats traumatized victims, and helps document serious human rights violations so that those responsible can be brought to justice.

For further information, please contact press advisor, Marie Torp Christensen, by phone +45 27577349 or email matc@dignity.dk