Belarus: support to civil society, LGBT activism, and visas
10 January 2008.

Due to its authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus is today the most isolated country in Europe, and the only one not to be a member of the Council of Europe.

All activists and the civil society are facing very difficult conditions and harassment by the government. All Belarus NGOs which are not officially registered are put under judiciary threats, and activists can be arrested. The situation of LGBT activists is particularly bad, and no LGBT associations were accepted to be registered.

It is essential to preserve the cooperation between Belarus and EU activists. Giving support to civil society in Belarus is an official aim of the European Union policy, supported by the European Parliament in various resolutions, as for example:


Resolution of April 6th, 2006 on the situation in Belarus after the presidential elections of 19 March 2006,
Resolution of February 16th, 2006 on the situation in Belarus prior to the presidential elections on 19 March 2006,
Resolution of September 29, 2005 on Belarus.

The condition of LGBT activism in Belarus may worsen after the enlargement of the Schengen area to its EU neighbours (Poland, Lithuania, Latvia) - and its consequences on access to visas. The price to pay to get a visa to the Schengen area is, from January 1st, 2008, 60 €. This is about one third of the average monthly income in Belarus.

LGBT activists in Belarus depend a lot on their relations with their EU neighbours. Belarussian groups have links with LGBT activists in the EU, even if no one is a specifically LGBT association. Rainbow Rose members have contacts with Belarus LGBT activists and currently work to give them supports.

Rainbow Rose believes that the European Union must deliver a policy conform to its own commitments. We believe that visa facilitations for Belarus citizens can be of some help to preserve and strengthen our links.

Rainbow Rose reminds that in its resolution of April 6th, 2006, the European Parliament said it "calls on the Commission and Council to create a visa facilitation regime for the benefit of the civil society of Belarus" (point 16).

See paper "Visas for Belarus" on LGBT activists condition in Belarus. This paper includes analysis and proposals on EU visa policy issued by the Stefan Batory Foundation (Poland) and the Association for International Affairs (Czech Republic).

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