March 2026
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A United Nations Without Democratic Integrity: Why Belarus Must Not Be Entrusted with Gatekeeping Civil Society Access
In April 2026, Member States of the United Nations Economic and Social Council will elect new members to the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations — a body whose mandate extends far beyond administrative procedure and, in practice, determines which voices from civil society are granted meaningful access to the United Nations system. This Committee is not…
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Let rivers run! Romania’s water management at a crossroads
I grew up in Romania in the 1970s, at a time when the creeks and rivers of my home region still ran freely, shaped by their own rhythms rather than by concrete and steel. As a child, I played along their banks and learned their curves by heart. By the 1980s, those same waters were…
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How EU public funds risk enabling environmental degradation and militarisation in the Neris river basin
The Neris River – known upstream in Belarus as the Viliya – is a transboundary ecosystem of high ecological value. It is also a case where EU public funding frameworks are being positioned in ways that risk enabling outcomes that directly contradict the environmental objectives they are meant to support. Flowing from Belarus through Vilnius…
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Support for Yurii Sheliazhenko: Legal Defense and Family Assistance
Urgent support is needed for Yurii Sheliazhenko — a human rights defender, pacifist, and conscientious objector facing unlawful detention and prosecution for his peaceful beliefs. Funds will cover legal defense, international complaints, family support, lost income, and protection-related costs.
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Connection e.V. stands up at the UN with WRI for conscientious objectors and human rights defenders from Belarus
«Connection e.V.», in partnership with «War Resisters’ International» (WRI) delivered an oral statement in the plenary of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva during the discussion on the report presented by Ms. Karinna Moskalenko, Chair of the Group of Independent Experts on the situation of human rights in Belarus. The representative of Belarus refused…
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We Condemn the Illegal Detention of Conscientious Objector Yurii Sheliazhenko
We Condemn the Illegal Detention of Conscientious Objector Yurii Sheliazhenko Statement of the International Center for Civil Initiatives «Our House» We express our strongest outrage at the unlawful detention of Yurii Sheliazhenko, a human rights defender, pacifist, and conscientious objector, carried out in Kyiv by officers of the Pechersk District Police together with an unidentified…
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War Resisters’ International against transnational pressure on «Nash Dom»
A representative of War Resisters’ International (WRI) spoke at the meeting of the UN Group of Independent Experts on Belarus. She expressed particular concern about transnational pressure on human rights organizations, including «Nash Dom». These organizations face threats, surveillance, and cyberattacks. They are being declared extremist organizations and tried in absentia. Olga Karach, director of the…
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International criminal court investigates crimes against humanity committed in Belarus
On 30 September 2024, the Republic of Lithuania submitted a referral to the Office of the Prosecutor exercising its prerogative, as a State Party to the Rome Statute, under article 14(1). The Republic of Lithuania requested the Office to investigate alleged crimes against humanity committed in the Republic of Belarus, a non-ICC State party, stating that part…
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A partner of «Our House» labeled extremist in Belarus
Social Media Of International Human Rights Organization labeled «Extremist» In Belarus Belarus’s Information Ministry has updated the “Republican List of Extremist Materials“. Among other items, it now includes pages on Instagram, X and Facebook of the International Society for Human Rights (Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte / IGFM). The corresponding decision was made on 10 March…
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Constraining Duty: Legal Reengineering of Military Obligation in Belarus, 2025
Legal amendments tighten military obligations, narrowing exemptions and expanding enforcement mechanisms nationwide. In 2025, state policy in the field of military obligation was supplemented by significant amendments to criminal legislation aimed at strengthening liability for failure to comply with conscription-related and related obligations. Strengthening liability for evasion of military obligation On 17 February 2025, the…
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Urgent Appeal: Help Us Save the Shelter and Office
Urgent help is needed to save our shelter and office in Vilnius. We must urgently cover €5,249.54 in overdue rent and utilities. This space protects refugees, conscientious objectors, and human rights defenders. Every contribution matters.
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“Le Chant du loup” – France announces it will no longer act in the spirit of the New START treaty and will cease informing others about the number of combat-ready nuclear devices in its possession
Furthermore, France proposes that this now delightfully indeterminate number of warheads might be distributed across Europe, thereby creating what is described as a nuclear umbrella. Le Chant du loup is a film about a French submarine that loses contact with the mainland—and, it would seem, with reality as well. Its crew must decide whether to…
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German school and university students protest conscription plans and the country’s militarization
German students stage nationwide walkouts protesting conscription plans and accelerating militarization under Merz government On March 5, 2026, protests took place in several German cities against a new military service system and army expansion introduced by a law adopted in December, 2025. School pupils and university students joined the demonstrations—numbering several thousand in some cities—skipping…
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The treaty between Russia and the United States known by the elegant title “New START” has not been extended. What should the world expect now, and what does this mean for the Belarus–Lithuania region?
What do Nobel laureates think about this? We asked several organizations that have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize how serious the current danger is and what we should expect next. 4 February 2026 marked the final day of the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between Russia and the United States. On 5 February,…
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Victory: Belarusian conscientious objector Siarhei released from closed refugee camp in Lithuania
On Friday evening, Belarusian conscientious objector Siarhei was released from a closed refugee camp in Lithuania. We won the court case. Although the hearing took place late on Friday, when courts normally finish their work, the court still proceeded and made a decision to release him. On Friday evening, Belarusian conscientious objector Siarhei was released…
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UN Special Rapporteur on the situation with conscientious objectors to military service in Belarus.
«Connection e.V.», in partnership with «War Resisters’ International» (WRI), participated in the interactive dialogue with the Group of Independent Experts reporting on the situation of human rights in Belarus. The international advocacy coordinator of «Connection e.V.», Zaira Zafarana, took the floor in the plenary after the presentation of the report by Ms. Karinna Moskalenko, President of Group…
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Urgent: Belarusian conscientious objector Siarhei transferred to closed refugee camp in Lithuania
Belarusian conscientious objector Siarhei placed in closed Lithuanian refugee camp after asylum filing. On February 26, 2026 Belarusian conscientious objector Siarhei was taken to a closed refugee detention camp in Lithuania immediately after submitting his renewed application for political asylum. As you know, Siarhei filed a repeated asylum request today. His case has remained extremely…
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Manufacturing Consent: Military Service Propaganda and the Breakdown of Conscription in Belarus
Escalating propaganda masks structural failure of compulsory military service among Belarusian youth By 2025, state policy in the field of conscription in Belarus is increasingly accompanied by aggressive and intrusive public propaganda of military service. The intensification of such campaigns by senior officials and law-enforcement bodies indicates a systemic crisis of the conscription model, in…
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23 Years Ago, Olga Karach Won and Became the Only Opposition Deputy in the Vitebsk City Council
Twenty-three years ago, on March 2, 2003, Olga Karach won a seat in the Vitebsk City Council in the first round of voting, becoming the only opposition deputy and the youngest member of the council at that time. During the 2003 local elections in Vitebsk’s Industrial District No. 15, the civic campaign “Our House,” created…
