Politzek
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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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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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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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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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“Our House” in Vilnius Marks Fourth Anniversary of the 2022 Belarusian Referendum with Anti-Nuclear Protest
Belarusian and Iranian diaspora rally in Vilnius against nuclear militarisation of Belarus On 27 February 2026, Belarusians living in Vilnius gathered at Kudirkos Square for a public action dedicated to peace, regional security, and opposition to the militarisation of Belarus. The event, held at 18:00, united two significant occasions: the International Days of Action Against…
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APOCALYPSE TOMORROW. DEATH ZONE ON THE “BALCONY” by M.Statkevich
Recently released Belarusian opposition leader Lieutenant Colonel Mikalai Statkevich warns of the danger of a nuclear war that could break out in the very near future. He analyzes recent developments, the psychology of Russian political and military leaders. His conclusion: the risk of nuclear war in the Baltic region is very high. European leaders insist…
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From Leisure to Training: Militarized Youth Camps in Belarus, 2025
Youth camps operate as transitional institutions, normalizing military discipline and pre-conscription training for minors. On 12 July 2025, it was reported that day camps and round-the-clock residential camps were operating in which servicemen conducted training sessions on the disassembly and assembly of assault rifles, radio communications, and fitting of military equipment. Prolonged Stay of Schoolchildren…
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Institutional Militarization of School Education in Belarus, 2025
Schools function as structured environments for early loyalty formation and pre–conscription military socialization. Within the school education system in Belarus, militarization acquires a systemic and multi–level character. Unlike the preschool level, where the emphasis is placed on the symbolic presence of law–enforcement bodies, schools are used as a space for preparation for future military service,…
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Militarization of Early Childhood Socialization in Belarus (Preschool Sector), 2025
In Belarus, institutions normalize military ideology among children aged three to six Militarization in Belarus begins already at the kindergarten level: children aged 3–6 are regularly exposed to military symbols and narratives, as well as to the direct presence of representatives of law-enforcement and military bodies. Formally, these practices are framed as «patriotic education», but…
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Annual Report Systemic Human Rights Violations in Belarus Denial of the Right to Conscientious Objection and Forced Military Service
How military logic in Belarus becomes a social norm from early childhood, displacing the right to refuse service. Submitted by “Our House” 2025 This report examines how, in 2025, militarization in Belarus has taken shape as a continuous system of state coercion that accompanies individuals throughout their lives. It traces how kindergartens, schools, military-patriotic clubs,…