Protection & Solidarity
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Belarus was not elected to the UN ECOSOC Committee on NGOs
Lukashenko wanted his representatives to get into the UN ECOSOC Committee on NGOs. This would have given him the ability to control who says what at the UN about his crimes. One of Lukashenko’s main goals now is to “turn the page” – to make himself be perceived as a normal leader of a normal…
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Uncompetitive election lands 13 States with troubled relationship with civil society at the UN Committee on NGOs
States at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) have voted to pick the 19 members of the Committee on NGOs, electing a majority of States with grave records of repressing or obstructing civil society at home and at the UN. ECOSOC States picked the membership of the UN Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO Committee),…
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States that champion human rights defenders must consider candidacy for ECOSOC NGO Committee: UN experts
GENEVA (1 April 2026) – Independent human rights expert today urged Member States which are committed to prioritising human rights defenders and civil society space to stand in the upcoming elections for the Committee of Non-Governmental Organisations (the «NGO Committee»), a body of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Ahead of the April elections,…
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Nine Belarusian Exile Organizations Urge UN Delegates to Reject Belarus ECOSOC Bid
Nine exile groups urge UN delegates to block Belarus ECOSOC candidacy vote Nine Belarusian organizations in exile, including International Centre for Human Rights and Relief “Our House” have jointly addressed delegates of United Nations Member States, calling on them not to support Belarus in the upcoming elections to the United Nations Economic and Social Council.…
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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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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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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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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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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,…
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Anatoly Kotov – Another Belarusian Opposition Politician Who Has Disappeared Without a Trace
In the past, rivals of Lukashenko and independent journalists have disappeared without a trace inside Belarus, but now a politician has vanished outside the country, in Turkey, and nothing has been known about him for five months. Human rights violation dossier: Anatoly Kotov, prepared by: VšĮ „Our House Centre for Human Rights and Relief“, January…
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Demand the Immediate Release of Grzegorz Gawel
This petition calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Grzegorz Gawel, a Polish citizen unlawfully detained in Belarus. His imprisonment represents a clear violation of international human rights standards, including freedom of conscience, due process, and protection from arbitrary detention.
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Olga Karach declared extremist in Belarus for the 25th time
Belarus criminalizes Olga Karach again, marking her twenty-fifth designation as extremist today. On 20 January, the Baranovichi and Baranovichi District Court declared the TikTok page of Olga Karach to be “extremist material.” From this moment, in Belarus any distribution, reposting, quoting, or even public support of materials from Olga Karach’s TikTok page and from the…
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Humanitarian Aid to Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian Refugees under Attack by Belarusian Security Services
Belarusian security services criminalize humanitarian aid, targeting volunteers supporting refugees across Lithuania, Poland, and Latvia. The humanitarian activities of the Belarusian human rights organisation in exile “Our House”, carried out jointly with IGFM / Arbeitsgruppe Wittlich (Germany), have been officially labeled as extremist by the Republic of Belarus, despite the fact that this assistance is…
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One-Time Legal Support for Russian Conscientious Objector Maksim
Help close €3,200 in past legal debts so Maksim’s international protection can continue. Without this, his lawyers cannot act.
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Lithuania Failed the Migration Policy Exam
A tough policy toward migrants and refugees is reducing Lithuania’s integration outcomes, investment attractiveness, and competitiveness within the European Union. Lithuania has ranked second from last in the EU in terms of the quality of its migration policy. This was reported by MIPEX (the Migrant Integration Policy Index), an international tool used to measure and…
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Monitoring Report: The Situation of Belarusian Children Refugees with Autism and Other Mental Health Disorders in Lithuania
Belarusian refugee children with autism face severe exclusion in Lithuania, where trauma, legal barriers, and systemic neglect leave them without essential care. Introduction: Refugee children are among the most psychologically vulnerable populations in Europe, and Belarusian children in exile are no exception. Their exposure to political violence, instability, and systemic exclusion places them at heightened…
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Lithuanian Court Practice in Cases Concerning “Threats to National Security” (2022–2025)
Lithuanian courts overwhelmingly uphold secret security rulings against Belarusians and Russians, relying on classified evidence and uniform judgments. This report examines how Lithuania’s administrative courts handle cases in which foreign nationals—primarily from Belarus and Russia—are denied residence, expelled, or labelled a “threat to national security” based on secret conclusions of the State Security Department (VSD).…
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Belarusian Prisoners for Peace in Belarus
On December 1st, the world observes the Day of Prisoners for Peace. Our House calls for support for those sentenced in Belarus for refusing to participate in violence and protesting against the authoritarian regime. December 1 marks over six decades of the Day of Prisoners for Peace. This day serves as an expression of solidarity…