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BELARUS: ASSISTANCE DENIED DUE TO HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

QUESTION: Why has the U.S. cut off $40 million in assistance to Belarus?

ANSWER: The overall reason is lack of respect for human rights.

Congress mandated that each country receiving certain types of U.S. government assistance under the Freedom Support Act and the Cooperative Threat Reduction Acts of 1992/93 (The Nunn-Lugar Act) be certified for human rights compliance. The State Department has determined that Belarus does not meet internationally recognized standards of respect for human rights.

Q: What is the impact of this non-certification?

A: Our Cooperative Threat Reduction program will be suspended after activities for which funds have already been obligated reach completion. Funds for the destruction of missile launch pads have already been obligated, and these activities can continue. Other work that had been planned but for which the funds had not yet been obligated will not occur.

We are legally unable to provide about $40 million in CTR assistance.

If human rights certification is possible in 1998 (for Belarus's human rights performance in 1997) or if Belarus's human rights performance improves enough for us to be able to certify it later in 1997 for the balance of the year, we would be able to resume funding the projects, including elimination of the infrastructure tied to nuclear weapons, disposal of rocket fuel, radiological surveys and full funding of activity to monitor the export of nuclear and other weaponry.

Q: What human rights problems do you see in Belarus?

A: The November 1996 constitutional referendum was universally viewed as undemocratic -- that was our assessment, and it was the assessment of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), of which Belarus is a member.

Since the November referendum, there has been a steady concentration of power in the executive branch under President Lukashenko. This process endangers basic principles of democracy -- especially the separation of powers.

The executive branch of the government has also increased its suppression of freedom of expression in 1996 through its near-total control of the media. The government has used force to break up peaceful opposition rallies and most recently arrested bystanders who were in the vicinity of a protest.

Earlier this month the government expelled the U.S. citizen director of a U.S. non-governmental organization supporting the development of democracy and civic society in Belarus.

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