About BHC in Brief

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC) is a voluntary, independent, non-political, civil society human rights organization. BHC has been operating since November 1, 1995 (registered by the Ministry of Justice).

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee works to revive the meaning of human rights and to ensure that human rights are integrated into all spheres of life.

The founders of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee were prominent public and cultural figures of the country: Vasil Bykau (also the first chair of BHC’s Supervisory Board), Ryhor Baradulin, Radim Haretski, Svetlana Alexievich, Henadz Buraukin, Yury Khadyka, and Karłos Sherman.

On October 1, 2021, the Supreme Court of Belarus revoked BHC’s registration; however, we continue our work. In July 2022, despite the authorities’ decision to liquidate the organization, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee was granted consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). We became the first Belarusian NGO with such status.

For 6 years now, we have been publishing the National Human Rights Index. We provide an overall assessment of the human rights situation and, across three categories—socio-economic rights, civil and political rights, and general human rights measures—assess specific rights, their components, and indicators of an ideal situation. The dataset includes ≈290 indicators each year.

In 2023–2025 we:

• Prepared more than 30 reports and submissions to international mechanisms (independently or in coalitions with partners). We covered all major UN mechanisms with alternative reports: UPR, SDGs, CEDAW, CERD.
• Involved 7 new Belarusian initiatives in working with international mechanisms.
• Advised 42 Belarusian initiatives on the human rights-based approach and on working with international human rights mechanisms.
• Provided over 500 individual consultations for citizens.
• Our analysis appears in such publications as Cambridge University Press and is cited by the UN OHCHR. In 2024, the Human Rights Index was highlighted in the Annual Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as an important tool for assessing the compliance of national laws, policies, and practices with international human rights standards.

The organization is a member of the Council of Europe’s Contact Group for cooperation with Belarusian civil society.

The Principles That Guide Our Work

1. We act on the basis of the Principles of Human Rights Defenders in Belarus .
2. We develop our processes and products in accordance with the human rights-based approach.
3. We use the following guidelines for the definition of political prisoners .
4. Like other Helsinki groups around the world, we act in the spirit of the Helsinki Accords .

Who We Work With to Achieve Our Mission

→ NGOs. We help civil society organizations integrate the human rights dimension into their activities. BHC advises initiatives on the human rights-based approach and the use of international human rights mechanisms, and helps develop protection algorithms for target groups.

We also support the participation of initiatives in preparing joint reports, which allows them to make their voice more audible at the international level.

→ Business. We help businesses understand “business and human rights” and provide basic tools for introducing appropriate approaches into processes and products. We help investors understand the country context regarding business and human rights.

→ Professional legal community (attorneys, lawyers, and law students). We protect the professional community using international mechanisms, develop educational and awareness-raising materials, and organize an internship program for students.

→ International human rights mechanisms. Independently or with partners, we submit alternative reports to key UN mechanisms (UPR, SDGs, CEDAW, CERD) and the OSCE, regularly respond to their requests, etc.

→ People. We develop guides on the most pressing or complicated issues. Our lawyers provide free consultations to citizens on matters related to human rights violations and prepare amicus curiae expert opinions for the courts.

Topics We Work With

Analysis of trends and policies on human rights in Belarus and the region; discrimination; business and human rights; the human rights-based approach; international human rights mechanisms; socio-economic rights.

Our Key Products

→ The National Human Rights Index

This Index is developed by a group of civil society experts under the overall coordination of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee. We provide an overall assessment of the human rights situation and, in three categories (socio-economic rights, civil and political rights, and general human rights measures), assess specific rights, their components, and indicators of an ideal situation. We create this Index for three reasons: (1) so that interested professionals can quickly assess the overall human rights situation in Belarus without collecting information from scattered sources; (2) to show how the situation changes; (3) essentially, the Index indicates the direction of human rights reforms that our country needs.

In 2024, the Index was highlighted in the Annual Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as an example of effective assessment of legislation and practices in the field of human rights.

→ Review “Human Rights in Belarus: Key Trends in Public Policy”

This review covers the most significant changes in Belarusian public policy in the field of human rights and the reactions of the international community in three areas: general measures—systemic matters (legislation, strategies, and policies) that generally define the conditions and prerequisites for the realization of human rights in the country; law-enforcement practice—specific violations of civil and political, social, economic, and cultural rights; key decisions and responses of international bodies related to the human rights situation in Belarus. Our analysis helps to better understand trends in the field of human rights, makes it possible to track systemic and qualitative changes, expand the human rights focus of analysis in related areas (political, economic, social, etc.), and is useful for developing strategies and positions.

→ Human Rights Standards Database for Lawyers and Project Managers

This resource saves time and helps to quickly navigate international human rights standards for key queries. It helps to quickly build initial expertise on the necessary human rights aspect and to strengthen a legal document (complaint, application) with relevant international human rights standards—information that is not available in popular professional databases. It helps project managers and representatives of state bodies navigate the human rights agenda concerning Belarus.

→ Business and Human Rights Guidelines. They help businesses quickly understand the topic of “business and human rights” and provide basic tools for introducing appropriate approaches into business processes.

Additional Information

The organization is a member of the Council of Europe Contact Group for cooperation with Belarusian civil society.

The organization has consultative status with the UN ECOSOC (since July 2022).

Aleh Hulak, head of the organization in 2008–2022, is a laureate of the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law.

Our Partners

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee operates in partnership with Helsinkio susitarimų skatinimo asociacija under a Memorandum of Cooperation.

Our work would not be possible without the following partners:

• European Commission (Support under the grant programmes of the European Union. The content is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the European Commission.)
• Kingdom of the Netherlands (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands)
• The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF)
• Norwegian Helsinki Committee
• Human Rights Watch
• Human Rights House Foundation
• Polska Pomoc (Polish Aid)
• Solidarity Fund PL
• Civic Solidarity Platform
• The Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House
• European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE)