Minsk Withdraws From Environmental Convention Over Bias, Pressure - Presidential Office

MINSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th July, 2022) Belarus has terminated its participation in the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, commonly known as the Aarhus Convention, citing discriminatory practices and pressure exerted against the country, the presidential press office said on Monday.

The Aarhus convention is a legally binding agreement, which gives citizens access to environmental information and promotes a more transparent and robust relationship between the civil society and governments. The document regulates public access to environmental information, participation in decision-making and access to justice. Belarus signed the document in 1998 and approved it two years later.

"Belarus terminates its participation in the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters of June 25, 1998. This is stipulated by a decree... signed by the head of state Alexander Lukashenko on July 18," the statement said.

The statement noted that Belarus experienced "biased and discriminatory practices of the governing bodies of the convention" and withdrew from the agreement under Article 21. Presidential office stressed that this measure does not mean Minsk will backtrack regarding cooperation between the state and the public on the issues pertaining to ecology.

In October 2021, a regular session of the Aarhus Convention decided that Belarus must be deprived of its privileges under the agreement if it does not restore the registration of a major ecological NGO called Ecohome. Belarusian Ministry of Natural Resources called the demand politically motivated.

Ecohome was one of the oldest non-profit environmental organizations in Belarus. It actively criticized the construction of nuclear power plants in the country and advocated for renewable energy transition. Belarusian authorities rescinded its registration, citing the NGO's considerable track record of breaking the law. A wave of audits of ecology-related NGOs followed in 2021, with the investigators claiming that these organizations were involved in the shadow movement of funds from abroad, tax evasion and financing protest activities. Over 850 NGOs were liquidated in Belarus that year, according to human rights advocates.