HL Deb 31 March 2004 vol 659 c161WA
Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, in view of the report by the Council of Europe on the disappearance in Belarus of a former Minister of the Interior, a Vice President of the Parliament and others, which concluded that no proper investigation had been made by the Belarus authorities, they will ask the United Nations Commission on Human Rights formally to request the Government of Belarus to give an account of the investigations which they conducted into these disappearances. [HL2049]

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution in April 2003 on Belarus, which the EU and US co-sponsored. The resolution raised the issue of the disappearances. This year, the EU and the US have agreed to co-table a further resolution on Belarus. The content is yet to be finalised. The issue of the disappeared remains one of major concern.