Latvian human rights activist voted UN special rapporteur on Belarus

October 11, Pozirk. Latvia’s Nils Muižnieks has been elected as UN special rapporteur on human rights in Belarus. The decision was announced on the last day of the United Nations Human Rights Council session, October 11.

Muižnieks was born on January 31, 1964, in Los Angeles (USA) to a family of Latvian emigrants. He speaks English, Latvian, French and Russian.

In 2012–2018, Muižnieks served as the Council of Europe human rights commissioner. In 2020–2024, he headed Amnesty International’s European branch.

The Human Rights Council established the mandate of the special rapporteur on Belarus in 2012.

Since November 2018, the office has been held by France’s Anaïs Marin. She will leave on November 1, after presenting her final report on human rights in Belarus to the UN General Assembly in October.

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