UN committee upholds Belarusian women’s abusive treatment complaint

March 8, Pozirk. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women yesterday announced its decision on the complaint of Belarusian nationals Alena Dubovik and Maryna Dubina, an environmental activist.

They complained about the humiliating and discriminatory treatment of women in Minsk’s central detention facility and Žodzina’s temporary detention facility.

The сommittee ruled that the discriminatory detention conditions and abusive treatment violated their rights. The permanent surveillance of the two women by male guards, the lack of basic hygiene products, soap and toilet paper, and other abuses violated the privacy, dignity and rights of the complainants, who were “sentenced to 12 to 14 days of administrative detention . . . after participating in mass assemblies separately.”

The committee noted that the victims were held in poor, unsanitary and degrading conditions at both detention facilities.

“Their specific needs as women, including physiological and medical needs, were not taken into account and amounted to discrimination on the grounds of gender,” said committee member Elgun Safarov.

“The lack of a specified area, building or cell designated to adequately accommodate female detainees, and the State party’s failure to ensure the protection of their dignity, privacy and physical and psychological safety in the facilities constituted violations by Belarus of its obligations under the Convention,” he added.

The committee recalled that women prisoners should be under the care and supervision of female officers. It stressed that detaining women without meeting their special needs is discrimination.

It urged Belarus to provide full redress to the two victims, including adequate compensation and access to proper medical care.