Source: www.forum18.org
Date: January 11, 2024
https://www.forum18.org/archiv
By Felix Corley, Forum 18, and Olga Glace, Forum 18
Aleksandr Lukashenko signed into law Belarus' repressive new Law covering
religion on 30 December 2023, exactly one year after he first announced it.
The final text was officially published on 5 January 2024. The largest part
of the new Law is a new version of the Religion Law, which comes into force
on 5 July 2024. It requires all registered religious communities to seek
re-registration between 5 July 2024 and 5 July 2025.
Any religious communities that fail to gain re-registration will be deemed
illegal and any activity they undertake will – like any exercise of
freedom of religion or belief without state permission - risk criminal or
administrative punishment (see below).
One Council of Churches Baptist – whose congregations choose not to seek
state permission to exercise freedom of religion or belief – pointed to
the new Law's continuing ban on unregistered activity. "As the Bible says
[Ecclesiastes 1:9], there's nothing new under the sun," the Baptist told
Forum 18. Compulsory registration "began in the Soviet Union and nothing
has changed". The Baptist insists that their congregations "will stick to
our firm position" not to seek state registration (see below).
"I have not seen the final text but judging by the draft it will bring
nothing good," a Muslim told Forum 18 from Minsk. The Muslim feared that
their national religious organisation, the Religious Board of Muslims in
Belarus, might be forced to end its existence. "The main problem is the
number of believers below which many small communities will fail
re-registration" (see below).
After the new Law was signed and officially published, members of various
other religious communities declined to discuss their view of it with Forum
18 (see below).
Among numerous restrictions (see below), the draft Religion Law:
- continues to require all religious communities to gain state registration
before they are allowed to exist;
- continues to ban the activity of unregistered religious organisations;
- imposes compulsory re-registration within one year on all registered
religious organisations, paralleling earlier demands on political parties
and other public associations;
- imposes even tighter registration restrictions and conditions;
- makes extensive and arbitrary use of the undefined terms "extremism",
"terrorism", and "the ideology of the Belarusian state" to justify
restricting the exercise of freedom of religion or belief and related
fundamental freedoms;
- continues powers for the regime to inspect and monitor religious
communities;
- gives greater "legal" possibilities for the regime to forcibly close
religious communities;
- continues and increases censorship and restrictions on religious
literature and items;
- imposes new restrictions on religious education by religious communities,
including requiring teaching to be in Belarusian or Russian;
- aims to separate religious communities from involvement with wider
society;
- and imposes new restrictions on religious charitable activity, allowing
no religious organisations except monasteries from running children's homes
(see below).
The new Law – which replaces the restrictive 2002 Religion Law - was
prepared by the regime's chief religious affairs official, Plenipotentiary
for Religious and Ethnic Affairs Aleksandr Rumak. The regime allowed only
10 days for public consultation in June 2023 after making public the then
draft text. It handed the proposed Law to the non-freely elected parliament
in September 2023. Both chambers of parliament approved it by 13 December
2023 (see below).
Officials have repeatedly refused to discuss with Forum 18 why the new Law
might be needed or to discuss its content. While the new Law was in the
lower chamber of the non-freely elected parliament, the assistant to deputy
Lyudmila Zdorikova of the Human Rights, Ethnic Relations and the Media
Commission, who was overseeing its adoption, refused to put Forum 18
through to her or to discuss the draft (see below).
Both while the Law was in parliament and once it was adopted, no-one from
the Plenipotentiary's office was prepared to discuss it with Forum 18.
"Aleksandr Rumak does not give interviews by phone," an official told Forum
18 on 4 January 2024 (see below).
"We look at the new law with caution," a Protestant pastor who asked not to
be identified for fear of state reprisals told Forum 18 while the new Law
was in preparation. "It promises nothing good, but it depends on how
formally it will be applied as the wording in some parts is obscure." The
pastor noted the "endlessly expanding" list of reasons the state could use
to liquidate religious communities. "If desired, they may be applied to any
religious organisation" (see below).
The Head of the Baptist Union, Leonid Mikhovich, said their "main concern"
was the requirement to have 20 founders for registering a religious
community. "In some villages we do not have the required number of people,
while the law provides no other option other than to have 20 people to be
allowed to hold regular worship meetings," he told Forum 18 while the new
Law was in preparation (see below).
"Many of our communities will fail the state re-registration, mostly those
in the countryside where there are not many people," a member of the
Religious Board of Muslims in Belarus, who asked not to be identified for
fear of state reprisals, told Forum 18 while the new Law was in
preparation. "There is also a risk that our religious association, the
Muftiate, will not have enough member communities for registration" (see
below).
A member of the Minsk community of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints (commonly known as the Mormons), who asked not to be identified for
fear of state reprisals, also expressed concern about re-registration.
"Some of our believers might feel uneasy to disclose their personal
information, which is demanded at re-registration," the individual told
Forum 18 while the new Law was in preparation. "Many communities rent
buildings for worship, while others cannot find any and have to meet
online" (see below).
Independent news website Zerkalo (working in exile as the regime has banned
it as "extremist") noted the new restrictions and requirement for all
registered religious organisations to undergo re-registration. "Earlier
this year, all opposition parties were liquidated in this manner," Zerkalo
noted while the new Law was in preparation. "Apparently, having ‘cleaned
up' most spheres of public life, the authorities finally got round to
religion and decided not to limit themselves to targeted measures like
arresting ‘wrong' priests, so now there will also be fewer churches" (see
below).
On 28 August 2023, three United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteurs - Anaïs
Marin (Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus),
Clément Nyaletsossi Voule (Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of
peaceful assembly and of association), and Nazila Ghanea (Special
Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief) - wrote to the regime
expressing concerns that provisions in the proposed new Law "would fail to
meet Belarus' obligations under international human rights law" (see
below).
The three Special Rapporteurs expressed specific concerns about: mandatory
state registration; compulsory re-registration; tighter registration
restrictions and conditions; increased monitoring and surveillance of
religious organisations; restrictions on religious literature and items;
monitoring and inspection of religious organisations; expansion of legal
grounds allowing state authorities to dissolve religious organisations; and
new restrictions on religious charitable activity (see below).
The three Special Rapporteurs also noted: "In 2020, Belarus also supported
a recommendation during the Universal Periodic Review to ensure that no
restrictions are imposed on the right to freedom of religion and belief."
The Rapporteurs urged the regime to "review and reconsider certain key
aspects of the law to ensure that it complies with Belarus' international
human rights law obligations." They urged the regime not to "rush the
process" of adopting the draft Law (see below).
Short timescale, civil society punished for attempts to improve 2002 Law
The regime announced in a 30 December 2022 Decree by Aleksandr Lukashenko
that it was going to pass a new Religion Law, to be prepared by June 2023
and reach the Parliament in September 2023.
No election in Belarus has been found to be free and fair
(https://www.osce.org/odihr/el
and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) election observers, and the regime
violently repressed nationwide protests against election fraud
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
On 2 June 2023, the regime published a draft of the proposed new Religion
Law (https://www.forum18.org/archi
Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs Aleksandr Rumak. The
regime claimed the draft Law was open for public comments from 5 to 15 June
2023. The Minsk-based Lawtrend Centre for Legal Transformation criticised
the short time allowed for public comments
(https://www.lawtrend.org/engl
despite the "exceptional significance of the draft Law for religious and
social life".
The new Law was set to replace and harshen the highly restrictive 2002
Religion Law (https://www.forum18.org/archi
Multiple civil society and Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant attempts
after 2002 to change this Law, including a petition signed by over 50,000
people, were rejected by the regime and the organisers punished
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
On 28 August 2023, three United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteurs - Anaïs
Marin (Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus),
Clément Nyaletsossi Voule (Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of
peaceful assembly and of association), and Nazila Ghanea (Special
Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief) - wrote to the regime
(https://spcommreports.ohchr.o
expressing concerns that provisions in the proposed new Law "would fail to
meet Belarus' obligations under international human rights law".
The Rapporteurs urged the regime to "review and reconsider certain key
aspects of the law to ensure that it complies with Belarus' international
human rights law obligations". They urged the regime not to "rush the
process" of adopting the draft Law.
Justifying the new restrictions
In Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs Rumak's justification
of the alleged need for the new Law
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
2023 alongside the draft, he claimed that the 2002 Religion Law
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
into line with the Constitution, as well as the "strengthening on the
legislative level of new contemporary approaches in mutual relations
between the state and religious communities". He did not explain what these
approaches are.
However, Plenipotentiary Rumak stated that in preparing the 2023 Law, the
regime took account of various other Belarusian laws, as well as the
Religion Laws of Russia
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Laws have been strongly criticised by human rights defenders for not
complying with legally-binding international human rights obligations.
Plenipotentiary Rumak stated in his June 2023 justification for the Law
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
wants, among other things, to: prevent officials from using their official
position to influence people over their religious views; to ban religious
communities from using any symbols apart from religious symbols; to ban the
use of texts and images inciting religious discord and hatred; and ban "the
activity of religious communities directed against the sovereignty of the
Republic of Belarus, its constitutional system and civic accord".
Plenipotentiary Rumak also stressed what he saw as the need to "correct"
the 2002 Religion Law's preamble to recognise the "special role" of the
pro-regime Belarusian Orthodox Church
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Patriarchate) in the "historical establishment and development of
spiritual, cultural and state traditions of the Belarusian people, as well
as the inseparability from the general history of the people of Belarus of
other Christian, Jewish and Islamic religious communities".
In the preamble to the draft Law made public on 2 June 2023 the Lutheran
Church was not specifically mentioned, unlike in the 2002 Religion Law, and
was replaced by a general "other Christian" category. However, the draft
presented to parliament in September 2023 and now adopted includes the
Lutheran Church alongside Judaism and Islam, removing any reference to
"other Christians".
Regime claimed draft Law "does not affect" international human rights
obligations
On 28 August 2023, three United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteurs - Anaïs
Marin (Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus),
Clément Nyaletsossi Voule (Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of
peaceful assembly and of association), and Nazila Ghanea (Special
Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief) - wrote to the regime
(https://spcommreports.ohchr.o
expressing concerns that provisions in the proposed new Law "would fail to
meet Belarus' obligations under international human rights law".
They express specific concerns about: mandatory state registration;
compulsory re-registration; tighter registration restrictions and
conditions; increased monitoring and surveillance of religious
organisations; restrictions on religious literature and items; monitoring
and inspection of religious organisations; expansion of legal grounds
allowing state authorities to dissolve religious organisations; and new
restrictions on religious charitable activity.
The three Special Rapporteurs note: "In 2020, Belarus also supported a
recommendation during the Universal Periodic Review to ensure that no
restrictions are imposed on the right to freedom of religion and belief
(A/HRC/46/5 (https://undocs.org/A/HRC/46/5
The Special Rapporteurs urged the regime to "review and reconsider certain
key aspects of the law to ensure that it complies with Belarus'
international human rights law obligations". They also urged the regime not
to "rush the process" of adopting the draft Law.
Their observations refer, among other international standards and
documents, to the November 2018 UN Human Rights Committee Concluding
Observations on Belarus (CCPR/C/BLR/CO/5
(https://www.undocs.org/en/CCP
should guarantee the effective exercise of the freedom of religion in law
and in practice, including by repealing the requirement of mandatory State
registration of religious communities, and should refrain from any action
that may restrict that freedom beyond the narrowly construed restrictions
permitted under article 18 ["Freedom of thought, conscience and religion"]
of the Covenant [the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
– ICCPR]." The permissible restrictions are outlined in the Human Rights
Committee's General Comment 22 (https://undocs.org/CCPR/C/21/
on ICCPR Article 18.
Yet where Plenipotentiary Rumak's justification
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
"compliance of the draft with international treaties and other
international legal acts", it falsely claimed that "the subject matter of
the Draft Law does not affect the international treaties of the Republic of
Belarus and international legal acts, in particular the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights of 1966, etc".
The man who answered Plenipotentiary Rumak's phone – who refused to give
his name – also refused to explain why Rumak made his demonstrably false
claim, and refused to discuss the content of the draft Law. "We don't
comment on the draft Law," he told Forum 18 on 13 June 2023 and then put
the phone down.
"Playing on the formal appearance of legality"
Many people concerned about the impact of the proposed new Religion Law did
not want to publicly criticise the new Law
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
with criticism publicly," one individual told Forum 18 after the text of
the draft Law was published, "as you could end up facing criminal
responsibility."
One Council of Churches Baptist – whose congregations choose not to seek
state permission to exercise freedom of religion or belief – pointed to
the new Law's continuing ban on unregistered activity. "As the Bible says
[Ecclesiastes 1:9], there's nothing new under the sun," the Baptist told
Forum 18 on 11 January. Compulsory registration "began in the Soviet Union
and nothing has changed". The Baptist insists that their congregations
"will stick to our firm position" not to seek state registration.
After the new Law was signed and officially published on 5 January 2024,
members of various other religious communities declined to discuss their
view of it with Forum 18.
Human rights defender and Orthodox priest Fr Aleksandr Shramko – who now
lives in Lithuania – regarded the new Law as part of the continuing
regime crackdown on society. "It adopts new laws, corrects old ones -
everything in order to somehow extinguish any pockets of not only possible
resistance, but also any uncontrolled life," he wrote on the Christian
Vision website on 13 June 2023
(https://belarus2020.churchby.
"All this looks somewhat absurd on the part of the authorities, which are
'not living by the law'. But after all, animals also want to be like
people, playing on the formal appearance of legality."
Fr Shramko said that the regime's religious policy "is characterised by a
wary attitude towards religion and the desire to keep it in maximum
isolation from society".
Fr Shramko argued that new provisions in the then draft new Law
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
strengthening the strictness of these provisions and placing the activities
of religious communities under the maximum control of the state, up to
demands to conform to the regime's ideology and policies".
Local human Rights defenders continued to criticise the draft new Law. "The
Lukashenko regime has also now increased control over religion," the banned
allegedly "extremist" Honest People (https://honest-people.by/en) human
rights defenders group noted on 15 August 2023
(https://www.instagram.com/p/C
rewritten for this purpose." The group said that, according to the draft
text made public in June, the new version constitutes "total over-control,
morphing into complete prohibitions and restrictions".
The Baptist Union, Pentecostal Union, Full Gospel and Seventh-day Adventist
Churches sent joint comments on the draft Law to the Plenipotentiary's
Office. "Apparently some of them were considered, the Head of Baptist Union
Leonid Mikhovich told Forum 18 on 16 October 2023
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Fr Yuri Sanko, spokesperson for the Catholic Bishops' Conference, told
Forum 18 on 17 October 2023
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
there is nothing to worry about regarding this law". "We might have
discomfort from total re-registration, but we don't expect any
difficulties." He added that the Catholic Church hopes that the new Law
would help to open more orphanages. "As far as I know, just one orphanage
in Belarus functions in a convent."
"We look at the new law with caution," a Protestant pastor who asked not to
be identified for fear of state reprisals told Forum 18 on 13 October 2023
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
good, but it depends on how formally it will be applied as the wording in
some parts is obscure." The pastor noted the "endlessly expanding" list of
reasons the state could use to liquidate religious communities. "If
desired, they may be applied to any religious organisation."
The pastor noted that re-registration may be a problem especially for small
countryside communities, for example in northern Belarus or the western
Brest Region. "The number of believers is limited due to the small
population." The pastor expressed concern also about the great attention
the Law pays to Sunday schools.
The Head of the Baptist Union, Leonid Mikhovich, said their "main concern"
was the requirement to have 20 founders for registering a religious
community. "In some villages we do not have the required number of people,
while the law provides no other option other than to have 20 people to be
allowed to hold regular worship meetings," he told Forum 18 on 16 October
2023 (https://www.forum18.org/archi
similar requirement in the 2002 Law "does not affect our churches".
"Many of our communities will fail the state re-registration, mostly those
in the countryside where there are not many people," a member of the
Religious Board of Muslims in Belarus, who asked not to be identified for
fear of state reprisals, told Forum 18 on 17 October 2023
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
risk that our religious association, the Muftiate, will not have enough
member communities for registration."
"I have not seen the final text but judging by the draft it will bring
nothing good," another Muslim, who also asked not to be identified, told
Forum 18 from Minsk on 11 January 2024. The Muslim repeated earlier fears
that their national religious organisation, the Religious Board of Muslims
in Belarus, might be forced to end its existence. "The main problem is the
number of believers below which many small communities will fail
re-registration."
Asked whether the Muslim community sent comments and proposals on the draft
Law, the Muslim answered: "No, we did not even try. What's the point? They
would not be taken into account."
A member of the Minsk community of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints (commonly known as the Mormons), who asked not to be identified for
fear of state reprisals, also expressed concern about re-registration.
"Some of our believers might feel uneasy to disclose their personal
information, which is demanded at re-registration," the individual told
Forum 18 on 16 October 2023
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
rent buildings for worship, while others cannot find any and have to meet
online."
Draft Law reaches parliament
Following the 2 June 2023 publication of the draft Law
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
to revise it with no public consultation. Among the changes were the
removal of: a ban on educational establishments having religious material
in their libraries; a requirement that religious organisations would have
to provide names of children and annual reports on their Sunday schools;
and references to alleged "Nazism".
The title of the draft Law was also changed to the Law "on amendments to
laws on questions of the activity of religious organisations". As well as
including the text of the new Religion Law, the draft also included
amendments to the Civil Code.
The draft Law was presented to the lower chamber of the non-freely elected
parliament (https://www.osce.org/odihr/el
2023, and the text of the draft Law as presented to parliament was made
public on the regime's legal website
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
In an analysis on 11 October 2023
(https://news.zerkalo.io/life/
website Zerkalo (working in exile as the regime has banned it as
"extremist") noted the new restrictions and requirement for all registered
religious organisations to undergo re-registration.
Why a new Religion Law?
Some parts of the new Religion Law parallel the 2023 Political Parties and
other Public Associations Law, which made it significantly harder to form
such groups
(https://csometer.info/updates
especially nationwide. Religious communities are the second group after
political parties to be forced to undergo compulsory state registration in
order for the regime to allow them to exist. The new Religion Law is also
hostile to any connection between exercising freedom of religion or belief
and potentially opposition political activity (see below).
"Earlier this year, all opposition parties were liquidated in this manner,"
Zerkalo noted. "Apparently, having ‘cleaned up' most spheres of public
life, the authorities finally got round to religion and decided not to
limit themselves to targeted measures like arresting ‘wrong' priests, so
now there will also be fewer churches."
On 20 December 2023, two leading state officials warned hundreds of
Orthodox clergy (https://www.forum18.org/archi
those violating strict state restrictions would face punishment. Olga
Chemodanova, Head of the Ideology Department of Minsk City Executive
Committee, told priests of Minsk Orthodox Diocese that during the past
year, state agencies had "monitored" more than 500 religious communities.
Officials had prevented the distribution of "extremist" literature and had
discovered that prayers were being said in church for the victory of
Ukraine in the war (something she clearly did not like).
In his address, Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs Aleksandr
Rumak warned the Orthodox clergy forcefully that there was to be no
politics in church (https://www.forum18.org/archi
He also warned that no "non-religious symbols" should be displayed in
churches.
New Law adopted, signed
On 11 October 2023, the House of Representatives approved the new Law in
its first reading, and on 29 November 2023 in its second reading. Deputy
Lyudmila Zdorikova led consideration of the Law in the lower chamber of
parliament.
"The draft law introduces new modern approaches to interaction of the state
with religious organisations," deputy Zdorikova claimed to state TV channel
CTV.by on 11 October 2023, after the first reading. "The draft has been
worked out in close cooperation with religious leaders and the academic
community. The draft was discussed publicly."
Forum 18 asked Andrei Aryaev, Head of the Religious Department of the
Plenipotentiary's Office, on 12 October 2023 why it was necessary to change
the Religion Law and whether the proposals from religious organisations
were considered in the amended text. "I won't give any comments," he
responded (https://www.forum18.org/archi
Forum 18 reached Mariya Ignatenko, assistant to parliamentary deputy
Zdorikova, on 13 October 2023. She listened to the questions about the new
Law without saying anything then put the phone down
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
The upper chamber of parliament, the Council of the Republic, approved the
new Law on 13 December 2023, it announced that day on its Telegram channel.
Aleksandr Lukashenko signed the Law on 30 December 2023, though his press
service did not announce this until 3 January 2024. Its statement said he
signed the Laws "correcting laws in questions of the activity of religious
organisations". It stressed the more restrictive conditions for registering
nationwide religious organisations.
The regime's legal website officially published the text of the new Law on
5 January 2024. The new Religion Law, the largest part of the new Law,
comes into force on 5 July 2024, six months after official publication.
Forum 18 asked to speak to Plenipotentiary Rumak on 4 January 2024. His
secretary asked what Forum 18 wanted to talk about. When Forum 18 explained
that it had questions about the new Religion Law, as well as about his
address to the Minsk clergy in December 2023, the secretary responded:
"Aleksandr Rumak does not give interviews by phone." She would not explain
why not.
Compulsory state permission to exercise freedom of religion or belief
remains
The new Religion Law – which comes into force on 5 July 2024 - continues
to require all religious communities to gain state registration before they
are allowed to operate. Article 15 declares: "Religious activity in Belarus
without the creation of religious organisations and their state
registration is banned." The previous Law stated
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
religious communities which may "unobstructed" exercise their freedom of
religion and belief are state-registered religious communities within
state-approved places of worship or other venues.
Any activity by unregistered or liquidated religious communities can lead
to prosecution under Criminal Code Article 193-1. This punishes
"organisation of or participation in activity by an unregistered political
party, foundation, civil or religious organisation" with a fine or
imprisonment for up to two years. Article 193-1 was removed from the
Criminal Code in July 2019, but was restored almost unchanged in January
2022 (https://www.forum18.org/archi
The ban on and punishment for exercising freedom of religion or belief
without state permission is against international law, as outlined in the
OSCE / Council of Europe Venice Commission Guidelines on the Legal
Personality of Religious or Belief Communities
(https://www.osce.org/files/f/
permission may not be made a condition for the exercise of the freedom of
religion or belief. The freedom of religion or belief, whether manifested
alone or in community with others, in public or in private, cannot be made
subject to prior registration or other similar procedures, since it belongs
to human beings and communities as rights holders and does not depend on
official authorization."
A member of the Council of Churches Baptists – who do not seek state
permission to exercise freedom of religion or belief – insisted to Forum
18 in June 2023 that their communities "will carry on doing what we do"
regardless of what new Law is adopted.
On 2 June 2023, a judge fined Council of Churches Baptist Vladimir Burshtyn
– who is in his 70s – over a month's average pension for an outdoor
meeting in Drogichin (https://www.forum18.org/archi
with fellow Baptists to share their faith. He was one of at least 11
individuals known to have been punished in 2023
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Code Article 24.23 ("Violation of the procedure for organising or
conducting a mass event or demonstration") for exercising freedom of
religion or belief without state permission. Ten were fined and the other
jailed for ten days.
Compulsory re-registration required between July 2024 and July 2025
Article 4 of the Religion Law requires all registered religious communities
to bring their statutes into line with the provisions of the new Law and
apply for re-registration within one year of the Law entering legal force
(5 July 2024) or to close down. It appears that if religious communities
fail to get the compulsory re-registration by 5 July 2025, all their
activity would become illegal.
Compulsory re-registration linked with denials of communities' existing
legal status is illegal under international law. As the OSCE / Council of
Europe Venice Commission Guidelines on the Legal Personality of Religious
or Belief Communities
(https://www.osce.org/files/f/
where new provisions to the system governing access to legal personality of
religious or belief communities are introduced, adequate transition rules
should guarantee the rights of existing communities. Where laws operate
retroactively .. (for example, requiring reapplication for legal
personality status under newly-introduced criteria), the state is under a
duty to show that such restrictions are compliant with the criteria set out
in Part I of these Guidelines."
(The Guidelines' Part 1 outlines the permissible restrictions on the
freedom of religion or belief, including that "limitations may not be
retroactively or arbitrarily imposed on specific individuals or groups;
neither may they be imposed by rules that purport to be laws, but which are
so vague that they do not give fair notice of what the law requires or
which allow for arbitrary enforcement".)
The Guidelines go on to note that "the state must demonstrate the objective
reasons that would justify a change in existing legislation, and show that
the proposed legislation does not interfere with the freedom of religion or
belief more than is strictly necessary in light of those objective
reasons".
Religious communities are the second group of organisations (after
political parties, which had to apply to be re-registered by June 2023)
that are being required to undergo "total re-registration", Lawtrend Centre
for Legal Transformation pointed out
(https://www.lawtrend.org/engl
Political parties also had to apply for re-registration within one year.
After the 2002 Religion Law
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
religious communities were given two years until November 2004 to undergo
compulsory re-registration
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
time obstructed many religious communities' attempts to seek state
registration.
As of 1 January 2023, according to the Plenipotentiary's Office, 3,590
religious communities had state registration, 3,417 individual communities
and 173 larger communities.
Almost every religious leader Forum 18 spoke to as officials were preparing
the Law pointed out that many religious communities will face problems with
re-registration. Exiled Orthodox priest Fr Aleksandr Shramko fears that
when religious communities apply for re-registration, "those objectionable
to the authorities may not get through".
"Our community in Minsk which is in the process of registration might have
a problem as it is not numerous and it is difficult to find more members,"
the head of the Lutheran community in Grodno Igor Grigus told Forum 18.
The leader of the Religious Board of Muslims in Belarus, Ali Voronovich,
commented that in many places it may be impossible to find the required
number of members to register a community. "Many communities in villages
and small towns will cease to exist, and it does not concern only Muslim
communities," he told Forum 18 on 8 June.
The member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also
expressed concern about registration provisions. "It might be a problem not
only for us."
Even tighter registration restrictions
Article 12 of the new Religion Law continues to require leaders of
registered religious communities to be Belarusian citizens, but adds that
they must also be permanent residents of Belarus.
Individuals who are on either the "List of organisations and individuals
involved in terrorist activities" or the "List of citizens of the Republic
of Belarus, foreign citizens or stateless persons involved in extremist
activities"
(https://humanconstanta.org/en
are banned from being leaders or founders of registered religious
organisations.
The regime maintains multiple similar lists targeting anyone, any
organisation, any document, any communication, or any website the regime
dislikes, such as the "Republican List of Extremist Materials
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Article 15 requires registered religious organisations to notify the
registering authority of the appointment of a new leader within 10 working
days. Depending on the type of religious community (eg. national religious
organisations, monasteries, etc.), the registering authority is either the
Plenipotentiary's Office or local administrations.
Article 13 specifies that religious communities (the lowest level of
registered religious organisation) are allowed to operate only in the place
of their registration.
Under Article 16, religious communities have to supply with a registration
application not only their statute, but a certificate confirming a place to
conduct their activity (which can be difficult in small towns and
villages). They also need to submit a list of the 20 or more adult founding
members who live in one locality or neighbouring localities, with each
person's date of birth, citizenship, address, place of work or study, phone
number and signature.
Many people are reluctant to provide such information to a regime which
commits serious human rights violations
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
rules. The requirement for a minimum of 20 adult founder members will also
prevent many smaller or rural religious communities from gaining
registration.
As the OSCE / Council of Europe Venice Commission Guidelines on the Legal
Personality of Religious or Belief Communities
(https://www.osce.org/files/f/
procedure that provides religious or belief communities with access to
legal personality status should not set burdensome requirements. Examples
of burdensome requirements that are not justified under international law
include, but are not limited to, the following: that the registration
application be signed by all members of the religious organization and
contain their full names, dates of birth and places of residence."
The Guidelines also state that: "legislation should not make obtaining
legal personality contingent on a religious or belief community having an
excessive minimum number of members".
The new Religion Law mentions no possibility for religious communities
which have fewer than the required 20 locally-resident adult citizen
members to lodge a registration application.
Religious communities have to in their registration application provide
extensive extra information if they were "previously unknown in Belarus".
This includes the origin and "worship practice" of their faith, as well as
their attitude to the family and marriage, the health of their followers,
and the "carrying out of state obligations". Applications from such
communities are sent to the Plenipotentiary's Office for a religious
studies "expert analysis", which can last up to six months.
The UN Human Rights Committee's General Comment 22
(https://undocs.org/CCPR/C/21/
thought, conscience and religion") of the ICCPR states that the Committee
"views with concern any tendency to discriminate against any religion or
belief for any reasons, including the fact that they are newly
established".
The OSCE / Council of Europe Venice Commission Guidelines on the Legal
Personality of Religious or Belief Communities
(https://www.osce.org/files/f/
must respect the autonomy of religious or belief communities when
fulfilling its obligation to provide them with access to legal personality.
.. states should observe their obligations by ensuring that national law
leaves it to the religious or belief community itself to decide on .. the
substantive content of its beliefs .. In particular, the state should
refrain from a substantive as opposed to a formal review of the statute and
character of a religious organization."
Higher level organisations are divided into national and regional religious
communities, which both require registration by the Plenipotentiary's
Office.
Article 14 of the new Religion Law requires national religious communities
to have at least 15 member communities in all seven regions of the country
(compared to 10 in the previous Law), at least one of which had had state
registration for at least 30 years. In his June 2023 justification for the
Law (https://www.forum18.org/archi
Rumak stated that an aim of the new Law is to change the registration
procedure "limiting through this the possibility to create a nationwide
registered religious organisation". He did not explain why the state aims
to limit the number of communities eligible to apply for national religious
organisation status.
This parallels the 2023 Political Parties and other Public Associations
Law, which made it significantly harder to form such groups
(https://csometer.info/updates
especially nationwide.
Regional religious communities have to have at least 10 religious
communities in one or several regions, at least one of which had had state
registration for at least 30 years.
Only national or regional organisations have the right to found
monasteries, missions and religious educational establishments, which
themselves require state registration.
"Extremism"
The new Law makes wide use of the term "extremist", a term widely used in
other laws, as banned Belarusian human rights group Human Constanta noted
on 5 June 2023
(https://www.article19.org/wp-
along with international human rights groups Access Now, Article 19, and
the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT).
"The corpus of Belarusian 'anti-extremism' laws lacks sufficient precision
and grants the authorities unfettered discretion to restrict the freedom of
expression and other human rights," the human rights groups noted in a
submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in
Belarus, Anaïs Marin.
Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and
protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering
terrorism, noted in her January 2020 report (A/HRC/43/46/Add.1
(https://undocs.org/A/HRC/43/4
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
counter-terrorism and extremism regimes provide excessive leeway to the
authorities to target and silence those who peacefully question the
established order, including various civil society actors, human rights
defenders, trade unionists, journalists, bloggers, and members of
marginalized communities or of communities legitimately exercising their
religious freedoms. The overwhelming focus on extremism has no
justification under international law."
Ní Aoláin's February 2020 general report on Human rights impact of
policies and practices aimed at preventing and countering violent extremism
(A/HRC43/46 (https://undocs.org/A/HRC/43/4
that all "States that regulate 'extremism' in their laws, policy,
programmes or practice should repeal such provisions, which have no
purchase in international law, and domestic law must comply with the
principles of legality, necessity and proportionality."
The regime labels an extraordinarily wide range of activity as "extremist".
Human Constanta regularly documents such cases, including in its April -
June 2023 overview
(https://humanconstanta.org/en
It noted earlier in 2023 the jailing of the administrator of a social media
group for three years for distributing educational information about the
Belarusian language.
On 12 December 2023, the Supreme Court in Minsk upheld the lower court
decision to liquidate Minsk's New Life Full Gospel Church
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
City Executive Committee's Ideology, Religion, and Ethnic Affairs
Coordination Department Yekaterina Kaverina had initiated the liquidation
suit because local courts had found some of the Church's online materials
"extremist".
Among online material, a Greek Catholic news website and a YouTube
interview with a Catholic priest who fled to neighbouring Poland in 2021 to
escape prosecution are among religious items banned by local courts as
"extremist" (https://www.forum18.org/archi
2022 and added to the Information Ministry's "Republican List of Extremist
Materials (https://www.forum18.org/archi
In autumn 2023, courts declared materials from Christian Vision (a group
which documents violations of freedom of religion or belief and other human
rights) and Minsk's New Life Church "extremist"
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
a Vitebsk court banned as "extremist" a YouTube channel, a Telegram channel
and a Facebook page belonging to exiled Catholic priest Fr Vyacheslav
Barok.
Christian Vision expressed concern about the growing list of websites,
channels and social networks of religious figures and communities courts
have declared "extremist". "This is done in order to artificially create
obstacles to the dissemination of this information, limit its receipt by
people who are in Belarus." Christian Vision pointed out in a 21 September
2023 report
(https://belarus2020.churchby.
that even a link on a mobile phone "becomes a reason for persecution of a
person who is interested in obtaining independent and important information
that concerns Christianity and the modern political crisis".
"The authorities are thus trying to reduce the influence of religious
leaders, activists and communities commenting on events in Belarus and
repressions committed against believers and their communities," Christian
Vision noted.
Deputy Information Minister Igor Buzovsky, who is also Deputy Chair of the
"Republican Expert Commission for the Evaluation of Symbols, Attributes,
and Information Products for the presence (or absence) in them of signs of
Extremism", insisted to Forum 18 in January 2023
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
exclusively on the basis of the law."
However, Deputy Information Minister Buzovsky refused to discuss the
banning of the Tsarkva Greek Catholic website or other religious
publications. "You speak about one website – I wouldn't want to talk from
memory. You need to apply officially." He refused to discuss anything else
about why religious publications are banned and put the phone down.
New powers for regime to inspect, monitor religious communities
There is currently surveillance by the KGB secret police of religious
believers (https://www.forum18.org/archi
monitoring of and restrictions on religious communities by the
Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs and other state agencies.
Olga Chemodanova, Head of the Ideology Department of Minsk City Executive
Committee, told priests of Minsk Orthodox Diocese at a clergy meeting on 20
December 2023 that during that year, state agencies had "monitored" more
than 500 religious communities
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
prevented the distribution of "extremist" literature and had discovered
that prayers were being said in church for the victory of Ukraine in the
war (something she clearly did not like).
Article 40 of the new Religion Law continues explicit state surveillance of
whether registered religious communities are abiding by the law. Such
control continues to be enacted by the Plenipotentiary's Office and local
administrations.
Article 26 bans missionary activity and materials "contradicting the law
and the ideology of the Belarusian state". The "ideology of the Belarusian
state" is not explained.
In his June 2023 justification for the Law
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Rumak said that the new Law would "strengthen the rights for registering
bodies [the Plenipotentiary's Office and local administrations] to inspect
the activity of religious communities under their statutes" to determine
whether it is accord with the Religion Law. Rumak noted that the new Law
would widen religious communities' responsibility for violations of the
Law, including over "carrying out extremist activity and attempts to revive
Nazism, or illegal missionary activity".
Greater "legal" possibilities for state to forcibly close religious
communities
Under Article 41 of the new Religion Law, a failure to correct a
"violation" within a set deadline or a repeated "violation" within a year
continues to allow officials to go to court to liquidate (in effect ban) a
religious community. Even before any court liquidation hearing, officials
can suspend the religious community's activity which would make anything it
did illegal. Such a suspension cannot be legally challenged.
In his June 2023 justification for the Law
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Rumak stressed the widening of the possibility for the state to liquidate
registered religious communities and thus render any activity by them
illegal.
Continuing restrictions on religious literature, items
Article 22 of the new Religion Law gives the Plenipotentiary the right to
commission a religious studies "expert analysis" of any religious
literature or items "with the aim of preventing the distribution of
religious literature or other materials containing information inciting
social, ethnic, religious or racial hatred and other extremist
manifestations".
Cultural or educational organisations receiving religious printed, audio or
video materials must now seek an "expert analysis" from the Plenipotentiary
(earlier versions of the new Law
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
"have the right" to seek such "expert analyses").
This largely continues the existing compulsory prior state censorship
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
on the distribution of most religious literature and objects, which runs in
parallel with the threat of banning texts or websites as allegedly
"extremist".
Article 27 of the new Religion Law allows only registered religious
organisations to produce, import, export or distribute "religious
literature, other printed, audio- and video-materials, as well as other
objects of religious significance". The Council of Ministers draws up a
list of such "objects of religious significance".
Religious literature, audio and video materials "must not contradict the
ideology of the Belarusian state" or contain "propaganda of war, social,
ethnic, religious or racial hatred and other extremist activity". The
"ideology of the Belarusian state" is not explained.
As under the previous 2002 Law
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
the new Religion Law religious communities have to present all imported
religious literature or materials "for conducting missionary and other
non-cult activity" to the Plenipotentiary's Office for it to decide whether
to commission a religious studies "expert analysis". All such literature or
materials continue to be required to include the full name of the
registered religious and its religious affiliation.
Only religious communities continue to be allowed to distribute printed,
audio and video materials on religion and continue to be allowed to do so
only on their premises or, if they get permission from local
administrations, in other premises.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference commented as the Law was in preparation
that these restrictions on distribution "put religious literature in a
discriminatory position compared to other literature that can be
distributed through specialised bookshops".
Commercial organisations continue to be banned from publishing religious
literature or from producing items to be used in religious worship.
Religious education restricted, under regime surveillance
Article 10 of the new Religion Law imposes new restrictions on religious
education of children and adults. Registered religious communities can
provide such education only if it is in their statutes and only in premises
they own or rent, unless those rented premises are owned by educational
establishments, or organisations and business people providing education.
"This could put in a difficult position both rural parishes and
recently-formed urban communities building their own buildings in new urban
areas," 15 June 2023 comments signed by "Grodno Diocese of the Belarusian
Orthodox Church" below the draft Law on the government's legal website
noted.
The religious education of adults, young people, and children, as well as
related materials, must not "contradict the ideology of generally accepted
traditional values of the Belarusian people or the ideology of the
Belarusian state" or "contain propaganda of war, social, ethnic or
religious hatred". Neither "the ideology of generally accepted traditional
values of the Belarusian people" nor "the ideology of the Belarusian state"
is explained.
Children can take part in these classes only with a signed application from
a parent or guardian.
Religious communities are required in their religious education to
"cooperate" with local and other state authorities.
The provisions covering religious education in the Law "reveal the regime's
wariness towards any uncontrolled influence on minds, especially of the
youth", exiled Orthodox priest Fr Shramko noted as the Law was in
preparation.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference expressed concern before the Law was
finally adopted that applications from parents or guardians for children to
attend religion classes held by religious communities, could be subject to
inspection by officials. "An obligation could be placed in future on
religious communities to provide the controlling agencies lists of named
children who are studying, with the attached applications from parents," it
noted. This would force parents and children to reveal any religious
affiliation, it added, which is illegal under international human rights
law.
Catholic Archbishop Iosif Stanevsky, speaking at a discussion of the then
draft Law in parliament's House of Representatives on 3 November 2023,
"emphasised the right of believers to a certain anonymity and protection of
personal data when teaching children religion", according to a report on
the Church's website the same day.
As the UN Human Rights Committee's General Comment 22
(https://undocs.org/CCPR/C/21/
thought, conscience and religion") states: "No one can be compelled to
reveal his thoughts or adherence to a religion or belief."
Fr Yuri Sanko, the spokesperson for the Catholic Bishops' Conference, told
Forum 18 in June 2023 that officials – mainly from local Executive
Committees - had already demanded to know how many children are studying in
religious education classes, but had not demanded the names of those
children or their parents.
Regime inspections of Catholic parishes took place from March 2021,
sometimes followed by prosecutions of priests. Prosecutors, as well as
officials from local Ideology Departments at the request of prosecutors,
demanded reports from priests, catechetical plans and other internal
information (https://www.forum18.org/archi
parish life.
Under Article 10 of the new Religion Law, religious education of children
and adults has to be in the state languages (Belarusian or Russian). The
Catholic Bishops' Conference pointed out before the Law was finally adopted
that as Belarus is a multi-ethnic state, this provision would deny ethnic
minorities the right to teach their faith in their native language.
At the 3 November 2023 discussion, Archbishop Stanevsky stressed "the right
of national minorities to teach children religion in their native
language", according to the Church's report of his remarks.
The Minsk-based Muslim expressed doubt that the community would face
problems over the language used in teaching. "The Koran is in Arabic, Jews
have the Torah in Hebrew," the Muslim pointed out to Forum 18 on 11 January
2024. "It would be a scandal if any changes are introduced and we do not
teach Arabic."
On 3 November 2023, journalists asked Plenipotentiary Rumak as he was
entering parliament's House of Representatives for the discussion of the
then draft Law with officials and some religious leaders whether worship
services in Polish would be banned. He answered "No", Russian news agency
Tass noted the same day. He said the ban on using non-state languages would
apply only to religious education, not to religious worship.
Separating religious communities from involvement with wider society
Neither the new Law nor Plenipotentiary Aleksandr Rumak's June 2023
justification for the Law
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
attempts to prevent registered religious communities from involvement with
wider society. However, several provisions appear designed to ensure this,
possibly due to many nationwide belief-based protests against the regime's
election fraud (https://www.forum18.org/archi
support of Russia's renewed 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Many of these provisions are vaguely worded, which would allow officials to
arbitrarily decide whether or not a religious community's activity should
lead to liquidation or punishment.
Article 8 of the new Religion Law includes the provision: "In places of
worship, it is not allowed to use any symbols, except for religious ones,
to hold meetings, rallies, picketing, election campaigning and other mass
events of a political nature, propaganda of war, social, ethnic, religious
and racial hatred, or other extremist activity, as well as speeches and
appeals insulting representatives of state authorities, officials and
individual citizens, and representatives of other faiths and their
followers."
Article 8 of the new Religion Law also bans the activity of religious
communities or their representatives which are directed "against the
sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus, the basic directions of Belarus'
internal and external policies, its constitutional system and civic
accord", or are accompanied by violations of the rights and freedom of
individuals, as well as "obstructing the carrying out by individuals of
their state, public and family obligations" or "cause harm to their health
or morals".
"Cult property" cannot be used for purposes other than those set out in a
registered religious community's statute, "including for political aims, as
well as for terrorist and other extremist activity".
New restrictions on religious charity
Article 29 of the new Religion Law allows registered religious
organisations to conduct "charitable and social activity". However, only
monasteries are allowed to establish children's homes with local
administration approval.
(The June 2023 draft of the Law
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
any registered religious organisation to establish children's homes with
local administration approval.)
The 2002 Religion Law (https://www.forum18.org/archi
similarly allowed registered religious organisations to conduct charitable
activity, but this has not stopped the regime blocking and closing
religious-based charitable and other social justice initiatives.
In January 2022, the Presidential Administration's Humanitarian Activity
Department refused to allow a Protestant Church in Vitebsk Region to get a
shipment of humanitarian aid
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
wheelchairs, clothes, footwear and furniture) sent from other parts of
Europe.
In early 2021, the Humanitarian Activity Department refused to allow the
Minsk Catholic Archdiocese's charity Caritas to accept foreign money
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
to help poor and homeless people. The project aimed to support about 700
people in need with food, as well as plants and animals to grow for food.
In February 2013, the regime stripped legal status from the House of Mary
shelter (https://www.forum18.org/archi
homeless people, run by young Catholic layman Aleksei Shchedrov in his home
village. After police visits, he was forced to close the shelter
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Belarus
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
For background information, see Forum 18's Belarus religious freedom survey
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Forum 18's compilation of for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
freedom of religion or belief commitments
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
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