“Sanctions against Belarus and Russia constitute systematic violations of human rights,” CIS Secretary-General Sergey Lebedev stated at a meeting of the CIS Council of Permanent Representatives held in Minsk.
The foreign ministries of Belarus and Russia have prepared a report on human rights situation in certain countries. The authors emphasize that no country fully complies with all human rights standards. Moscow and Minsk seek to demonstrate that countries that lecture others have shortcomings of their own.
“Human rights are being violated; take the sanctions imposed on our countries, for example. Look at what is happening in Paris, in Spain, and in the United Kingdom – demonstrations are taking place everywhere against human rights violations and other social issues. We want to draw the attention of the international community to these problems,” Sergey Lebedev said.
“What is particularly important is that the report is based primarily on factual material. It relies on the conclusions and recommendations of international and intergovernmental human rights organizations. It also incorporates analyses conducted by various non-governmental organizations, as well as information published in the media,” said Grigory Lukiyantsev, Director of the Department of Multilateral Cooperation on Human Rights of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.