>>> VERSION FRANÇAISE | |||
Inter-Parliamentary Union | |||
Chemin du Pommier 5, C.P. 330, CH-1218 Le Grand-Saconnex/Geneva, Switzerland |
at its 175th session (Geneva, 1st October 2004)
Referring to the outline of the case of Mr. Victor Gonchar, a member of the Thirteenth Supreme Soviet of Belarus, as contained in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/175/11(a)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 174th session (April 2004),
Taking account of the letter of the Chairman of the Committee on Legislation, Judicial and Legal Issues of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly, forwarded at the hearing the Committee held with him on the occasion of the 111th Assembly (September 2004),
Recalling that Mr. Gonchar, and a friend, Mr. Anatoly Krasovsky, disappeared on the evening of 16 September 1999 and have not been found since; allegations have been made attributing this disappearance to State-run death squads; the authorities have consistently affirmed that all these allegations were investigated without result, which was why the preliminary investigation has been continuously extended, most recently to 24 October 2004,
Recalling that the Rapporteur appointed by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to elucidate the circumstances of disappearances for allegedly political reasons, concluded in his report, as endorsed by the PACE, that "a proper investigation of the disappearances has not been carried out by the competent Belarusian authorities", and that the information gathered led him "to believe that steps were taken at the highest level of the State actively to cover up the true background of the disappearances, and to suspect that senior State officials may themselves be involved in these disappearances",
Considering that, according to the Chairman of the Committee on Legislation, Judicial and Legal Issues, the Belarusian parliamentarians have been closely following developments relating to Mr. Gonchar’s disappearance; however, Parliament had no power to exert pressure on the investigators or interfere with any investigation of a criminal case, including the case in question; nor was it competent to set up an inquiry commission to look into the matter; moreover, the law did not allow the investigators to disclose investigation details; he maintained that the PACE report was based on allegations and dismissed it,
Taking note of the common statement of concern adopted by the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians in July 2004, which is annexed to the resolution,
The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,
|