Human Rights Situation in Belarus: 2018

In 2018, external political factors continued to influence the human rights situation in the country. The government’s policies aiming at preserving the dialogue and improving relations with the EU and the United States, against the background of the Ukrainian-Russian crisis, which was intensified in recent years, forced the authorities to refrain from harsh forms of repression against civil society and the political opposition. However, the presence of repression themselves as such, in their different forms and manifestations, proves the government’s continued policy of strict control over society in order to maintain “political stability.” (fragment)