Geneva, April 8, 2025
Belarus should reinstate its constitutional status as a nuclear-weapon-free country, return the nuclear weapons deployed in its territory to Russia, and revive its earlier proposal for the establishment of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central and Eastern Europe, according to a submission made to the Human Rights Council in Geneva by a group seven non-governmental organizations. The submission was made as part of the Universal Periodic Review of Belarus’ adherence to its human rights obligations under international law.
“The threat of nuclear war has increased markedly through conflicts involving nuclear armed and allied states, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” according to the submitting organizations which include Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace (New Zealand), Basel Peace Office (Switzerland), Citizens for Global Solutions (USA), International Centre for Civil Initiatives “Our House” (Belarus), World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy (Netherlands/International, World Future Council (Germany/International), and Youth Fusion (Czech Republic/International). “The Russian nuclear weapons recently deployed in Belarus – Iskander-M short-range nuclear missiles and free-fall nuclear bombs deliverable by Belarussian SU-30 fighter-attack planes – elevate this threat.”
Belarus, and other nuclear armed and allied States, should adhere to the commitment they made at the UN Summit of the Future last September to make “every effort to avert the danger of such a war, bearing in mind that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”
Further, the organizations remind Belarus of the 2018 UN Human Rights Committee affirmation that “The threat or use of weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons, which are indiscriminate in effect and are of a nature to cause destruction of human life on a catastrophic scale, is incompatible with respect for the right to life and may amount to a crime under international law.” This declaration strengthened the general prohibition against the threat or use of nuclear weapons affirmed by the International Court of Justice in 1996.
“The deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus, which President Lukashenko has said that he is ready to use without hesitation in case of aggression against Belarus is in direct violation of international law,” says Rebecca Shoot, Executive Director of Citizens for Global Solutions. “This violation is particularly alarming when the threat of nuclear conflict has never been greater, according to the Bureau of Atomic Scientists. The actions of States at this critical moment are all that stands against a cataclysmic threat to humanity and the planet.”
In the early 1990s, a newly independent Belarus took some exemplary actions for peace and disarmament: relinquishing all nuclear weapons that were remaining on its territory following the break-up of the Soviet Union, acceding to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a non-nuclear State, and adopting a constitution that confirmed Belarus as a “neutral, nuclear-weapon-free country” with a foreign policy based on the “non-use of force or the threat of force, the inviolability of frontiers and the peaceful settlement of disputes.”
“The recent reversal by Belarus of these important actions is cause for alarm, increases regional tensions and elevates the risk of nuclear war threatening our collective future,” says Alyn Ware, Director of Basel Peace Office. “We call on Belarus not only to reinstate its status as a nuclear-weapon-free nation, but also to support adoption of no-first-use policies and replacement of nuclear deterrence with common security to help build a shared future based on peace rather than the spectre of nuclear war.”
“The land of Belarus once chose to silence the hum of nuclear warheads and listen instead to the quiet breath of its forests, lakes and swamps,” says Olga Karatch, founder and director of the International Centre for Civil Initiatives – Our House. “It is time to remember that promise of peace.”
“Russian nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus – along with other nuclear weapons deployed by nuclear-weapon States in Europe and globally – threaten the lives and wellbeing of non-combatants, including youth and future generations” says Ayleen Roy, Core Team Member of Youth Fusion. “Youth in Europe and around the world want to transcend borders, cooperating as friends to build a better future, not as enemies divided by nuclear threats.”
The submission welcomes the proposal for a Central and Eastern Europe Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone which Belarus submitted to the UN General Assembly in 1990. It calls for Belarus to review, revive and reshape such a proposal, which could help in building security guarantees against the threat or use of nuclear weapons in the region.
“Most countries in the global South are part of legally declared Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZs),” says Prof. Dr (med) Andreas Nidecker, President of the Basel Peace Office. “This has helped to build common security and end nuclear threats in these regions. The concept of a European NWFZ could potentially contribute to discussions on security of Belarus, Ukraine and other European nations at this time.”
And the submission calls on Belarus and all other nuclear-reliant States to a replace their reliance on nuclear deterrence with common security. This would include full adherence to the UN Charter and universal acceptance of compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, in order to resolve international conflicts peacefully through law, without recourse to the threat or use of war.
“True security is not built through nuclear arsenals, but through trust, transparency, and international cooperation,” concludes Olga Karatch “Belarus can be a bridge, not a battleground.”
Contact:
Alyn Ware alyn@pnnd.org. Mobile +41 788 912 156. WhatsApp +420 773 638 867
Read the full submission:
Image: Test of a nuclear capable Iskander Missile of the type being deployed in Belarus. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/AP pic)