Monitoring of the situation with freedom of association and the status of civil society organizations in the Republic of Belarus July 2025

The campaign of mass liquidation of non-profit organizations in Belarus has come to an end.

The only organizational and legal form of non-profit organizations that will soon fall under the continuation of the liquidation campaign are religious organizations. Their liquidation was caused by the year-long campaign of re-registration of religious organizations, which ended on July 5. At the same time, when necessary, the authorities resort to forced liquidation or coercion to make decisions on liquidation regarding specific non-profit organizations of any organizational and legal form.

The end of the campaign of mass liquidation of non-profit organizations in Belarus is not related to the cessation or reduction of the level of repression in the country. The end of this campaign only indicates that over three and a half years, the Belarusian authorities have destroyed almost all non-profit organizations they considered undesirable, the number of which was already small compared to other European countries even before 2020. Repressions against Belarusian civil society organizations and citizens continue both inside the country and in exile.

Over a hundred representatives of civil society organizations, including members of trade unions and religious groups, remain imprisoned. The practice of recognizing the information resources of such organizations, as well as the personal pages of their leaders and members, as extremist materials, and the organizations themselves as extremist formations, continues. The practice of blocking access to the informational resources (websites) of undesirable organizations within the country is also widespread. The practice of bringing criminal charges for participation in the activities of organizations or initiatives recognized as extremist continues.

As of the end of July 2025, at least 756 non-profit organizations had decided to liquidate themselves. The total losses in the civil society sector since the post-election period of 2020 amount to no fewer than 1,948 institutionalized non-profit organizations (public associations, trade unions, political parties, foundations, non-governmental institutions, and associations).

The authorities continue to exert pressure on activists and representatives of civil society who have been forced to remain abroad. The practice of attempted recruitment of activists abroad by Belarusian security services continues.

On July 5, 2025, the campaign for the re-registration of religious organizations was completed. Official statistics on the number of religious organizations that successfully underwent the re-registration process are currently not being provided.

The investigation into the criminal case against the leaders and accomplices of the organization recognized as an extremist formation, the «Russian Orthodox Church – Tsarist Empire,» has been completed. Among other charges, they have been accused under Part 2 of Article 193 of the Criminal Code of Belarus: organizing and leading a religious organization that encroaches on the individual, rights, and responsibilities of citizens.

Liquidation of non-profit organizations

On July 5, the re-registration process for religious organizations came to an end. Organizations that did not complete re-registration by July 5, 2025, are subject to liquidation through the courts, and their activities are considered illegal. As of the time this review was prepared, official statistics on the number of religious organizations that successfully underwent re-registration nationwide have not been made publicly available.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that religious organizations are currently not included in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs (USR), and court hearing schedules and judicial decision databases are not publicly accessible. This makes it impossible to independently verify whether specific religious organizations have completed re-registration. According to the law, information about religious organizations must be entered into the USR by January 1, 2026.

Non-profit organizations continue to make decisions to self-liquidate. During the reporting period, at least three cases were recorded in which public associations independently decided to liquidate themselves. As before, the main reasons for voluntary self-dissolution remain widespread repression, an unfavorable legal environment, and pressure on civil society, including specific organizations, their leaders, members, and staff.

As of July 31, 2025, according to the monitoring conducted by Lawtrend, since 2021, 1,192 non-profit organizations have been recorded as being in the process of forced liquidation. This includes cases where the registration authorities filed lawsuits for liquidation or where organizations were forcibly removed from the USR. Additionally, at least 756 non-profit organizations (including public associations, foundations, institutions, and a political party) have been voluntarily dissolved by the decision of their members or founders.

Administrative and criminal prosecution of the leadership and members of civil society organizations, as well as other forms of pressure on civil society organizations

In connection with the performance of their professional activities, participation in civil society organizations, and the manifestation of civic activism, at least 5 representatives of human rights organizations, dozens of representatives of civil society organizations and religious organizations, and 27 representatives of trade unions and the labor movementcontinue to serve prison sentences.

By order of the Prosecutor of the Mahilyow Region, on the territory of Belarus, access has been restricted to the websites of the human rights initiative «Правозащитники против пыток» («Human Rights Defenders Against Torture» in ENG) (protivpytok.org) and the Russian human rights project «Мемориал ПЗК» («Memorial PZK» in ENG) (memopzk.org).

During the monitoring period, the Republican List of Extremist Materials (the document is available in Russian) was updated to include informational content from the Instagram account of «Этнацэнтр «Свiтанак» («Ethnocenter Svitanak» in ENG), the Facebook page of «Асацыяцыя Палiвязняў Беларусi» («Association of Former Political Prisoners of Belarus» in ENG), the Instagram account «pressclubbelarus», the Threads page «Хрысцiянская Вiзiя – Christian Vision for Belarus», the Instagram account «brest.viasna», and the Facebook community «Беларусы ў Лiтве/ Baltarusiai Lietuvoje / Belarusians in Lithuania».

As of the end of June, 303 entities were included in the List of organizations, formations, and individual entrepreneurs involved in extremist activities. During the monitoring period, the initiative “Belarusian Academy”, a civic initiative formed in response to waves of repression against Belarusian education, was designated an extremist formation.

According to the Human Rights Center «Viasna,» at least 277 people have been convicted in Belarus for «creating or participating in an extremist organization,» 65 of them in absentia.

A Belarusian citizen was sentenced to two years of imprisonment and a fine of 500 base units (21,000 Belarusian rubles) for participating in the activities of the so-called extremist formation “Актыўнымі быць файна” (ABF, or “Being Active is Cool” in English), a non-formal education organization that promotes Swedish study clubs methodologies. ABF was liquidated in Belarus in 2021 and has since continued its activities abroad, with its headquarters in Lithuania and offices in Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, and Sweden.

According to a representative of the Prosecutor’s Office, “the accused, sharing the ideas of the members of this extremist formation, joined it in February 2022. In the interests of ABF, he participated in online and offline training organized by this extremist formation in Minsk and Mahilyow, and in 2023–2024 took part in events in the Republic of Lithuania as a representative of this organization.”

The Supreme Court, acting on a request from the General Prosecutor’s Office, has designated the United Transitional Cabinet (UTC), along with its structural subdivisions, as a terrorist organization. The General Prosecutor’s Office emphasized that any involvement in the activities of a terrorist organization (including its financing or assistance in such activities, for example, through the recruitment of new members, training, or preparation of individuals for these purposes) entails criminal liability.

Criminal liability for organizing and leading a religious organization that infringes upon the individual, rights, and duties of citizens

The Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee announced the completion of the investigation into the criminal case against the leaders and accomplices of the organization recognized as an extremist formation: “Russian Orthodox Church – Tsarist Empire.” As part of the investigation, five leaders of the formation were charged, depending on their level of involvement in the crimes, under the following articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus:

• Part 1 of Article 361-1 – creation of and leadership in an extremist formation;
  
  
• Part 2 of Article 193 – organization and leadership of a religious organization that infringes upon the individual, rights, and duties of citizens;
  
  
• Part 3 of Article 130 – incitement of national and religious hatred and discord.

Legislation and Legislative Initiatives

The Law of the Republic of Belarus of July 12, 2025, No. 86-Z “On Amendments to Laws on the Issues of Ensuring the Rights of the Child” significantly restricts the exercise of children’s right to association. According to the amendments to the Law on the Rights of the Child, “children have the right to join children’s and youth public associations provided that the activities of such associations do not pursue the aims of carrying out terrorist or other extremist activities, or other acts prohibited by law, or allow for the possibility of such activities or acts being carried out in the course of pursuing the legitimate goals of their creation.” Thus, the changes introduced into the law allow for a very broad interpretation of restrictions on the exercise of freedom of association, including in terms of permitting certain acts both at the stage of establishing an association and during its subsequent activities.

As of July 11, 2025, the main provisions of Directive No. 12 dated April 9, 2025, “On the Implementation of the Fundamentals of the Ideology of the Belarusian State,” came into force. The directive approves the Fundamentals of the Ideology of the Belarusian State and mandates conducting ideological work, including informational, educational, and socio-cultural activities in organizations of all forms of ownership. It establishes that the organization of ideological work within labor collectives (primarily aimed at supporting the internal and external policies of the Republic of Belarus) is the responsibility of the organization’s head, with coordination assigned to one of the deputies. Organizations of all forms of ownership must participate in solving socially significant issues, ensure conditions for employees’ participation in public associations and trade unions, and organize informational work with members of the labor collective. The directive does not specify which particular public associations or trade unions organizations must ensure their employees participate in. At the same time, the directive’s wording implies that this primarily concerns organizations that, according to the law “On the Fundamentals of Civil Society,” have a special status of interaction with the state.

At a meeting of the Standing Commission of the House of Representatives on Human Rights, National Relations, and Mass Media, the draft plan for preparing legislative projects for 2026 was reviewed. One of the draft laws scheduled for revision in 2026 is the Law on Trade Unions. Information from the meeting also revealed that a roundtable on the role of political parties and public associations in ensuring national unity is planned for September 2025. The focus of the participants will be on “examining the law enforcement practices of legislation in this area, as well as developing effective mechanisms for interaction between the parliament and civil society institutions.”

A draft law “On Amendments to the Codes on Issues of Administrative Responsibility” has been submitted to the House of Representatives. In addition to general amendments such as terminology clarifications, changes to the complaint review procedure, and detailing educational measures for minors, the draft also includes significant changes. In particular, it is proposed to add Article 19.16 to the Code of Administrative Offenses titled “Promotion of Homosexual Relations, Gender Transition, Childlessness, and Pedophilia.” Thus, the Belarusian authorities have equated gender transition, same-sex relationships, and childlessness with pedophilia, which is a criminal offense. According to the proposed Article 19.16, “the dissemination of information in any form aimed at forming citizens’ perceptions of the attractiveness of homosexual relationships, gender transition, childlessness, or the acceptance of pedophilia as permissible” would result in a fine of up to twenty base units (840 Belarusian rubles) for individuals; up to 100 base units (4,200 Belarusian rubles) for individual entrepreneurs; and from 100 to 150 base units (4,200 to 6,300 Belarusian rubles) for legal entities. The draft law also proposes introducing a new Article 24.62 titled “Illegal Representation of Belarus at International Events.”