Series:ЦЕНТР ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЙ ТРАНСФОРМАЦИИ - Отчет по результатам исследования

Perceptions of Belarusians about human rights and human rights activities. Research results report

Представления беларусов о правах человека и правозащитной деятельности. Отчет по результатам исследования

Author(s): Oksana Shelest,Andrey Egorov / Language(s): Belarusian

In accordance with the terms of reference, the purpose of the study was to reveal the ideas that exist in Belarusian society about the relationship between a person and the state, human rights and human rights activities. As a research method, the method of focus group interviews was chosen, which allows to reveal not only people's points of view and opinions, but also the basis on which they are built. The main hypothesis was that the views and attitudes of Belarusians on issues of interest to us differ depending on the relationship of their social group to the state system. Based on this, four social groups were selected from which participants were recruited for conducting focus groups.

Problems and prospects of Housing Self-Government development in Belarus

Проблемы и перспективы развития жилищного самоуправления в Беларуси

Author(s): Oksana Shelest,Olga Fablinova / Language(s): Belarusian

As of January 2011, there were 832 owner partnerships and 5,920 housing and construction consumer cooperatives in the Republic. At the same time, 528 owners' associations and 2,755 housing construction consumer cooperatives were served independently, and the rest - by housing organizations (as a rule, state). The association of the owners' partnership and the housing-building consumer cooperative allows the residents of the house to dispose of the property themselves, which is important in view of the prospect of the transition to 100% payment of housing and communal services services and, accordingly, the increasing need to control the most rational use of available material resources in order to minimize the forced expenses.

Topography of civil society of Belarus. Information note

Топография гражданского общества Беларуси. Информационная записка

Author(s): Andrey Egorov,Andrey Shutov / Language(s): Belarusian

Keywords: Belarus CIvil Society;

One of the significant problems of the effectiveness of transformations in Belarus is the inconsistency of actions and strategies of democratic agents inside the country and external strategies of work with Belarus. The policy of the European Union in relation to Belarus takes into account the views of civil society and the political opposition only to a small extent. This situation is not due to the reluctance of EU and European Union member states to include Belarusians in the process of making political decisions. The launch of the European Dialogue on Modernization (since March 2012), the practice of the Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership, the invitation of representatives of the political opposition in the status of observers to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Eastern Partnership EURONEST, regular consultations with civil society on the priorities of development programs and many other facts speak rather to the contrary . The tasks of coordinating strategies and taking into account the opinions of Belarusian civil society and the political opposition cannot be solved by European politicians for other reasons. Firstly, due to the lack of a unified strategy of the Belarusian democratic forces, and secondly, due to the total pluralism of opinions within Belarus.

EXAMINATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY INDEX RESEARCH IN BELARUS

ЭКСПЕРТИЗА РЕЗУЛЬТАТОВ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ ИНДЕКСА ГРАЖДАНСКОГО ОБЩЕСТВА В БЕЛАРУСИ

Author(s): Oksana Shelest,Tatyana Vodolazskaya,Vitaly Silitsky / Language(s): Belarusian

This document is an independent examination of research conducted within the CIVICUS project "Civil Society Index in the Republic of Belarus". The task of this examination is to answer the following questions: - Does the conducted research correspond to CIVIKUS methodology? - Do the conclusions and recommendations based on the results of the Civil Society Index study reflect the real state of civil society in Belarus?

The European Union in the mirror of public opinion: how to improve the image of European politics in Belarus?

Европейский Союз в зеркале общественного мнения: как улучшить имидж европейской политики в Беларуси?

Author(s): Andrey Egorov / Language(s): Belarusian

Not only authorities, political opposition and civil society in Belarus, but also ordinary citizens of the country react to the political actions and initiatives of the EU in relation to Belarus. How are the decisions of the EU on the introduction of restrictive measures or the calls of European politicians to ban the World Hockey Championship in 2014 perceived and evaluated by the population of Belarus? Do the citizens of Belarus consider the repression of the political opposition fair? How did the geopolitical preferences of Belarusians change? These questions are answered by the data of the last mass sociological survey of NISEPI (national survey on March 2-12, 2012, 1509 people were interviewed, the representativeness error does not exceed 0.03)

Ban on the profession in Belarus: variety of forms, tasks and methods

Запрет на профессию в Беларуси: разнообразие форм, задач и способов

Author(s): Tatyana Vodolazskaya,Andrey Shutov / Language(s): Belarusian

This document presents the results of the analysis of the manifestations of the ban on the profession in modern Belarus. Manifestations of the ban on the profession include cases of creating any kind of obstacles in the implementation of professional activities, which are not related to violations of labor legislation or insufficient qualifications, but act as persecution for ideological and political motives or opposition to the social activity of employees. The analysis was carried out on the basis of monitoring facts of persecution in professional activities, presented in open sources: in media materials; in the monitoring of human rights violations of the Viasna Human Rights Center (from 1998 to the end of 2011); in the monitoring of violations of journalistic activity by the Public Organization "Belarusian Association of Journalists".

The potential of Interaction of Environmental Organizations in solving common Problems

Потенциал взаимодействия экологических организаций в решении общих задач

Author(s): Andrey Egorov,Oksana Shelest,Karina Shiloh / Language(s): Belarusian

Keywords: ecological NGOs in Belarus;

Belarusian ecologically oriented organizations (hereinafter referred to as "green", ecologists) occupy a significant place in the structure of the public sector of Belarus. This is expressed both in the total number of active organizations and in the visibility of their actions against the general background of the activity of public organizations. In recent years (2010-2013), about 30 joint actions and campaigns of ecologists took place, which were actively covered by mass media and released a certain public resonance.

Recommendations of the European Parliament on the policy of the EU in relation to Belarus: what strategy do MEPs propose? Analytical note

Рекомендации Европейского парламента по политике ЕС в отношении Беларуси: какую стратегию предлагают евродепутаты? Аналитическая записка

Author(s): Alena Zuykova / Language(s): Bulgarian

The European Parliament, on the initiative of the Lithuanian deputy from the faction of social democrats Eustas Paletskis, developed policy recommendations for European institutions regarding Belarus (the document was adopted on September 12, 2013). This is an important step in the development of European policy towards Belarus for two reasons: first, because the European Parliament has not yet played an active role in European-Belarusian relations; secondly, because European-Belarusian relations are characterized by the absence of a specific strategy in the EU.

Study of the potential of solidarity in the Belarusian organized Civil Society

Исследование потенциала солидарности в беларусском организованном гражданском обществе

Author(s): Tatyana Vodolazskaya,Oksana Shelest,Andrey Egorov / Language(s): Belarusian

Over the past few years, in the social and political life of Belarusian society, we have observed a decrease in the ability of citizens to take effective joint political and social actions, to publicly and actively express their own position and defend common interests. Despite the growing number of petitions, public statements, signature collections, we observe not only the lack of impact of these instruments on life in the country, but also their weak mobilization potential. Most often, they remain a way of expressing a personal position, but they do not lead either to the development of further joint actions or to a change in the situation. The general trends of social and political life indicate not only a decrease in political activity (political passivity, etc.), but also a change in the structure of social ties and relations, on which solidarity activity can be built. Thus, after 2006, when the mass support for traditional forms of civil and social activity (meetings, protest actions) decreased, "new" forms increasingly attracted attention, examples of which are silent protest actions, campaigns to collect aid for detainees and political prisoners. , all kinds of flash mobs, etc. These bursts of "one-off" actions demonstrate the potential for this kind of behavior, but attempts to repeat the successful practice, to spread it, every time turn into failure. Explanatory versions and concepts that appeal to the "new media" or "new majority" do not withstand either practical or empirical criticism. At the same time, the practice of public associations and civil initiatives, which are aimed at changes in Belarusian society, requires answers to the question: what can you count on and what can you rely on when it comes to mutual support and solidarity?

Quality of life in Boarding Houses: Between the desired and the real

Качество жизни в домах-интернатах: между желаемым и реальным

Author(s): Andrey Egorov,Oksana Shelest,Violetta Yermakova,Tatyana Anushkevich / Language(s): Belarusian

In Belarus, there is a network of stationary social service institutions (boarding houses) inherited from Soviet times, where more than 18 thousand people live. It includes (as of January 1, 2013) 78 community-owned and 1 state-owned inpatient social service institutions for the elderly and disabled (45 are psychoneurological, 24 are for the elderly and disabled, and 10 are for disabled children with psychophysical development). Legislative framework, law enforcement practice, accepted standards of living, established traditions of entry, residence and exit from these institutions often significantly limit the fullness and possibilities of realization of human rights for people living in boarding schools. It is not so much about separate violations of rights that arise in the event of illegal actions by individual representatives of the administration, medical and service personnel of these institutions in relation to residents, or residents in relation to each other. Rather, the entire complex of social relations and the living environment itself is organized in such a way that it leads to systematic discrimination and restrictions on the rights of residents of boarding houses. The closure of these institutions and low public attention to this problem only aggravates the situation, and the problem of discrimination and living conditions in boarding schools is not only not solved, but is not even put on the agenda of reforming the social service system.

Watchdog function in the perception of Belarusian public organizations. Assessment of the needs of NGOs in civil surveillance

Watchdog function в восприятии беларусских общественных организаций. Оценка потребностей НГО в гражданском наблюдении

Author(s): Olga Lashkevich,Alena Zuykova,Mykola Oshurkevich,Andrey Egorov / Language(s): Belarusian

Among the functions of public organizations (NGOs), civil control (watchdog function) occupies one of the central places. This function presupposes the protection of society from manifestations of ineffectiveness of public and private institutions, illegal practices, violations of basic human rights, etc. In the implementation aspect, civil supervision involves monitoring, detection of facts of violations, publication of facts, direct actions to prevent violations and protect against violations. In the practice of activities of public organizations, this function often exists in an inextricable connection with the functions of advocacy, protection of human rights, and protection of the interests of target groups, and therefore may not be perceived as something separate. In addition, the implementation of civil control often requires special knowledge, skills and qualifications that are not always present in the NGO environment.

The problem of employment of people with disabilities in the mirror of the media

Проблема трудоустройства людей с инвалидностью в зеркале СМИ

Author(s): Violetta Yermakova,Oksana Shelest / Language(s): Belarusian

Keywords: people with disabilities in Belarus;

Analysis of the situation in Belarus shows that people with disabilities are part of the secondary market in the system of labor segmentation, which is characterized by low wages, unstable work, low chances of obtaining qualifications, employment and promotion. In February-April 2012, the Research Institution "Analytical Group CET" (Center for European Transformation) at the initiative of the Educational Human Rights Institution "Office for the Rights of People with Disabilities" conducted a special study on the topic "Employment of people with disabilities: objective and subjective obstacles" 1. In the course of the research, we came to the conclusion that, despite the fact that the relevance of the problem of employment of people with disabilities is obvious, perhaps, for all subjects related to this field, its solution rests on a number of obstacles of both material and resource, and sociocultural nature . Progressive movement to overcome these obstacles is possible only by changing the approach to the formation and implementation of social policy in the field of employment of people with disabilities.

The environment in the mirror of the mass media. The practice of the Belarusian mass media in covering environmental issues and the activities of environmental organizations

Окружающая среда в зеркале масс-медиа. Практика беларусских СМИ по отражению вопросов окружающей среды и деятельности экологических организаций

Author(s): Andrey Egorov,Alena Zuykova,Andrey Shutov / Language(s): Belarusian

Issues of ecology, the state of the environment, nature protection occupy an increasing place in modern human activity. Since the 1980s, there has been a general ideological shift towards the "greening" of all spheres of life: from changes in the structure of production and consumption, the emergence of new technologies, alternative energy to the environmentalization of lifestyles and everyday behavior. The need to preserve the environment on a global scale has led to an increase in the importance of environmental issues in international politics, the adoption by national states of common environmental standards, a conceptual review of the foundations of economics ("green economy") and politics (obligatory participation of citizens in making environmentally significant decisions). At the same time, in Belarus, with widespread public understanding of the importance of environmental issues, these issues are far from the first place on the social and political agenda. According to public opinion polls, only 2.5% of Belarusians put ecology on the first place in the list of areas most in need of reform. Such a situation is determined not only (and not so much) by the objective state of affairs and the priority for society of other issues of the country's development, but by the attitudes of the main subjects forming the agenda. State policy, the activities of civil society organizations, the priority of displaying certain topics on the pages and screens of the mass media largely shape the Belarusian society's view of ecology.

The potential of Solidarity in Belarusian Society

Потенциал солидарности в беларусском обществе

Author(s): Tatyana Vodolazskaya,Oksana Shelest,Andrey Egorov,Elena Artemenko / Language(s): Belarusian

Over the past few years, in the social and political life of Belarusian society, we have observed a decrease in the ability of citizens to take effective joint political and social actions, to publicly and actively express their own position and defend common interests. Despite the growing number of petitions, public statements, signature collections, we observe not only the lack of impact of these instruments on life in the country, but also their weak mobilization potential. Most often, they remain a way of expressing a personal position, but they do not lead either to the development of further joint actions or to a change in the situation. The general trends of social and political life indicate not only a decrease in political activity, but also a change in the structure of social ties and relations on which solidarity activity can be built. Thus, after 2006, when the support for traditional forms of civil and social activity (meetings, protests) decreased, "new" forms began to attract attention, examples of which are silent protests, campaigns to collect aid for detainees and political prisoners, all kinds of flash mobs, etc. These bursts of "one-off" actions demonstrate the potential possibility of this kind of behavior, but attempts to repeat the successful practice, to spread it, every time turn into failure. Explanatory versions and concepts that appeal to the "new media" or "new majority" do not withstand either practical or empirical criticism. At the same time, the practice of public associations and civil initiatives, which are aimed at changes in Belarusian society, requires answers to the question: what can you count on and what can you rely on when it comes to mutual support and solidarity?

Monitoring of the Republic of Belarus' implementation of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Forms of Cultural Expression

Мониторинг реализации Республикой Беларусь Конвенции ЮНЕСКО об охране и поощрении разнообразия форм культурного самовыражения

Author(s): Tatyana Vodolazskaya,Andrey Egorov,Alena Zuykova,Irina Lashuk,Olga Lashkevich,Dmitry Galinovsky,Igor Rassolko / Language(s): Belarusian

The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005*) is a consistent development of the ideas and approaches laid down in the European Cultural Convention (1954**), in which culture is considered not simply as a sphere of public life , but as an important instrument of mutual understanding of peoples and the development of peace processes on the European continent. In 2001, the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity was adopted, which continues the rethinking of the role and function of culture in society and places a significant emphasis on the connection of culture with human rights, ensuring human dignity and development, as well as promoting the values and practice of pluralism. This declaration establishes that culture is a factor in the development of society (economic, social and humanitarian), and also affirms the principle of partnership in the field of cultural policy between the state, business and civil society. By 2005, the development of these ideas led to the emergence of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Forms of Cultural Self-Expression, where the aforementioned tendencies of rethinking are enshrined as the basis of the cultural policy of modern states.

Capacity of Youth Non-Governmental Organizations and Initiative Groups for Cooperation in Addressing Common Objectives

Capacity of Youth Non-Governmental Organizations and Initiative Groups for Cooperation in Addressing Common Objectives

Author(s): Andrey Egorov,Alena Zuikova,Olga Lashkevich,Andrey Shutov,Svetlana Antashkevich / Language(s): English

Keywords: Youth in Belarus;

The analysis of the sector of civil society youth organizations, including the role and influence of their environment, is one of the sectoral analyses that the Office for European Expertise and Communications (OEEC) has been conducting since 2012. The aim of this analysis is to summarize the existing expert and scientific data regarding the development of specific sectors of the Belarusian civil society, and complement it with quantitative and qualitative studies of the aspects, which have not been studied so far.

The potential and possibilities of implementing local planning mechanisms in Belarusian regions to ensure respect, encouragement and full implementation of the rights of people with disabilities

Потенциал и возможности внедрения механизмов локального планирования в беларусских регионах для обеспечения уважения, поощрения и полноты реализации прав людей с инвалидностью

Author(s): Andrey Egorov,Alena Zuikova,Igor Rassolko,Olga Lashkevich / Language(s): Belarusian

The analysis of the sector of civil society youth organizations, including the role and influence of their environment, is one of the sectoral analyses that the Office for European Expertise and Communications (OEEC) has been conducting since 2012. The aim of this analysis is to summarize the existing expert and scientific data regarding the development of specific sectors of the Belarusian civil society, and complement it with quantitative and qualitative studies of the aspects, which have not been studied so far.On September 24, 2015, the Republic of Belarus joined the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a year later, on October 3, 2016, it was ratified. The Convention is aimed at promoting, protecting and ensuring the full and equal exercise of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, as well as promoting respect for their inherent dignity. Comprehensive implementation of the Convention is connected with bringing the Belarusian legislation into compliance with the provisions of this international treaty and, what is no less important, with the introduction of relevant changes in the Belarusian law enforcement practice. The experience gained by the countries of Europe during the implementation of the Standard Rules for Equal Opportunities2 proved the necessity of applying efforts to implement innovations, starting precisely from the level of local communities. But these processes are associated with a number of difficulties arising both at the national level and at the level of specific regions, which are to varying degrees ready to implement the provisions of the Convention.

Social Base of Transformation Programs in Belarus. Research report (abridged version)

Social Base of Transformation Programs in Belarus. Research report (abridged version)

Author(s): Aksana Shelest / Language(s): English

The necessary condition of democratic transformations in Belarus is the formation of a strong civil society that should fulfill three main functions: 1) to act as a full-fledged party of the dialogue aimed at defining the country development agenda; 2) to produce the environment of appearing and implementing innovations in the country’s economic, technological, and socio-cultural development; and 3) to mobilize the intellectual and human potential so as to implement transformations. In order to fulfill these functions, it is necessary: 1) to have self-determined subjects in the field of Belarusan civil society, which have their own program proposals and vision of necessary changes across the nation or in a concrete sphere; 2) to have a social base of support and distribution of these tenets and implementation of programs.

Belarusan human rights defenders’ view on human rights activity and questions of cooperation between Belarusan human rights organizations

Belarusan human rights defenders’ view on human rights activity and questions of cooperation between Belarusan human rights organizations

Author(s): Alena Zuikova,Andrei Yahorau,Aksana Shelest / Language(s): English

Despite the general adverse environment for civil society organizations in Belarus, human rights organizations and initiatives keep being rather active and their number continues to increase. There are newly created organizations and initiatives that do not always have sufficient experience and understanding of how to cooperate, but they are ready to become effective members of the human rights community. Earlier, there was already some work on the first joint project of a strategic concept for the Belarusan human rights community, which was accepted at the end of 2011. This work demonstrated that Belarusan human rights organisations did not often have any strategic planning and understanding of the way strategies should be implemented, though a need of a wider, holistic approach to activity was discerned accurately. In 2013, there was also big work aimed at defining joint strategic plans of cooperation for human rights defenders. At the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, human rights defenders acted with their joint strategic statements on the situation in the country and the necessary general actions.

Civil Society of Belarus: current state and conditions of development

Гражданское общество Беларуси: актуальное состояние и условия развития

Author(s): Andrey Egorov,Andrey Shutov,Nikalai Katsuk / Language(s): Belarusian

Analysis of the current state of civil society in Belarus faces a number of methodological difficulties associated with gaps in official statistical data, a small number of special studies, as well as restrictions on freedom of association in Belarus, when a significant part of public activity is in the shadows for various reasons. In this analytical review, we will summarize the data of several of our own sociological and sectoral studies of 2014-2017, drawing on official statistical data and the results of some recent special studies. We will touch on the issues of statistics of civil society organizations, their spheres of activity, geographical distribution, participation of the population in the activities of the "third sector", the popularity of public organizations, as well as some political, legal and financial conditions of their activity.