On August 1, the key provisions of Law No. 95-Z come into force in Belarus, introducing amendments to the regulation of auditors’ professional activity.

Why independent trade unions regard it as a disguised form of forced labour

In the first half of 2025, political rapprochement between Belarus and Myanmar reached a new level. Both countries — governed by military or authoritarian regimes, under international sanctions, and widely criticized for systematic human rights violations — are enthusiastically expanding economic, diplomatic, and even military cooperation.

In today’s Belarus, subscription to independent mass media can cost a man not just their job but also their freedom. Lukashenka’s regime continues to pursue the policy of total control over information, qualifying the reading of alternative media sources as “extremist activity”.

On June 16–17, 2025, Stockholm hosted a Forum on “Women’s Empowerment and Democracy for Belarus 2025” – an international platform bringing together female activists, researchers, politicians, and human rights defenders in order to discuss the role of Belarusian women in the struggle for democracy, dignity, and justice

The participants discussed measures proposed by the ILO Governing Body for the implementation of Article 33 of the ILO Constitution that has been applied to the Government of Belarus for violations of the right to freedom of association and the failure to comply with the Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations.

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, a part of the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Procedures, has issued a conclusion on the case of the Belarusian political prisoner Aliaksandr Kashpul.

On 11 June, the prestigious Arthur Svensson International Prize for Trade Union Rights was awarded in Oslo. This year’s laureate is Aliaksandr Yarashuk, Chairperson of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) and member of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization (ILO), who is currently imprisoned for his trade union activities.

On the sidelines of the International Labour Conference, representatives of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) met with the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Gilbert Houngbo. The meeting was attended by Maksim Pazniakou, Acting President of the BKDP, and Siarhei Antusevich, Deputy President, who recently regained his freedom and left Belarus after serving a politically motivated sentence.

The regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenka continues to weaponize trials in absentia against representatives of the independent trade union movement. A recent case involving Leanid Sudalenka, a legal advisor to Salidarnast e.V., highlights the politically motivated nature of such prosecutions.