| BELARUS Republic of Belarus Respublika Byelarus' Joined United Nations: 24 October 1945 Human Rights as assured by their constitution Updated 01 March 2013 |
Section II The Individual, Society, and the State
Article 21 [Protection of Rights and Liberties]
Safeguarding the rights and liberties of citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall be supreme goal of the State. The State shall guarantee the
rights and liberties of the citizens of Belarus that are enshrined in the Constitution and the laws, and specified in the State's international
obligations.
Article 22 [Equality]
All shall be equal before the law and entitled, without discrimination, to equal protection of their rights and legitimate interests.
Article 23 [Restrictions]
(1) Restriction of personal rights and liberties shall be permitted only in the instances specified in law, in the interest of national security,
public order, the protection of the morals and health of the population, as well as rights and liberties of other persons.
(2) No one may enjoy advantages and privileges that are contrary to the law.
Article 24 [Right to Life, Death Penalty]
(1) Everyone shall have the right to life.
(2) The State shall protect the life of the individual against any unlawful threat.
(3) Until its abolition, the death penalty may be applied in accordance with the law as an exceptional penalty for particularly serious crimes
and only in accordance with the verdict of a court of law.
Article 25 [Personal Liberty, Dignity]
(1) The State shall safeguard personal liberty, inviolability, and dignity. The restriction or denial of personal liberty is possible in the
instances and under the procedure specified in law.
(2) A person who has been taken into custody shall be entitled to a judicial investigation into the legality of his detention or arrest.
(3) No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman, or undignified treatment or punishment, or be subjected to medical or other
experiments without his consent.
Article 26 [Presumption of Innocence]
No one may be found guilty of a crime unless his guilt is proven under the procedure specified in law and established by the verdict of a
court of law that has acquired legal force. A defendant shall not be required to prove his innocence.
Article 27 [Evidence]
No one shall be forced to give evidence or provide explanations against himself, members of his family or close relations. Evidence
obtained in violation of the law shall have no legal force.
Article 28 [Privacy, Secrecy of Communication]
Everyone shall be entitled to protection against unlawful interference with his private life, including encroachments on the privacy of his
correspondence and telephone and other communications, and on his honor and dignity.
Article 29 [Home]
The inviolability of the home and other legitimate property of citizens shall be guaranteed. No one shall have the right, without just cause,
enter the dwelling and other lawful property of a citizen against his will.
Article 30 [Movement]
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall have the right to move freely and choose their place of residence within the Republic of Belarus,
to leave it, and to return to it without hindrance.
Article 31 [Religion]
Everyone shall have the right independently to determine his attitude towards religion, to profess any religion individually or jointly with
others, or to profess none at all, to express and spread beliefs connected with his attitude towards religion, and to participate in the
performance of acts of worship and religious rituals and rites.
Article 32 [Marriage, Family]
(1) Marriage, the family, motherhood, fatherhood, and childhood shall be under the protection of the State.
(2) On reaching the age of consent, women and men shall have the right to enter into marriage on a voluntary basis and start a family. A
husband and wife shall be equal in family relationships. Parents or persons in loco parentis shall be entitled and required to raise their
children and to take care of their health, development, and education. No child shall be subjected to cruel treatment or humiliation or used
for work that may be harmful to its physical, mental, or moral development. Children shall care for their parents or persons in loco
parentis and render them assistance.
Article 33 [Expression]
(1) Everyone is guaranteed freedom of thoughts and beliefs and their free expression.
(2) No one shall be forced to express his beliefs or to deny them.
(3) No monopolization of the mass media by the State, public associations or individual citizens and no censorship shall be permitted.
Article 34 [Information]
(1) Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall be guaranteed the right to receive, store, and disseminate complete, reliable, and timely
information on the activities of state bodies and public associations, on political, economic, and international life, and on the state of the
environment.
(2) State bodies, public associations, and officials shall afford citizens of the Republic of Belarus an opportunity to familiarize themselves
with material that affects their rights and legitimate interests.
Article 35 [Assembly]
The freedom to hold assemblies, rallies, street marches, demonstrations, and pickets that do not disturb law and order or violate the rights
of other citizens of the Republic of Belarus, shall be guaranteed by the State. The procedure for conducting the above events shall be
determined by the law.
Article 36 [Association]
(1) Everyone shall be entitled to freedom of association.
(2) Judges, employees of the Procurator's Office, the staff of bodies of internal affairs, the Supervisory Authority and security bodies, as
well as servicemen may not be members of political parties or other public associations that pursue political goals.
Article 37 [Political Participation, Direct Democracy]
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall have the right to participate in the solution of state matters, both directly and through freely
elected representatives. The direct participation of citizens in the administration of the affairs of society and the State shall be safeguarded
by the holding of referenda, the discussion of draft laws, and issues of national and local significance, and by other means specified in law.
Article 38 [Electoral Rights]
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall have the right to vote freely and to be elected to state bodies on the basis of universal, equal, and
direct suffrage by secret ballot.
Article 39 [Access to Public Posts]
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus, in accordance with their capabilities and vocational training, shall be entitled to equal access to any
post in state bodies.
Article 40 [Petition, Appeal]
(1) Everyone shall have the right to address personal or collective appeals to state bodies.
(3) State bodies, as well as the officials thereof, shall consider to any appeal and furnish a reply in point of substance within the period
specified in law. Any refusal to consider an appeal that has been submitted shall be justified in writing.
Article 41 [Work, Unions, No Forced Labor]
(1) Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall be guaranteed the right to work as the worthiest means of an individual's self-assertion, that
is, the right to choose a profession, type of occupation, and work in accordance with one's vocation, capabilities, education, and
vocational training, and having regard to social needs, and the right to healthy and safe working conditions. The State shall create the
conditions necessary for full employment of the population. Where a person is unemployed for reasons which are beyond his control, he
shall be guaranteed training in new specializations and an upgrading of his qualifications having regard to social needs, and to
unemployment benefit in accordance with the law.
(2) Citizens shall have the right to protection of their economic and social interests, including the right to form trade unions and conclude
collective contracts (agreements), and the right to strike.
(3) Forced labor shall be prohibited, other than work or service specified in the verdict of a court of law or in accordance with the law on
state of emergency or martial law.
Article 42 [Minimum Wages, Equal Remuneration]
Employees shall be entitled to remuneration for the work they have done in accordance with the quantity, quality, and social significance
of such work, but it shall not be less than the minimum specified by the State. Women and men and adults and minors shall be entitled to
equal remuneration for work of equal value.
Article 43 [Holidays, 40 Hour Maximum, Vacation, Rest Days]
Working people shall be entitled to holidays. For employees, this right shall be safeguarded by the establishment of a working week of no
more than 40 hours, shorter working hours at night, and the provision of annual paid leave and weekly rest days.
Article 44 [Property]
(1) The State shall guarantee everyone the right of property.
(2) A proprietor shall have the right to possess, enjoy, and dispose of assets either individually or jointly with others. The inviolability of
property and the right to inherit property shall be protected by law.
(3) The compulsory alienation of assets shall be permitted only by reason of public need, under the conditions and the procedure specified
by law, with timely and full compensation for the value of the alienated assets, and in accordance with a verdict of a court of law.
(3) The exercise of the right of property shall not be harmful to the environment or historical and cultural treasures, or infringe upon the
rights and legally protected interests of others.
Article 45 [Health]
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall be guaranteed the right to health care, including free treatment at state health-care establishments.
The right of citizens of the Republic of Belarus to health care shall also be secured by the development of physical training and sport,
means to improve the environment, the opportunity to use fitness establishments, and improvements in occupational safety.
Article 46 [Environment]
Everyone shall be entitled to a pleasant environment and to compensation for loss or damage caused by the violation of this right.
Article 47 [Social Security]
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall be guaranteed the right to social security in old age, in the event of illness, disability, loss of
fitness for work, and loss of a bread-winner and in other instances specified in law. The State shall display particular concern for those
who lost their health in the defense of national and public interests.
Article 48 [Housing]
(1) Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall be entitled to housing. This right shall be safeguarded by the development of state, public, and
private housing and assistance for citizens in the acquisition of housing.
(2) No one may be deprived of housing arbitrarily.
Article 49 [Free Education]
(1) Everyone shall have the right to education.
(2) Accessible and free general, secondary, and vocational-technical education shall be guaranteed.
(3) Secondary specialized and higher education shall be accessible to all in accordance with the capabilities of each individual. Everyone
may, on a competitive basis, obtain the appropriate education at state educational establishments free of charge.
Article 50 [Ethnicity]
(1) Everyone shall have the right to preserve his ethnic affiliation, and equally, no one may be compelled to define or indicate his ethnic
affiliation.
(2) Insults to ethnic dignity shall be prosecuted by law.
(3) Everyone shall have the right to use his native language and to choose the language of communication. In accordance with the law,
the State shall guarantee the freedom to choose the language of education and teaching.
Article 51 [Cultural Life, Intellectual Property]
(1) Everyone shall have the right to take part in cultural life. This right shall be safeguarded by universal accessibility to the treasures of
domestic and world culture that are held in state and public collections and by the development of a network of cultural and educational
establishments.
(2) Freedom of artistic, scientific, and technical creativity and teaching shall be guaranteed.
(3) Intellectual property shall be protected by law.
Article 52 [Supreme Constitution, National Traditions]
Everyone in the territory of the Republic of Belarus shall abide by its Constitution and laws and respect national traditions.
Article 53 [Rights of Others]
Everyone shall respect the dignity, rights, liberties, and legitimate interests of others.
Article 54 [Historical and Cultural Heritage]
Everyone shall preserve the historical and cultural heritage and other cultural treasures.
Article 55 [Environment]
It shall be the duty of everyone to protect the environment.
Article 56 [Taxes]
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall contribute towards the funding of public expenditure through the payment of state taxes, dues,
and other payments.
Article 57 [Defence, Military Service]
(1) It shall be the responsibility and sacred duty of every citizen of the Republic of Belarus to defend the Republic of Belarus.
(2) The procedure governing military service, the grounds and conditions for exemption from military service, and the substitution thereof
by alternative service shall be determined by law.
Article 58 [Constitutional Duties, Inalienable Rights]
No one shall be compelled to discharge duties that are not specified in the Constitution and its laws or renounce his rights.
Article 59 [State Order]
The State shall take all measures at its disposal to create the domestic and international order necessary for the exercise in full of the rights
and liberties of the citizens of the Republic of Belarus that are specified in the Constitution.
Article 60 [Protection of Rights, Official Liability]
(1) State bodies as well as official and other persons that are entrusted with the discharge of state functions shall, within the limits of their
competence, take measures necessary for the exercise and protection of personal rights and liberties.
(2) These bodies and persons shall be held liable for actions that violate personal rights and liberties.
Article 61 [Recourse to the Courts]
(1) Everyone shall be guaranteed protection of his rights and liberties by a competent, independent, and impartial court of law within time
periods specified in law.
(2) To defend their rights, liberties, honor and dignity, citizens shall be entitled to recover, through the courts, both property damage and
financial compensation for moral injury.
Article 62 [Right to Counsel]
(1) Everyone shall have the right to legal assistance to exercise and defend his rights and liberties, including the right to make use, at any
time, of the assistance of lawyers and one's other representatives in court, other state bodies, bodies of local government, enterprises,
establishments, organizations and public associations, and also in relations with officials and citizens. In the instances specified by law,
legal assistance shall be rendered from public funds.
(2) Opposition to the rendering of legal assistance shall be prohibited in the Republic of Belarus.
Article 63 [Emergency, Martial Law]
(1) The exercise of the personal rights and liberties specified in this Constitution may be suspended only during a state of emergency or
martial law under the procedure and within the limits specified in the Constitution and the law.
(2) In carrying out special measures during a state of emergency, the rights specified in Articles 24, 25 (3), 26 and 31 of the Constitution
may not be restricted.
Article 21 [Protection of Rights and Liberties]
Safeguarding the rights and liberties of citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall be supreme goal of the State. The State shall guarantee the
rights and liberties of the citizens of Belarus that are enshrined in the Constitution and the laws, and specified in the State's international
obligations.
Article 22 [Equality]
All shall be equal before the law and entitled, without discrimination, to equal protection of their rights and legitimate interests.
Article 23 [Restrictions]
(1) Restriction of personal rights and liberties shall be permitted only in the instances specified in law, in the interest of national security,
public order, the protection of the morals and health of the population, as well as rights and liberties of other persons.
(2) No one may enjoy advantages and privileges that are contrary to the law.
Article 24 [Right to Life, Death Penalty]
(1) Everyone shall have the right to life.
(2) The State shall protect the life of the individual against any unlawful threat.
(3) Until its abolition, the death penalty may be applied in accordance with the law as an exceptional penalty for particularly serious crimes
and only in accordance with the verdict of a court of law.
Article 25 [Personal Liberty, Dignity]
(1) The State shall safeguard personal liberty, inviolability, and dignity. The restriction or denial of personal liberty is possible in the
instances and under the procedure specified in law.
(2) A person who has been taken into custody shall be entitled to a judicial investigation into the legality of his detention or arrest.
(3) No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman, or undignified treatment or punishment, or be subjected to medical or other
experiments without his consent.
Article 26 [Presumption of Innocence]
No one may be found guilty of a crime unless his guilt is proven under the procedure specified in law and established by the verdict of a
court of law that has acquired legal force. A defendant shall not be required to prove his innocence.
Article 27 [Evidence]
No one shall be forced to give evidence or provide explanations against himself, members of his family or close relations. Evidence
obtained in violation of the law shall have no legal force.
Article 28 [Privacy, Secrecy of Communication]
Everyone shall be entitled to protection against unlawful interference with his private life, including encroachments on the privacy of his
correspondence and telephone and other communications, and on his honor and dignity.
Article 29 [Home]
The inviolability of the home and other legitimate property of citizens shall be guaranteed. No one shall have the right, without just cause,
enter the dwelling and other lawful property of a citizen against his will.
Article 30 [Movement]
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall have the right to move freely and choose their place of residence within the Republic of Belarus,
to leave it, and to return to it without hindrance.
Article 31 [Religion]
Everyone shall have the right independently to determine his attitude towards religion, to profess any religion individually or jointly with
others, or to profess none at all, to express and spread beliefs connected with his attitude towards religion, and to participate in the
performance of acts of worship and religious rituals and rites.
Article 32 [Marriage, Family]
(1) Marriage, the family, motherhood, fatherhood, and childhood shall be under the protection of the State.
(2) On reaching the age of consent, women and men shall have the right to enter into marriage on a voluntary basis and start a family. A
husband and wife shall be equal in family relationships. Parents or persons in loco parentis shall be entitled and required to raise their
children and to take care of their health, development, and education. No child shall be subjected to cruel treatment or humiliation or used
for work that may be harmful to its physical, mental, or moral development. Children shall care for their parents or persons in loco
parentis and render them assistance.
Article 33 [Expression]
(1) Everyone is guaranteed freedom of thoughts and beliefs and their free expression.
(2) No one shall be forced to express his beliefs or to deny them.
(3) No monopolization of the mass media by the State, public associations or individual citizens and no censorship shall be permitted.
Article 34 [Information]
(1) Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall be guaranteed the right to receive, store, and disseminate complete, reliable, and timely
information on the activities of state bodies and public associations, on political, economic, and international life, and on the state of the
environment.
(2) State bodies, public associations, and officials shall afford citizens of the Republic of Belarus an opportunity to familiarize themselves
with material that affects their rights and legitimate interests.
Article 35 [Assembly]
The freedom to hold assemblies, rallies, street marches, demonstrations, and pickets that do not disturb law and order or violate the rights
of other citizens of the Republic of Belarus, shall be guaranteed by the State. The procedure for conducting the above events shall be
determined by the law.
Article 36 [Association]
(1) Everyone shall be entitled to freedom of association.
(2) Judges, employees of the Procurator's Office, the staff of bodies of internal affairs, the Supervisory Authority and security bodies, as
well as servicemen may not be members of political parties or other public associations that pursue political goals.
Article 37 [Political Participation, Direct Democracy]
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall have the right to participate in the solution of state matters, both directly and through freely
elected representatives. The direct participation of citizens in the administration of the affairs of society and the State shall be safeguarded
by the holding of referenda, the discussion of draft laws, and issues of national and local significance, and by other means specified in law.
Article 38 [Electoral Rights]
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall have the right to vote freely and to be elected to state bodies on the basis of universal, equal, and
direct suffrage by secret ballot.
Article 39 [Access to Public Posts]
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus, in accordance with their capabilities and vocational training, shall be entitled to equal access to any
post in state bodies.
Article 40 [Petition, Appeal]
(1) Everyone shall have the right to address personal or collective appeals to state bodies.
(3) State bodies, as well as the officials thereof, shall consider to any appeal and furnish a reply in point of substance within the period
specified in law. Any refusal to consider an appeal that has been submitted shall be justified in writing.
Article 41 [Work, Unions, No Forced Labor]
(1) Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall be guaranteed the right to work as the worthiest means of an individual's self-assertion, that
is, the right to choose a profession, type of occupation, and work in accordance with one's vocation, capabilities, education, and
vocational training, and having regard to social needs, and the right to healthy and safe working conditions. The State shall create the
conditions necessary for full employment of the population. Where a person is unemployed for reasons which are beyond his control, he
shall be guaranteed training in new specializations and an upgrading of his qualifications having regard to social needs, and to
unemployment benefit in accordance with the law.
(2) Citizens shall have the right to protection of their economic and social interests, including the right to form trade unions and conclude
collective contracts (agreements), and the right to strike.
(3) Forced labor shall be prohibited, other than work or service specified in the verdict of a court of law or in accordance with the law on
state of emergency or martial law.
Article 42 [Minimum Wages, Equal Remuneration]
Employees shall be entitled to remuneration for the work they have done in accordance with the quantity, quality, and social significance
of such work, but it shall not be less than the minimum specified by the State. Women and men and adults and minors shall be entitled to
equal remuneration for work of equal value.
Article 43 [Holidays, 40 Hour Maximum, Vacation, Rest Days]
Working people shall be entitled to holidays. For employees, this right shall be safeguarded by the establishment of a working week of no
more than 40 hours, shorter working hours at night, and the provision of annual paid leave and weekly rest days.
Article 44 [Property]
(1) The State shall guarantee everyone the right of property.
(2) A proprietor shall have the right to possess, enjoy, and dispose of assets either individually or jointly with others. The inviolability of
property and the right to inherit property shall be protected by law.
(3) The compulsory alienation of assets shall be permitted only by reason of public need, under the conditions and the procedure specified
by law, with timely and full compensation for the value of the alienated assets, and in accordance with a verdict of a court of law.
(3) The exercise of the right of property shall not be harmful to the environment or historical and cultural treasures, or infringe upon the
rights and legally protected interests of others.
Article 45 [Health]
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall be guaranteed the right to health care, including free treatment at state health-care establishments.
The right of citizens of the Republic of Belarus to health care shall also be secured by the development of physical training and sport,
means to improve the environment, the opportunity to use fitness establishments, and improvements in occupational safety.
Article 46 [Environment]
Everyone shall be entitled to a pleasant environment and to compensation for loss or damage caused by the violation of this right.
Article 47 [Social Security]
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall be guaranteed the right to social security in old age, in the event of illness, disability, loss of
fitness for work, and loss of a bread-winner and in other instances specified in law. The State shall display particular concern for those
who lost their health in the defense of national and public interests.
Article 48 [Housing]
(1) Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall be entitled to housing. This right shall be safeguarded by the development of state, public, and
private housing and assistance for citizens in the acquisition of housing.
(2) No one may be deprived of housing arbitrarily.
Article 49 [Free Education]
(1) Everyone shall have the right to education.
(2) Accessible and free general, secondary, and vocational-technical education shall be guaranteed.
(3) Secondary specialized and higher education shall be accessible to all in accordance with the capabilities of each individual. Everyone
may, on a competitive basis, obtain the appropriate education at state educational establishments free of charge.
Article 50 [Ethnicity]
(1) Everyone shall have the right to preserve his ethnic affiliation, and equally, no one may be compelled to define or indicate his ethnic
affiliation.
(2) Insults to ethnic dignity shall be prosecuted by law.
(3) Everyone shall have the right to use his native language and to choose the language of communication. In accordance with the law,
the State shall guarantee the freedom to choose the language of education and teaching.
Article 51 [Cultural Life, Intellectual Property]
(1) Everyone shall have the right to take part in cultural life. This right shall be safeguarded by universal accessibility to the treasures of
domestic and world culture that are held in state and public collections and by the development of a network of cultural and educational
establishments.
(2) Freedom of artistic, scientific, and technical creativity and teaching shall be guaranteed.
(3) Intellectual property shall be protected by law.
Article 52 [Supreme Constitution, National Traditions]
Everyone in the territory of the Republic of Belarus shall abide by its Constitution and laws and respect national traditions.
Article 53 [Rights of Others]
Everyone shall respect the dignity, rights, liberties, and legitimate interests of others.
Article 54 [Historical and Cultural Heritage]
Everyone shall preserve the historical and cultural heritage and other cultural treasures.
Article 55 [Environment]
It shall be the duty of everyone to protect the environment.
Article 56 [Taxes]
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall contribute towards the funding of public expenditure through the payment of state taxes, dues,
and other payments.
Article 57 [Defence, Military Service]
(1) It shall be the responsibility and sacred duty of every citizen of the Republic of Belarus to defend the Republic of Belarus.
(2) The procedure governing military service, the grounds and conditions for exemption from military service, and the substitution thereof
by alternative service shall be determined by law.
Article 58 [Constitutional Duties, Inalienable Rights]
No one shall be compelled to discharge duties that are not specified in the Constitution and its laws or renounce his rights.
Article 59 [State Order]
The State shall take all measures at its disposal to create the domestic and international order necessary for the exercise in full of the rights
and liberties of the citizens of the Republic of Belarus that are specified in the Constitution.
Article 60 [Protection of Rights, Official Liability]
(1) State bodies as well as official and other persons that are entrusted with the discharge of state functions shall, within the limits of their
competence, take measures necessary for the exercise and protection of personal rights and liberties.
(2) These bodies and persons shall be held liable for actions that violate personal rights and liberties.
Article 61 [Recourse to the Courts]
(1) Everyone shall be guaranteed protection of his rights and liberties by a competent, independent, and impartial court of law within time
periods specified in law.
(2) To defend their rights, liberties, honor and dignity, citizens shall be entitled to recover, through the courts, both property damage and
financial compensation for moral injury.
Article 62 [Right to Counsel]
(1) Everyone shall have the right to legal assistance to exercise and defend his rights and liberties, including the right to make use, at any
time, of the assistance of lawyers and one's other representatives in court, other state bodies, bodies of local government, enterprises,
establishments, organizations and public associations, and also in relations with officials and citizens. In the instances specified by law,
legal assistance shall be rendered from public funds.
(2) Opposition to the rendering of legal assistance shall be prohibited in the Republic of Belarus.
Article 63 [Emergency, Martial Law]
(1) The exercise of the personal rights and liberties specified in this Constitution may be suspended only during a state of emergency or
martial law under the procedure and within the limits specified in the Constitution and the law.
(2) In carrying out special measures during a state of emergency, the rights specified in Articles 24, 25 (3), 26 and 31 of the Constitution
may not be restricted.
As to when humans first arrived in the region of Belarus is disputed as no accurate
archeological evidence exists. Belarusian culture with the arrival of the Slavic people
between the 6th and 8th century CE. Scandinavian Vikings established trading posts in the
9th and 10th centuries as the region was dominated by the Byzantine Empire. Rus rulers
made a few invasions against the Byzantines with whom they eventually allied against the
Bulgar Kingdom opening the region to Christianization in the 10th Century. Th first
Belarusian States emerged between the 9th and 12th Centuries. Mongol invasions in the
13th Century severed the Russian alliance, folding much of Belarus into the Duchy of
Lithuania from the 13th to 15th Century and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569
to 1795 when Belarus was annexed by the Russian Empire. Germany occupied Belarus at
the start of World War I but was retaken by the Russians and annexed as a Soviet State in
1919. Following World War II, Belarus became a founding member of the United Nations as a
Soviet State but achieved its independence as the Republic of Belarus on 25 August 1991
with the break up of the Soviet Union. The present constitution was adopted 1 March 1994.
Human rights are enumerated beginning with Section II (The Individual, Society and State),
conforms with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights of which Belarus is a
signatory and are detailed below. For a full English translation of Belarus's Constitution,
click here.
archeological evidence exists. Belarusian culture with the arrival of the Slavic people
between the 6th and 8th century CE. Scandinavian Vikings established trading posts in the
9th and 10th centuries as the region was dominated by the Byzantine Empire. Rus rulers
made a few invasions against the Byzantines with whom they eventually allied against the
Bulgar Kingdom opening the region to Christianization in the 10th Century. Th first
Belarusian States emerged between the 9th and 12th Centuries. Mongol invasions in the
13th Century severed the Russian alliance, folding much of Belarus into the Duchy of
Lithuania from the 13th to 15th Century and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569
to 1795 when Belarus was annexed by the Russian Empire. Germany occupied Belarus at
the start of World War I but was retaken by the Russians and annexed as a Soviet State in
1919. Following World War II, Belarus became a founding member of the United Nations as a
Soviet State but achieved its independence as the Republic of Belarus on 25 August 1991
with the break up of the Soviet Union. The present constitution was adopted 1 March 1994.
Human rights are enumerated beginning with Section II (The Individual, Society and State),
conforms with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights of which Belarus is a
signatory and are detailed below. For a full English translation of Belarus's Constitution,
click here.