According to the deputy head of Belarus's presidential administration, Natallya Pyatkevich, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance is not "topical" for Belarus. "This convention is not topical for Belarus, it has the same degree of importance for us as ozone layer protection or the protection of those starving. We have no such problem."
The families of Yury Zakharanka, Viktar Hanchar, Anatol Krasouski, and Dzmitry Zavadski believe differently. All of these men, opponents of the dictatorial regime now ruling Belarus, disappeared under unexplained circumstances in 1999 and 2000. They are believed by many Belarusians and political observers in Europe and America to have been abducted and murdered by KGB thugs.
Adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 20, 2006, the convention requires signatory states to take necessary steps to prevent and combat forced disappearances; introduces a ban on secret prisons; and calls for informing families about the fate of their disappeared members.
