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February 18, 2010, from the 4 PM newsblock of the national channel ONT (“Nation-Wide Television”) we found out that the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko officially charged Secretary General of the Security Council of the Republic of Belarus Leonid Maltsev with the task to work on the draft of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Alternative Military Service”.

This statement of the President was preceded by court processes on Dzmitry Smyk, Andrei Tsianuta, Ivan Mikhailau, Yauheni Yakavenka who claimed realization of their right to alternative implementation of the military service and realization of the Art. 57 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus. Court hearings received broad coverage of the mass media and a wide public response.

On January 26, 2010, Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus Piotr Miklashevich publicly announced necessity to adopt the law on alternative service.

On January 27, 2010, European human rights groups turned to the President Lukashenka with a demand to stop criminal prosecution of Ivan Mikhailau and immediately adopt a corresponding law.

On February 2, 2010, Belarusian human rights organizations submitted a collective appeal to Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus, Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus, Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus and Chairman of the Chamber of Representatives of the Republic of Belarus with the proposal to use their competences in full-scale and to provide for the constitutional rights of citizens to alternative service and to ensure this right by law.

Appeal of Belarusian human rights defenders was joined by 120 subjects (citizens and organizations) from 7 countries.

Public campaign “For Alternative Civilian Service in Belarus” welcomes the statement by Alexander Lukashenko!

We account for the fact that the process of drafting the law would be public, that participation of interested public parties in the work on the draft law would be provided for and also that the text of the draft law would be developed in accordance with the international standards and on the account of the “CIS Model Law on Alternative (Non-military) Service”1.

Public Campaign “For Alternative Civilian Service in Belarus”
www.ags.by

1а) Term of the alternative civilian service should not be substantially larger than that presupposed for the military service;

b) Apart from religious beliefs, other beliefs and considerations should be taken account of, such as, e.g., pacifism, that should form a legal basis for substituting military service with alternative;

c) Right to alternative civilian service should be provided without the necessity to prove one’s beliefs, and exclusively upon the choice of a citizen;

d) Citizens should be granted a possibility to choose the sphere of implementation of the alternative civilian service.