FIDH member organisation in Belarus, The Human Rights Center “Viasna”, has since its founding in 1996 become the leading human rights organisation in Belarus. It has carried that responsibility through intense political repression, and despite being outlawed, raided, and having its leadership and staff jailed by the Belarusian authorities, keeps on going.
22 April 2026. The Human Rights Center Viasna was born out of the mobilisation of a group of citizens who came together to help those arrested during mass democratic protests in Belarus in April 1996. Born at a time of intense repression, but also of hope for a free and democratic system in Belarus, “Viasna” – meaning Spring in Belarusian – went on to become the leading human rights organisation in the country, working tirelessly for the protection of civil and political rights, the abolition of the death penalty, and an end to torture, ill-treatment, and political persecution. In 2004, it joined FIDH and has since been a core member of the Federation.
Viasna’s relevance and resilience has been recognized internationally: in 2022, founder Ales Bialiatski was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Memorial (Russia) and the Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine). That same year, Viasna received the Human Rights Tulip award from the Government of the Netherlands. Previously, Bialiatski was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, recognizing Viasna’s campaign to help thousands of victims of the 2020 repressions.
But this courage has come at a cost: Viasna members have faced repeated arrests, detentions, beatings, raids, and fines. In 2023, the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs went as far as declaring Viasna an “extremist organization,” making participation in its activities a criminal offense under Belarusian law. Yet despite everything the organisation has never stopped, and today, after its leadership was freed and exiled by Belarussian authorities, it celebrates its 30th birthday with renewed force.
“It is with immense pride that I met with Viasna members in Warsaw to celebrate this milestone. As we are relieved to see Valiantsin, Ales, Uladzimir, Marfa and others finally free, even after all they had to go through, it is essential to remember all the human rights defenders – those imprisoned, those in exile, and those who continue their work under threat. We reaffirm our unrelenting commitment to the values Viasna members have embodied for three decades, the rights of the Belarusian people”, said Alexis Deswaef, FIDH President.
Today, despite dissolution by the authorities and the imprisonment and exile of many of its members, Viasna continues its activities, and is finding new ways to advocate for human rights in Belarus.