GENEVA — The United Nations Human Rights Council formally rebuked Belarus on Friday over newly enacted legislation criminalising so-called 'LGBT propaganda,' with a broad coalition of member states co-sponsoring a statement describing the law as a dangerous regression in fundamental freedoms. The move follows Wednesday's warning from UN independent experts who characterised the legislation as a 'dangerous escalation' targeting LGBT people and civil society organisations.

The statement, coordinated by the European Union bloc within the Council, calls on Minsk to repeal the legislation immediately and align its domestic law with obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Belarus is a signatory. Seventeen countries, including Canada, Australia, and several Latin American democracies, added their names to the document before Friday's session closed.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk addressed the Council, noting that the Belarusian law mirrors similar restrictions introduced in Russia in 2023 and reflects a broader regional trend of using legislative instruments to marginalise sexual minorities. Türk called the provisions 'incompatible with universal human rights standards' and urged Council members to maintain scrutiny of the situation in Minsk.

Belarusian officials, speaking through their Geneva mission, rejected the rebuke as politically motivated interference in the country's sovereign affairs, accusing Western states of attempting to impose 'non-traditional values' on nations that had chosen a different social model. The mission's statement drew a parallel to similar defences offered by Russian diplomats in recent years.

Human rights organisations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued parallel statements on Friday urging the Council to go beyond a written rebuke and appoint a dedicated Special Rapporteur for Belarus, a post that lapsed in previous years amid diplomatic wrangling. The day's proceedings signal renewed multilateral pressure on Minsk, even as concrete enforcement mechanisms remain limited given Belarus's close alignment with Moscow.