A/RES/62/169 Concerned that the presidential election of 19 March 2006 was severely flawed due to arbitrary use of State power and fell significantly short of Belarus’ commitments at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to hold a free and fair election, that the Government of Belarus did not take measures to ensure that the local elections of 14 January 2007 met international standards and that the situation of human rights in Belarus in 2007 continued to significantly deteriorate, as documented in the reports of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, 13 which found that systematic violations of human rights continue to take place in Belarus, 12F Disappointed that the Belarusian authorities again failed to create conditions for the Belarusian people to freely express their will during local elections on 14 January 2007 by denying the basic rights of freedom of assembly and association, as well as with the lack of progress made by the Government of Belarus in addressing noted shortfalls, 1. Expresses deep concern: (a) About the continued use of the criminal justice system to silence political opposition and human rights defenders, including through arbitrary detention, lack of due process and closed political trials of leading opposition figures and human rights defenders; (b) About the failure of the Government of Belarus to cooperate fully with all the mechanisms of the Human Rights Council, in particular with the Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Belarus, while noting the serious concern relating to the continued and systematic violations of human rights in Belarus and the further erosion of the democratic process expressed by seven independent human rights experts of the United Nations in a statement issued on 29 March 2006; (c) That in spite of detailed recommendations by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and dialogue between the Government of Belarus and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe following previous elections, and despite calls from the General Assembly to adopt the recommendations of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe following the flawed presidential election of 2006, Belarus again failed to meet its commitments to hold free and fair elections during municipal elections in January 2007, including by using intimidation and the arbitrary application of registration standards to exclude opposition candidates, by severely restricting the access of registered candidates to voters and the mass media, through routine harassment, the detention and arrest of political and civil society activists, and the negative portrayal in the State media of opposition candidates and activists, including human rights defenders, and by preventing access by independent local observers to polling stations; (d) About the continued use of the arbitrary application of registration standards to prevent non-governmental organizations from operating, including the use of the arbitrary denial of leases and evictions to prevent organizations from acquiring valid addresses; _______________ 13 2 A/HRC/4/16.