Mr. Adrian Severin, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus
Thank you, Mr. President.
Mr. Severin, the European Union welcomes your report and commends the work you have managed to carry out in the implementation of your mandate. We regret that the government of Belarus has not responded favourably to your request to visit the country and has refused to cooperate with you. The EU would like to strongly encourage Belarus to extend its full cooperation to the Special Rapporteur. 
One of the fundamental principles and a prerequisite of a fair trial is the existence of a competent, independent and impartial judiciary. In your report, you mention that the situation regarding the independence of judiciary has further weakened during the past year. Could you elaborate on the measures to strengthen the independence and impartiality of the judiciary in Belarus and possibilities of international cooperation in this regard?
We share the concerns that the Belarusian authorities continue to intimidate civil society activists and to demonstrate unwillingness to respect international standards in democracy and human rights. The sentencing of the members of the NGO Partnership and the trial of Mr Aleksandr Kozulin this year indicate further erosion of the democratic process in Belarus. Have there been any efforts by the Belarusian authorities to release and rehabilitate Mr. Aleksandr Kozulin as well as all other political prisoners? 
As a worrisome development in 2005, you raised the discrimination of minorities. Could you update us on the situation of minorities in today’s Belarus?
Thank you, Mr. President