CIS secretary general criticizes lack of human rights, democracy in Western countries

 The West has a long way to go towards human rights and democracy, BelTA learned from Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Sergei Lebedev.

Sergei Lebedev said: “The problem of observance of human rights in the CIS space is very relevant for us. Particularly since unjustified attacks and accusations, which blame CIS states for alleged violations of human rights, failures to observe these rights, violations of democracy principles in our countries, have become more frequent.”

The official went on saying: “As a man, who has worked abroad, in Western Europe, in the USA for many years, I have to say that they still have a very long way to go to the observance of human rights and democracy. The situation we witness in the United Nations Organization, the latest presidential election, violations of human rights and democratic foundations in the USA and Western Europe in no way give these countries and these politicians the right to accuse CIS states, Russia, and Belarus of any violations of human rights.”

Sergei Lebedev remarked he is in a position to compare how human rights are observed in the CIS states and what violations happen in the West. “We have much more freedom. We think about people and human rights so much more,” he added.

The official reminded that the first session of the CIS commission on human rights took place in Minsk the day before. Participants of the session exchanged experience of work in this field. “It was the first session of a new domain-specific council, one can say. But a start has been made,” Sergei Lebedev stressed.