Viasna is a non-governmental human rights organization, created in 1996 during mass protest actions of the democratic opposition in Belarus. It contributes to the development of civil society in Belarus, based on respect of human rights according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus.
Viasna was initially a group created to help arrested protestors and their families in the 1996 protests. From this stems the name “Viasna-96”. On 15 June 1999 the organization was registered as the Human Rights Center “Viasna”. Viasna consists of a central office in Minsk and regional organizations in the majority of Belarusian cities. Together with BHC, Viasna conducts election monitoring in the coalition “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”.
