2004 press releases

U.S. Embassy Minsk Statement on Counterpart Closure (November 18, 2004)

The U.S. Embassy regrets the decision by the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign affairs to deny registration to the Counterpart International (CAP) representative office in Belarus.  The Embassy does not believe the program activities of CAP have violated any Belarusian laws or regulations. The CAP office has cooperated with repeated Belarusian tax and legal investigations and, until receiving notice of denial of registration, had received no notice of violations from any Belarusian authority. In Belarus, CAP conducted its programs under the United States-Belarus Bilateral Agreement. In accordance with this Agreement, all the CAP programs operating in Belarus were approved by Belarusian authorities by a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus issued on June 8, 2001.  These programs have supported work in the spheres of humanitarian and community development. Many Belarusian individuals and organizations throughout Belarusian society benefited from CAP programs and initiatives. The Counterpart Alliance for Partnership (CAP) and the Counterpart Humanitarian Assistance Program (CHAP) operate within the framework of Counterpart International, Inc., a U.S. non-profit organization that has a long history of improving economic, environmental and public conditions for human development in more than 60 countries, including states of the former Soviet Union.
 
The U.S. Government always seeks and has sought opportunities to engage constructively with Belarus to support Belarus' humanitarian and community development objectives.  The CAP programs promoted these goals and represented positive engagement between the United States and Belarus. The U.S. Embassy has expressed its disappointment to the Belarusian authorities over this decision to terminate these activities and has requested a re-examination of the decision.  The decision would appear to disadvantage only Belarusian society, which has been a long-time beneficiary and supporter of the CAP programs.