Кадровые вызовы для высшего образования в Беларуси после начала демократических трансформаций
Human Resources Challenges for Higher Education in Belarus Following the Onset of Democratic Transformations

Summary/Abstract: The experience of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe shows that the transition from authoritarian to democratic rule requires recruitment of new personnel, including higher education staff. This multifaceted and quite long term process includes both the restoration of rights to citizens who were previously subjected to various restrictive measures and repressions by the authorities because of their civic position, and the punishment of the dictator’s accomplices who committed crimes against their nation. In addition to these wide ranging activities, as history shows, a balanced lustration is necessary, aimed at revealing the identity of people who, to a greater or lesser extent, collaborated with the repressive bodies.These activities must be carried out on the basis of international law and national legislation and within the strict framework of these regulations. This means that, after the beginning of the transitional period, a special law must be adopted to regulate the processes of restoring social justice and punishing criminals.The law must clearly define the tasks of the structures entrusted with the implementation of its requirements in practice. The new Belarusian law should define in the most precise way the procedures for pre trial and judicial proceedings in personal cases, as well as the legal consequences of court decisions. Given the complexity of the tasks described above, the institutions of the democratic forces of Belarus operating in exile can already now start developing conceptual documents, including the organization of lustration. It should be emphasized that these activities have already begun – a number of projects have been put up for public discussion, and an outline of planned analytical and expert activities has been outlined, including those concerning reforms in the field of higher education. When planning and implementing democratic reforms after the fall of the dictatorship, Belarusians can draw on the rich and diverse experience of countries that faced similar challenges several decades earlier. One of the main lessons that the democratic forces of Belarus should draw from the experience of other countries is to prevent the politicization of personnel work, as well as to conduct lustration as soon as possible, punish criminals and restore the rights of citizens who were subjected to illegal repression by the regime.

• Details
• Contents