New York, Sept. 19 -- The Belarus Government should end "violent crackdowns" and "increasing repression" against protesters who are still contesting the result of last month's Presidential elections, UN deputy rights chief Nada Al Nashif told the Human Rights Council on Friday.

At the end of a memorable day of back-and-forth discussions between the Council President and delegations - featuring more than a dozen points of order by delegations who questioned the right of some of those addressing the Council to speak and no less than 17 amendments to a European-Union sponsored call for action - the Geneva-based forum finally adopted a resolution on the deteriorating rights situation in Belarus.

It passed by 23 votes for, two against and wi...