U.N. blocked from monitoring rights abuses in Belarus, envoy says

FILE PHOTO: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko delivers a speech in Minsk, Belarus May 26, 2021. Press Service of the President of the Republic of Belarus/Handout via REUTERS

VILNIUS (Reuters) - The Belarus government's crackdown on human rights organizations obstructed the ability of the United Nations to document abuses, the U.N. envoy said on Tuesday.

Belarus was levied with several rounds of international sanctions after a crackdown over mass protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, whose opponents say he fraudulently won last year's presidential election. He denies wrongdoing.