Resolution on the situation in Belarus, five years after the fraudulent presidential elections

The European Parliament adopted by 458 votes to 18, with 84 abstentions, a resolution on the situation in Belarus, five years after the fraudulent presidential elections.

The text adopted in plenary was tabled by the EPP, S&D, ECR, Renew and Green/EFA groups.

More than five years after the fraudulent presidential elections of 9 August 2020 and the ensuing brutal crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy protests, the human rights situation in Belarus remains critical. The resolution stated that the EU has mobilised EUR 170 million since 2020 to support Belarusian civil society, independent media and victims of repression, and has imposed targeted sanctions on Belarus in response to the 2020 fraudulent elections, human rights violations, and Belarus’s complicity in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

Parliament reaffirmed its strong condemnation of the repression in Belarus and its firm solidarity with all those who continue to fight the Lukashenka regime’s massive and systematic repression in the country. It reiterated its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and arbitrarily detained persons, along with compensation and the restoration of their rights. Members expressed grave concern about the situation of political prisoners, many of whom face severe health issues without access to proper medical care and are enduring isolation, ill-treatment and torture.

Moreover, Parliament reiterated its previous calls for new, free and fair elections to be organised under international observation by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

The EU and its Member States are called on to:

- continue to support Belarusian democratic forces, civil society, students, researchers, journalists, trade union leaders, exiled professionals and others, including by providing them with visas, scholarships, grants, networking opportunities and measures to ensure their safety. In this context, the EU provide independent media with systemic and multi-year assistance, including funding;

- raise the abuse of international arrest warrants with Interpol;

- continue investigating human rights abuses and crimes against humanity in Belarus.

The resolution condemned the authorities of Belarus for blocking independent media, restricting access to the internet, and arresting journalists and bloggers, which contravenes international standards of press freedom. It also urged Belarus to commute all death sentences, impose a moratorium on capital punishment and move towards its permanent abolition.

The EU is called on to impose sanctions on Belarusian entities and individuals responsible for the forced labour of political prisoners and on goods produced through such forced labour. Parliament also called on all EU-based companies to exercise particular diligence and terminate their relations with any Belarusian suppliers that use forced labour in their supply chains, suppress the civil and political rights of their employees or openly support the Lukashenka regime. It reiterated its calls on EU and Western companies to cease their activities in Belarus.

Lastly, the EU and its Member States should launch thorough investigations into, and dismantle, Belarusian and Russian spy networks in the EU and the candidate countries, and stressed, once more, the need to impose restrictions on Russian and Belarusian diplomats in the Schengen area.