Meeting in a hybrid plenary session this week, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted two reports on Belarus on the morning of Wednesday 21 April. These texts were each accompanied by a resolution and a recommendation to the Committee of Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
The first, written by the British Conservative Lord Blencathra, describes the flawed electoral system in Belarus and sees it as a “driving factor behind the current political, economic and human rights crisis affecting the country”. The parliamentarians call for a thorough reform of this electoral system in order to bring it into line with international standards for democratic elections, as recalled in previous recommendations from the Assembly, the OSCE and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.
Recalling the importance of respect for human rights, the Assembly also condemned in the strongest possible terms the unprecedented wave of mass arrests and intimidation that followed the 2020 presidential election, “which was neither free nor fair”.
In adopting the second report, signed by French MEP Alexandra Louis (ALDE), the Assembly urges Council of Europe Member States to use universal jurisdiction and “Magnitsky laws” to bring to justice those responsible for serious human rights violations committed in the context of government repression in Belarus.
According to the Assembly, those arrested in connection with the demonstrations can be considered as “political prisoners” within the meaning of the Council of Europe definition. It therefore calls for their immediate release.
The adopted texts call for a government/opposition dialogue and the organisation of new democratic elections to resolve the political crisis.
They also recall that the integration of Belarus remains “a strategic objective” for the Council of Europe. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)