“We are embedding the values of the Council of Europe into the very foundation of our future state” declared Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian Democratic Forces, on Wednesday 25 February before the Committee of Ministers of the Strasbourg-based organisation.
This statement was made on the occasion of the publication of a new list of activities planned for 2026-2027 for the Council of Europe Contact Group on Cooperation with Belarusian Democratic Forces and Civil Society, which was set up at the end of 2022, following the end of all cooperation with the Belarusian authorities in the wake of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
The aim is to prepare these democratic forces and Belarusian civil society so that they are prepared and capable “to the greatest extent possible to implement Council of Europe standards of democracy, rule of law and human rights, and anchor Belarus in the European family of democracies”, emphasised Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, on Thursday 26 February.
With the creation of this Contact Group, the Council of Europe has found a “non-conventional” solution, which has “served as a model for other international organisations”, says Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, citing “Consultative Group with the European Union, Strategic dialogues with the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada – all built on the same principle – legitimacy comes from the people, not from fear”.
Highlighting the work already done since 2022 to promote the values of the Council of Europe within a future Belarus whose Constitution would abolish the death penalty, the opponent of Lukashenko’s regime declared that once democratic, her country “will not arrive empty-handed. We are building competence, training professionals, forming networks – now”.
The Contact Group’s agreed list of activities for 2026-2027 will strengthen existing cooperation and respond to new needs in the areas of promoting the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights, abolishing the death penalty, combating discrimination, gender equality and violence against women, parliamentary cooperation, local democracy, support for civil society, cultural rights and the participation of young people and Belarusian journalists in exile.
The programme of postings of Belarusian professionals to the Council of Europe will continue.
In addition, an Information Point for the people of Belarus is due to open in Vilnius, under the agreement between the Council of Europe and the Lithuanian government.
Convinced that “a new window of opportunity for changes might open, especially if peace in Ukraine is achieved”, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is calling for her country to “to use momentum and turn Belarus into a democracy and drag it away from Russia’s claws”.
Link to the Contact Group’s video presentation: https://aeur.eu/f/kyk (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)