MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on The continuous violations of human rights in Belarus, in particular the murder of Raman Bandarenka

24.11.2020 - (2020/2882(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure

Michael Gahler, Miriam Lexmann, Željana Zovko, David McAllister, Isabel Wiseler‑Lima, Sandra Kalniete, Andrzej Halicki, Andrius Kubilius, Tomas Tobé, Loránt Vincze, Antonio López‑Istúriz White, Tomáš Zdechovský, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, Inese Vaidere, Vangelis Meimarakis, Krzysztof Hetman, Romana Tomc, Magdalena Adamowicz, Ivan Štefanec, Maria Walsh, Adam Jarubas, Benoît Lutgen, Eva Maydell, Jiří Pospíšil, Stanislav Polčák, Stelios Kympouropoulos, David Lega, Michaela Šojdrová, Luděk Niedermayer, Ioan‑Rareş Bogdan, Paulo Rangel
on behalf of the PPE Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0389/2020

B9‑0393/2020

European Parliament resolution on  The continuous violations of human rights in Belarus, in particular the murder of Raman Bandarenka

 

(2020/2882(RSP))

The European Parliament,

—  having regard to its resolutions on Belarus, in particular those of 24 November 2016[1] and 6 April 2017[2] on the situation in Belarus, of 19 April 2018 on Belarus[3], and of 4 October 2018 on the deterioration of media freedom in Belarus, notably the case of Charter 97[4],and of 17 September 2020,

—  having regard to the statement by the Spokesperson of the EEAS of 13 November 2020 on the death of Raman Bandarenka,

—  having regards to the press statement of the Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights of 13 November 2020 on the human rights violations,

—  having regard to the position of Belarusian human rights organizations of 16 November 2020 on the death of Raman Bandarenka,

—  having regard to the European Council decision of 6 November 2020 to add 15 members of the Belarusian authorities, including Alexandr Lukashenko, as well as his son and National Security Adviser Viktor Lukashenko, to the list of sanctions, augmenting to a total of 59 Belarusian individuals with a travel ban and an asset freeze,

—  having regard to the European Parliament’s 2020 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought awarded to the democratic opposition in Belarus on 22 October 2020;

—  having regard to the European Council conclusions of 12 October 2020 on the situation in Belarus,

—  having regard to Rule 144 of its Rules of Procedure,

 

1. whereas since the last presidential election in Belarus, that was held on the 9th of August 2020, the political situation in the country remains tense, where authorities increasingly use violence and terror against Belarusian citizens, mass arrests augmenting to over 1000 people per day and arbitrary prosecutions of peaceful protesters simply for raising their voices against the regime; 
2. whereas on 12 November 2020 Raman Bandarenka, a peaceful protester, was severely beaten by masked men believed to be security officers, then taken into police custody in Minsk, and transferred finally to the hospital with head injuries and a collapsed lung resulting in his death; whereas the authorities are trying to deflect responsibility by alleging that Raman Bandarenka was beaten by “concerned citizens”;
3. whereas the protests continue until today in Belarus, peaking during weekends in Unity Marches, and the scale of protests is unprecedented in the history of Belarus with numbers of participants reaching the hundreds of thousands;
4. whereas the European Council of 19 August decided to impose sanctions against a substantial number of individuals responsible for violence, repression and the falsification of the election results in Belarus, prohibiting them from entering the EU and freezing their financial assets in the EU; whereas on 6 November the European Council decided on adding 15 members of the Belarusian authorities, including Aliaksandr Lukashenka and his son to the list of sanctioned individuals; whereas further sanctions on individuals and companies are being prepared

 

1. Strongly condemns the human rights violations and brutality of Belarusian authorities against peaceful protesters, and expresses its condolences to the family of Raman Bandarenka and to all families who lost their close ones due to the repressions of Lukashenka’s regime;
2. Calls on the Belarusian authorities to launch a prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigation into Raman Bandarenka’s and others killing and to hold the perpetrators to account in fair trials as impunity cannot be tolerated;
3. Reiterates the strong  support to the protesting Belarusians in the streets, who demand freedom, democracy, dignity and the right to choose their own destiny; Condemns the ongoing intimidation and disproportionate use of force towards peaceful protesters,
4. Urges the Belarusian authorities to cease all forms of ill-treatment and torture against detained protesters, to enable them to access medical and legal advice, and to release those detained on political grounds immediately and unconditionally
5. Welcomes the decision of the Council to start the third package of sanctions aiming at regime-linked Belarusian firms and oligarchs;
6. Calls for an international investigation of  crimes perpetrated by the Lukashenko regime against people peacefully protesting for freedom, democracy and dignity, believes that it should be supported by the establishment of an evidence collection center and an EU task-force of international law experts to assist future international investigations ;
7. Suggests the establishment, within existing European Parliament structures, of a platform to assist international investigations of crimes committed by the regime against the people of Belarus in coordination with international organisations responsible for the protection of human rights;
8.  Supports the initiation of a fact-finding mission to Vilnius and Warsaw, as well as engage with opposition in Belarus in order to assess the situation of the Belarusian opposition, and in this context explore with them possible mediation and democracy support activities; considers the fact-finding mission as also  preparation for launching a High-Level Mission for Belarus;
9. Calls on the EU member states and the European Commission to implement the recommendations of the OSCE rapporteur under the Moscow Mechanism, in relation to granting asylum in cases of persecution covered under the Geneva Refugee Convention; in this context encourages Member States to facilitate and accelerate visa procedures for those fleeing Belarus for political reasons, and to extend to them and their families all necessary support and assistance;
10. Believes that awarding European Parliament’s 2020 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to the democratic opposition in Belarus can take place in the form of a remote ceremony for the time being due to pandemic situation; stresses however, that a physical ceremony should be organised once the situation allows;
11. Demands that new elections take place as soon as possible under international supervision led by Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in the presence of international observers, guaranteeing that the election is conducted in accordance with internationally recognised standards;
12. Calls on the EU to review all aspects EU-Belarus relations, including all bilateral activities and direct funding to the Belarusian regime, and calls on the EEAS to suspend negotiations on the EU-Belarus Partnership Priorities until free and fair presidential elections have taken place;  urges the EU to finalise, as soon as possible, a multi-billion euro EU reform and investment support plan for democratic Belarus,
13. Underlines the importance of vigilantly countering any spread of disinformation in Belarus concerning the EU and its Member States, and of disinformation on the situation in Belarus within the EU, as well as other forms of hybrid threats undertaken by third parties;
14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the authorities of the Republic of Belarus.

 

 

• [1] OJ C 224, 27.6.2018, p. 135.
• [2] OJ C 298, 23.8.2018, p. 60.
• [3] OJ C 390, 18.11.2019, p. 100.
• [4] OJ C 11, 13.1.2020, p. 18.