Motion for a resolution - B9-0488/2021Motion for a resolution
B9-0488/2021

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression

4.10.2021 - (2021/2881(RSP))

to wind up the debate on the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
pursuant to Rule 132(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Viola Von Cramon‑Taubadel, Thomas Waitz, Anna Cavazzini, Terry Reintke, Jordi Solé, Ignazio Corrao, Hannah Neumann, Rosa D’Amato, Sergey Lagodinsky, Sara Matthieu, Bronis Ropė, Francisco Guerreiro, Gwendoline Delbos‑Corfield, Mounir Satouri, Tineke Strik
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0482/2021

Procedure : 2021/2881(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
B9-0488/2021
Texts tabled :
B9-0488/2021
Votes :
Texts adopted :

B9‑0488/2021

European Parliament resolution on the situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression

(2021/2881(RSP))

The European Parliament,

 having regard to its previous resolutions and recommendations on Belarus,

 having regard to the European Council conclusions of 24 May and 25 June 2021 on Belarus,

 having regard to the Council decisions of 21 June 2021 to impose further restrictive measures against Belarusian individuals and entities and of 24 June 2021 to impose new sanctions on the Belarusian economy,

 having regard to the joint statement by Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom and United States of 21 June 2021, as well as the declaration by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) on behalf of the EU of 23 June 2021 on the alignment of certain countries concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus,

 having regard to the declarations by the VP/HR on behalf of the EU of 30 July 2021 on the instrumentalisation of migrants and refugees by the regime and of 8 August 2021 on the first anniversary of the 9 August 2020 fraudulent presidential elections in Belarus,

 having regard to the statements by the VP/HR of 26 March 2021 on the EU’s support to the International Accountability Platform for Belarus and of 15 July 2021 on the crackdown against civil society,

 having regard to the statements by the European External Action Service (EEAS) Spokesperson of 6 July 2021 on the sentencing of Viktar Babaryka and other political trials and of 6 September 2021 on the sentencing of Marya Kaliesnikava and Maksim Znak,

 having regard to the statements by the EEAS Spokesperson of 7 July 2021 on limiting the diplomatic presence of Lithuania and of 30 August 2021 on the repressions against journalists and media,

 having regard to the report of the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, Anaïs Marin, of 4 May 2021,

 having regard to the interim measures ordered by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the cases R.A. and Others v. Poland (application no. 42120/21) and Ahmed and Others v. Latvia (application no. 42165/21) of 25 August 2021, in the case A.S. and Others v. Lithuania (application no. 44205/21) of 8 September 2021, and in the case of R.A. and Others v. Poland (application no. 42120/21) of 28 September 2021,

 having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas more than one year after the fraudulent presidential elections in Belarus of 9 August 2020, the peaceful protests calling for free and fair new elections, and their violent repression by the regime, still continue; whereas the EU and its Member States did not recognise the result of the presidential election;

B. whereas human rights violations in Belarus have escalated since August 2020, with almost 700 political prisoners being detained as of September 2021; whereas human rights defenders, opposition politicians, civil society representatives, independent journalists and other activists are systematically subjected to violent repression; whereas thousands of Belarusians have been forced or otherwise compelled to leave their homeland and seek safety abroad;

C. whereas there is no indication that Belarusian authorities are investigating the thousands of reports of police brutality filed since August 2020 or the killings of protesters; whereas the widespread impunity of perpetrators of human rights violations perpetuates the desperate situation of the Belarusian people; whereas the absence of the rule of law impedes their right to a fair trial; whereas Belarus is the only country in Europe that continues to carry out capital punishment;

D. whereas on 27 August 2021, the Belarusian regime ordered the closure of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, the largest independent journalist organisation in the country and Sakharov Prize laureates of 2004, as part of the regime’s relentless crackdown on dissenting voices and civic space in Belarus;

E. whereas Belarusian courts have delivered more than 120 unfair and arbitrary verdicts in politically motivated trials, often held behind closed doors and without due process of law; whereas Belarusian opposition politician Viktar Babaryka was sentenced to 14 years in prison on 6 July 2021, and on 6 September 2021, Marya Kaliesnikava and Maksim Znak were sentenced to 11 and 10 years in prison respectively;

F. whereas the Council adopted the fourth package of restrictive measures on Belarusian individuals and entities on 21 June 2021, following the forced and unlawful landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk, Belarus, on 23 May 2021, and the detention by Belarusian authorities of journalist Raman Pratasevich and Sofia Sapega; whereas EU restrictive measures on Belarus now apply to a total of 166 persons and 15 entities; whereas this round of sanctions was coordinated with EU allies, including Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States; whereas the Council decided to introduce new targeted economic sanctions on the Belarusian economy on 24 June 2021;

G. whereas on 4 June 2021, the Council decided to introduce a ban on the overflight of EU airspace and on access to EU airports by Belarusian carriers of all kinds; whereas the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway aligned themselves with this Council decision;

H. whereas Poland, Latvia and Lithuania have each declared a state of emergency amid an increase in persons arriving at their borders with Belarus; whereas Poland has restricted access for lawyers, civil society organisations and media to the border area; whereas the situation at the border can be described as a humanitarian crisis, and at least five migrants have died at the Polish-Belarusian border; whereas rights conveyed by EU and international law are reportedly no longer being upheld and enforced, and there have been several reports of pushbacks at Poland’s and Lithuania’s borders with Belarus; whereas the ECtHR has issued multiple interim orders requiring Poland and Latvia to grant the affected individuals access to shelter, food and lawyers, and has ordered Lithuania and Poland not to expel asylum seekers to Belarus; whereas these interim orders have reportedly been violated;

1. Continues to stand firmly in solidarity with the people of Belarus, as well as with the peaceful protesters who continue to stand up for a free and democratic Belarus; reiterates its non-recognition of the election of Aliaksandr Lukashenka as president of Belarus;

2. Demands an immediate end to the violence and repression employed by the Belarusian authorities against peaceful protesters, opposition politicians, independent media, human rights defenders, civil society, academia, trade unions, lawyers and other Belarusian citizens; insists on the immediate and unconditional release of, and the dropping of all charges against, all political prisoners;

3. Calls for unequivocal support for the Belarusian opposition and the ousting of the current illegitimate regime under Aliaksandr Lukashenka, as well as subsequent free and fair new elections, underpinned by independent and free media and a strong civil society;

4. Insists on the need to ensure fundamental freedoms and human rights, the rule of law and a functioning independent judiciary in Belarus, and the ceasing of all repressions, persecutions, ill treatment, sexual and gender-based violence, enforced disappearances and torture, as well as for the immediate and permanent abolition of the death penalty; calls for an end to discrimination against women and vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities and LGBTQI persons;

5. Welcomes the Council’s decision to adopt the fourth package of restrictive measures, as well as the increased coordination on restrictive measures with like-minded countries; encourages the Council to revisit the imposed transport sanctions in order to facilitate people’s attempts to leave the country;

6. Urges the Council to proceed immediately with the fifth package of restrictive measures, targeting economically crucial sectors and companies that support Lukashenka and his regime, as well as tackling circumventions of sanctions that are already taking place; welcomes the Commission’s proposal to suspend certain articles of the EU-Belarus Visa Facilitation Agreement and calls on the Council to adopt it; calls for the introduction of effective safeguards against the direct or indirect sale of Belarusian electricity produced in the Astravets nuclear power plant to EU markets, as well as for the halting of investments from EU countries in energy infrastructure projects in Belarus;

7. Calls on the Council and the VP/HR to explore further measures, beyond sanctions, and to develop a coherent and comprehensive long-term approach towards Belarus, closely coordinated with like-minded countries and international organisations in order to avoid the continuation of investment from the international community that benefits the regime, such as the recent IMF support package of EUR 1 billion; calls for the EEAS to take the lead in coordinating such a coherent policy with Member States and other EU institutions;

8. Highlights the continued need to engage with and support civil society activists, human rights defenders and independent media in Belarus and abroad; reiterates its call for a targeted EU assistance programme to help victims of political repression and police violence, for the monitoring of the situation and trials of individual political prisoners on the ground and the easing of visa requirements, as well as for improvements to the asylum processes, the issuing of emergency visas and the provision of temporary shelter in EU Member States for those seeking refuge from Belarus; commits to stepping up its own democracy support activities;

9. Welcomes the Commission’s comprehensive plan of economic support for a democratic Belarus but demands that these funds be immediately accessible in order to support the crucial work of civil society, independent media and the Belarusian opposition in exile, as well as those fleeing the oppressive regime;

10. Calls on the Commission, the Member States and the EEAS to cooperate with international partners such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Moscow Mechanism and the UN Human Rights Council, as well as human rights defenders and civil society on the ground to ensure monitoring, documentation and reporting of human rights violations and subsequent accountability and justice for victims; welcomes and supports the establishment of the International Accountability Platform for Belarus; supports further discussions about a possible international tribunal for human rights violations in Belarus to be set up in The Hague;

11. Condemns the instrumentalisation of migrants, including asylum applicants, by the Belarusian regime as a political tool against EU Member States in response to their support for the democratic opposition in Belarus; expresses strong solidarity with Lithuania, Poland and Latvia, as well as other EU Member States targeted by the Belarusian regime; calls on the Commission and the Council to deal urgently with the humanitarian situation at the Belarusian border; deplores the decision of some Member States, such as Denmark, to finance the building of razor wire fences without safeguarding the right to seek asylum;

12. Calls on the authorities of Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as other affected Member States, to ensure that EU border, asylum and return law, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and international human rights law are fully respected also during the emergency situation, including the right to human dignity, satisfaction of basic needs and access to asylum, as well as access for legal aid providers, media and civil society organisations to the border area; calls on these authorities to immediately implement the interim orders of the ECtHR and to take into account the guidance of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and bodies of the Council of Europe; calls on the Commission, as the guardian of the treaties, to unambiguously condemn the violations by Poland, Latvia and Lithuania and to enforce compliance with relevant EU law; calls on other Member States to demonstrate solidarity and provide assistance to the affected Member States, including relocation of asylum applicants;

13. Notes with concern that the continuing integration of Russia and Belarus across several domains, and in particular the progressive militarisation of Belarus and the region, constitutes a possible challenge to the security and stability of the European continent, and in particular to countries in the EU’s eastern neighbourhood with which Russia is already in direct and indirect conflict; expresses its regret at Belarus’ recent decision to withdraw from the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative;

14. Condemns the expulsion by Belarus of diplomats and consular staff of the EU and its Member States, among other countries, through which the regime is further closing diplomatic channels of communication and further limiting opportunities for Belarusians to leave the country; calls on the Member States to respond in kind by refusing the accreditation of Belarusian diplomats in the EU;

15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the authorities of Belarus.

 

Last updated: 5 October 2021
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