MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the continuing repression of the democratic opposition and civil society in Belarus

22.11.2022 - (2022/0956(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

Viola von Cramon‑Taubadel, Gwendoline Delbos‑Corfield, Francisco Guerreiro, Ignazio Corrao, Piernicola Pedicini, Hannah Neumann, Sergey Lagodinsky, Bronis Ropė, Mounir Satouri, Tineke Strik, Claude Gruffat, Markéta Gregorová, Thomas Waitz, Erik Marquardt, Rosa D'Amato, Heidi Hautala
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0508/2022

B9‑0508/2022

European Parliament resolution on the continuing repression of the democratic opposition and civil society in Belarus

(2022/0956(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Belarus,

– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to all human rights conventions, to which Belarus is a party,

– having regard to the statement by the EEAS spokesperson on the court ruling against independent media representatives in Belarus of 8 October 2022,

– having regard to the Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Situation of human rights in Belarus in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and in its aftermath of 4 March 2022,

– having regard to the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, Anaïs Marin, to the United Nations Human Rights Council of 20 July 2022,

– having regard to the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus,

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

 

1. whereas the European Union and its Member States did not recognise the results of the fraudulent presidential elections in Belarus of 9 August 2020; whereas the human rights violations in Belarus have escalated since August 2020, with more than 1400 political prisoners as of November 2022; whereas human rights defenders, opposition politicians, civil society, 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;
2. whereas reports by UN human rights institutions and civil society organisations reveal the continuously worsening human rights situation in Belarus manifested through the patterns of systematic tightening of national legislation, eradication of civil society organizations and independent media outlets, a growing number of prisoners believed to be sentenced on politically-motivated charges, and persistent patterns of raids, arrests, torture or intimidation of people expressing or holding dissenting views; whereas there are continuously new allegations of arbitrary arrests and detentions, disappearances, torture and ill-treatment;
3. whereas on 6 September 2022, the Minsk City Court sentenced Marfa Rabkova, Coordinator of the volunteer service of the Human Rights Center "Viasna", and Andrey Chapiuk, a volunteer of “Viasna”, to 15 and six years in prison, respectively; whereas five other “Viasna” members have been arbitrarily detained, namely Nobel Prize winner 2022 and laurate of Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2020 Ales Bialiatski, head of Viasna, Valiantsin Stefanovic, member of Viasna’s Board and Vice-President of FIDH, Uladzimir Labkovich, lawyer and coordinator of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”, and Leanid Sudalenka, lawyer of the Homieĺ (Gomel) branch of Viasna;
4. whereas Nasta Loika, a co-founder of the “Human Constanta” and a former “Viasna” member, was arbitrarily detained in Minsk and repeatedly sentenced to 15 days in jail for “petty hooliganism”, latest on 28 October and on 14 November 2022;
5. whereas on 6 October 2022, the Minsk Regional Court three journalists of the banned independent media outlet BelaPAN, namely Iryna Leushyna, editor in chief, Dzmitry Navazhylau, Director, Andrei Aliaksandrau, Deputy Director, as well as an independent journalist Iryna Zlobina were sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from 4 to 14 years;
6. whereas on 16 November 2022, Hrodna Region Court sentenced Andrei Khanevich, one of the leaders of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union, to 5 years in prison; whereas on 15 November 2022, Maskouski District Court of Minsk sentenced Yannina Malash, an activist of the Free Trade Union of Metalworkers, to 1.5 years of imprisonment;
7. whereas on 14 November 2022, independent media reported about criminal prosecution under this article against Irena Valius and Renata Dzemanchuk, leaders of the Union of Poles in Belarus;
8. whereas around 600 NGOs have been liquidated or are being liquidated; whereas in July, the Supreme Court of Belarus liquidated the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, an umbrella organisation for independent trade unions, thereby effectively banning all independent trade unions;
9. whereas “extremism” and “terrorism” charges and criminal libel are continuously used to prosecute critics of the government and the State Committee for Security has significantly expanded the “List of organisations and individuals involved in a terrorist activity”, which currently contains around 500 names, including leading opposition figures, such as Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Paval Latushka, and prisoners of conscience Maryia Kalesnikava and Maksim Znak; whereas as of June, over two dozen organisations, including major independent media outlets, such as news agency BelaPAN, media portal tut.by, RFE/RL, Belsat TV and others, were liquidated, following their designation as “terrorist formations”;
10. whereas in July, Aliaksandr Lukashenka signed into law the legislation which allows investigations and trials in absentia under 48 articles of the Criminal Code; whereas unfair trials and harsh sentences are pervasive throughout the Belarusian legal system;
11. whereas the authorities often resort to surveillance, online censorship, and disinformation, deploying technologies to control the population; whereas such a repressive practice represents another step towards digital authoritarianism and suppression of digital rights of persons in Belarus, resulting in escalating intimidation of citizens and shrinking of civic space;
12. 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 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 to still carry out capital punishment;

 

13. whereas on 24 February 2022, the Russian Federation launched an illegal, unjustified and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, including from the territory of Belarus; whereas the EU has imposed restrictive measures on Belarus und Belarusian individuals in response; whereas scores of Belarusian citizens have been prosecuted for expressing support to Ukraine, criticising the government for supporting Russia’s aggression or reporting on the movements of Russian troops and military equipment within Belarus;

 

14. whereas in July 2022, the ICAO Council concluded that Belarus committed an act of unlawful interference in breach of international aviation law concerning the forced landing of Ryanair Flight FR4978 in Minsk on 23 May 2021;

 

15. whereas on 18 July 2022, Lukashenko signed a decree withdrawing Belarus from the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) of 1998;

 

 

1. Continues to stand firmly in solidarity with the people of Belarus, as well as with forces that demand and fight for a free and democratic Belarus; reiterates its non-recognition of the election of Aliaksandr Lukashenka as president of Belarus, and denounces the continuing repression of the democratic opposition and civil society in Belarus;
2. Condemns in the strongest possible terms Belarus’ involvement in the Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and demands that Belarus stop enabling and supporting the regime in Moscow;
3. Demands an immediate end to the violence and repression employed by the Belarusian authorities against peaceful protesters, opposition politicians, independent media, human rights defenders, of civil society, academia, trade unions, lawyers, and other Belarusian citizens; insists on the immediate and unconditional release of and dropping of all charges against all political prisoners;
4. 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;
5. 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, sexual and gender-based violence, and enforced disappearance; calls for an end to discrimination against women and vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities and LGBTQI persons;
6. Urges Belarusian authorities to stop using torture and ill-treatment as a systematic practice on prisoners, effectively investigate all cases of torture and extra-judicial executions, especially taking place since August 2020, and provide compensation and rehabilitation to the victims of torture;
7. Reiterates its call on Belarusian authorities to immediately commute all death sentences and establish an immediate moratorium on the use of death penalty as the first step towards full and permanent abolition;
8. Denounces the decision by Belarus to withdraw from the Aarhus Convention, an international agreement that implements the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and the further repercussions this decision will have for environmental human rights defenders in Belarus; condems the Belarusian regime’s brutal persecution of environmental NGOs raising nuclear safety issues of the Belarusian NPP, notably the Ecohome NGO;
9. Welcomes the Council’s decision to adopt restrictive measures, as well as the increased coordination on restrictive measures with like-minded countries, and reiterates its call to align sanctions on Belarus with those on Russia, given its role in the aggression against Ukraine and the unprecedented levels of repression against its own people;
10. Calls on the Council and the HR/VP 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; calls for the EEAS to take the lead in coordinating such a coherent policy with Member States and other EU institutions;
11. Highlights the continued need to engage with and support civil society activists, human rights defenders, opposition activists, trade union representatives, 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, monitoring of the situation and trials of individual political prisoners on the ground, easing visa requirements, as well as improving asylum processes, issuing emergency visas, and providing temporary shelter in EU Member States for those seeking refuge from Belarus; commits to stepping up its own democracy support activities;
12. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to prepare rules and procedures to deal with cases where human rights defenders and other civil society activists are stripped of their citizenship in Belarus, as well as to provide support to those Belarusians residing in the EU whose identity documents are expiring and who have no means of renewing them, since they cannot return to Belarus;
13. Welcomes the Commission’s comprehensive plan of economic support for a democratic Belarus, but demands that these funds must be immediately accessible in order to support the crucial work of civil society, independent media, trade unions and the Belarusian opposition in exile, as well as those fleeing the oppressive regime;
14. Calls on the Commission, Member States and the EEAS to cooperate with international partners, such as the OSCE 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;
15. Encourages the Members States and the EEAS to reinforce the mandate and office of UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus and OHCHR Examination on Belarus to receive and process effectively individual complaints from the citizens of Belarus, as they do not have any other international remedy;
16. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take steps to ensure that businesses operating in Belarus, both foreign and national, exercise particular diligence and uphold their responsibility to respect human rights, including throughout their operations and supply chains, in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles;
17. Notes with concern the continuing integration of Russia and Belarus across several fields and in particular the progressive militarisation of Belarus and the region as a challenge for the security and stability of the European continent and, in particular, countries in the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood with whom Russia is already in conflict;
18. 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 UN, the OSCE, as well as to the authorities of Belarus.