合法博彩网站

叠10鈥�0056/2025

European 合法博彩网站 resolution on the need for actions to address the continued oppression and fake elections in Belarus

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合法博彩网站,

鈥�听having regard to its previous resolutions on Belarus,

鈥�听having regard to the UN Charter,

鈥�听having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

鈥�听having regard to the 1990 Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Copenhagen Document, in particular paragraph 8 thereof,

鈥�听having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.听whereas the regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenka will stage 鈥榩residential elections鈥� on 26听January听2025, enabling Lukashenka to extend his term as president for another five years;

B.听whereas the political opponents who were arrested before or after the fraudulent elections of August听2020 are all still in prison; whereas compared to the much contested presidential election held in 2020, this time no genuine opposition candidates at all have been allowed to take part;

C.听whereas Belarus鈥檚 Central Election Commission (CEC) has registered Lukashenka and four other pro forma 鈥榗andidates鈥�; whereas the conditions for these 鈥榩residential elections鈥� show that they are not genuine elections but rather a technical procedure orchestrated by the regime to prolong Lukashenka鈥檚 hold on power;

D.听whereas the Lukashenka regime has intensified repression in the country since the fraudulent 2020 presidential elections, ensuring that there are no registered opposition parties or independent organisations remaining in the country;

E.听whereas Belarus has not invited the OSCE to send an election observation mission, in breach of OSCE commitments; whereas the Belarusian CEC states that over 360 international observers have been accredited for the presidential election, including observers from European countries as well as from the Commonwealth of Independent States;

F.听whereas none of the past six presidential elections in Belarus have been deemed free or fair; whereas international observers, including the OSCE, have accused Lukashenka of exploiting administrative powers to manipulate votes and ensure his victory;

G.听whereas following the fraudulent 2020 presidential elections and the subsequent brutal and ongoing crackdown on democratic forces, civil society activists, free trade unions, the independent media and peaceful protesters, the European 合法博彩网站 did not recognise the results of the elections nor Aliaksandr Lukashenka as the legitimate leader and President of Belarus;

H.听whereas the Lukashenka regime has announced that it will not open polling stations abroad, making it impossible for Belarusians in exile to cast their vote;

I.听whereas while some political prisoners were released in recent months, the crackdown on dissidents continues and has worsened since the announcement of the elections, with frequent arrests and trials on politically motivated charges; whereas there are over 1听250 political prisoners in Belarus, with the real number believed to be higher; whereas several prominent political prisoners continue to be held incommunicado;

J.听whereas in December听2024, Mikalai Khila, a local member of staff with the EU Delegation to Belarus, was sentenced to four years in prison, after being arrested in front of the EU delegation office in April听2024; whereas the sentencing is suspected to have been politically motivated as the charges against Khila remain unclear;

K.听whereas on 24听December听2024, Dzmitryi Kuchuk, former leader of the forcibly dissolved Belarusian Green Party, was sentenced to six years in a high-security penal colony in a politically motivated trial following his arrest in February听2024 after laying flowers at the Russian embassy in Minsk in memory of Alexei Navalny;

L.听whereas the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus has long been embedded in the Lukashenka regime鈥檚 government structure and is thought to play a significant role in organising the falsification of election results;

M.听whereas the EU has progressively imposed restrictive measures against Belarus following the fraudulent 2020 presidential elections; whereas on 16听December听2024, the Council further expanded the sanctions regime when it decided to impose restrictive measures on an additional 26 individuals and 2 entities from Belarus, in view of the situation in the country;

N.听whereas on 4听April听2024, the United Nations Human Rights Council established, for a renewable period of one year, a group of three independent experts on the situation of human rights in Belarus; whereas on 11听October听2024, Mr Nils Mui啪nieks was appointed as the new UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus;

1.听Continues to stand in solidarity with the people of Belarus; reiterates its non-recognition of the election of Aliaksandr Lukashenka as President of Belarus, and denounces the continuing repression of democratic forces, the free media and civil society through politically motivated show trials, as well as the complete absence of democratic standards for the 鈥榩residential elections鈥� scheduled for 26听January听2025;

2.听Considers that any elections held in the current atmosphere of fear and repression, without genuine opposition candidates on the ballot paper, and in conditions that are contrary to all internationally recognised standards, with no possibility for Belarusians living abroad to exercise their right to vote, no transparent system for counting votes and without the participation of international observers, cannot be deemed free, fair, competitive or credible;

3.听Reiterates its call on the Lukashenka regime to fully comply with the OSCE international standards for elections, as adopted by the UN Human Rights Committee, which imposes an obligation on states to adopt all the necessary legislative and other measures to ensure that every citizen can enjoy the right to vote and to be elected, as well as the right to have access to public services;

4.听Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Belarus, including Maria Kalesnikava, Ihar Losik, Mikalai Statkevich, Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Ales Bialiatski, Maksim Znak and Dzmitry Kuchuk; urges the regime in Belarus to fully respect human rights, the right to freedom of association, including for political parties, and to end all forms of repression, persecution and intimidation, without delay;

5.听Urges the Belarusian authorities to respect the human rights of detainees, supply information about their situation, provide the necessary medical treatment and allow access for lawyers, family members and the International Committee of the Red Cross;

6.听Calls on the Commission, the Member States and the international community to redouble efforts to free political prisoners in Belarus; calls on the EU Delegation in Minsk to follow cases of political prisoners as closely as possible;

7.听Considers the arrest and sentencing of Mikalai Khila, a local staff member of the EU Delegation in Minsk, on apparently politically motivated charges, a diplomatic affront to the EU; calls on the Commission and the Member States to swiftly develop a robust diplomatic response;

8.听Reiterates its call on the Commission and the Member States to simplify the procedures for obtaining visas and residence permits for those fleeing Belarus for political reasons, as well as to prepare rules and procedures to deal with cases of statelessness, and to provide support for the Belarusians residing in the EU whose identity documents are about to expire and who have no means of renewing them without returning to Belarus;

9.听Calls on the Member States to ensure that efforts to document international crimes committed by the Lukashenka regime and to hold those responsible to account are continued at UN level with enhanced scrutiny by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of the human rights situation in Belarus, by providing full support to the UN Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus, and by preserving the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Belarus for continued monitoring of ongoing human rights violations; stresses to this end the importance of collecting evidence of potential international crimes and providing further authoritative legal qualification under international law of continuing grave abuses, with a view to advancing accountability;

10.听Echoes the recommendation by the OHCHR to further accountability through national proceedings based on accepted principles of extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction and calls on the Member States to ensure sufficient resources for the investigation of universal jurisdiction cases;

11.听Calls for the extension of the EU鈥檚 sanctions regime towards Belarus, which is set to expire at the end of February听2025, and urges the Commission to further expand targeted sanctions against the individuals responsible for human rights abuses and the erosion of democracy and the rule of law in the country, specifically this month鈥檚 farcical 鈥榚lections鈥�;

12.听Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission听/听High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the OSCE, the United Nations, the representatives of the Belarusian democratic forces, and the authorities of Belarus.

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