Контактная группа по Беларуси

 Новости и события

 Кто и чем занимается?

Комитет министров

The Committee of Ministers has been at the forefront of work toto support Belarusian democratic forces and human rights defenders. In July 2022 it met de-facto democratic opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and agreed to hold regular meetings with her and representatives of Belarussian democratic forces in exile. In September 2022, it invited Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić to set up a contact group to work with representatives from the Belarusian democratic opposition and report back twice-yearly. The first meeting was held in November that year, and since then the group has met several times a year.

Парламентская ассамблея

The Parliamentary Assembly – which brings together parliamentarians from the Council of Europe’s 46 member states – has been at the forefront of generating support for the democratic forces in Belarus, condemning repression by the Lukashenka regime, and demanding the release of political prisoners.

The leader of Belarus’s democratic forces Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has addressed PACE on several occasions, while the Assembly has deepened its long-standing dialogue with exiled opposition figures as well as Belarusian civil society and journalists who share Council of Europe values.

In a January 2024 resolution, the Assembly set out wide-ranging proposals to build a democratic future for Belarus, voting – among other things – to welcome a “representative delegation of Belarusian democratic forces” to take part in some of its work. “A future democratic, independent, sovereign, peaceful and prosperous Belarus” will one day be welcomed into the Council of Europe, the parliamentarians declared, encouraging European states to “continue to differentiate between the Lukashenka regime and the people of Belarus”.

A June 2023 resolution on Belarusians in exile hailed their “resilience, courage and determination” and called for legal and practical steps to ease their stay outside Belarus, to keep them safe from reprisals, and to support Belarusian education and culture.

In other resolutions, the Assembly has demanded an international tribunal for Belarusian leaders involved in aggression against Ukraine, and urged a total ban on Belarusian athletes taking part in the Paris Olympics. It awarded the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize to Belarusian human rights activist Maria Kalesnikava in 2021, and to veteran human rights defender Ales Bialiatski in 2013.

Комиссар по правам человека

As part of this institution’s vital role in protecting human rights defenders, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights consistently called for support for Belarusian civil society following the suspension of relations with the Belarusian authorities. The Commissioner stressed the importance of offering them stable residency in host countries, providing social benefits to them and their families, facilitating their work and easing the process of legal registration for new legal bodies. The Commissioner welcomed the fact that some member states have implemented relocation and protection policies and called on others to follow suit.

Конгресс местных и региональных властей

The Congress, as an active member of the Contact Group, implements activities aimed at promoting democratic values in line with the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. A specific focus is placed on the key role of local authorities to promote and uphold human rights, and engage with women, youth, and under-represented groups.

In November 2023, the Congress gathered in Strasbourg a group of activists from diverse political affiliations, carefully selected with representatives of the Contact Group, for a first peer exchange on the principles and standards needed to establish an efficient local self-government system.

Future activities in 2024-2025 will focus on reinforcing the Congress’ political support to the Belarusian democratic forces, through their involvement in relevant meetings. In parallel, the Congress will contribute to further incorporating European standards of local democracy into the work of the Belarusian democratic forces, and facilitate exchanges with European local authorities to build capacity and raise awareness of the concept of local self-government and principles of good governance.

Платформа по содействию безопасности журналистов

The Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists is a Council of Europe collaboration with 15 international NGOs and journalists’ associations that issues alerts concerning media freedom violations and safety of journalists in Council of Europe member states. It has monitored media freedom violations in Belarus since March 2023 and as of end December 2023 had reported one case of impunity for murder and 38 journalists held in detention.

  История

Беларусь ратифицировала двенадцать конвенций Совета Европы, включая Конвенцию против применения допинга, Конвенцию о признании квалификаций, относящихся к высшему образованию в Европейском регионе, и Конвенцию о противодействии торговле людьми. Кроме того, Беларусь использовала самые различные формы участия в работе Европейской комиссии за демократию через право, известной как Венецианская комиссия, в Расширенном частичном соглашении по спорту (РЧСC/EPAS), в Группе государств против коррупции и в Европейской фармакопее. После 2022 года это участие было либо прекращено, либо приостановлено.