On 25 September, the Minister Deputies had a thematic exchange of views on the abolition of the death penalty which was focused on the situation in Belarus, the only country in Europe which still applies this inhuman punishment.
Three speakers representing the democratic forces and the civil society of Belarus took part to the meeting and described the state of play regarding the situation of the death penalty in Belarus : Mr Alexander Shlyk, who represented the leader of the Belarusian democratic forces, Mrs Tsikhanouskaïa ; Mrs Sviatlana Halauneva, lawyer at “Viasna” Human Rights center, a civil society organisation that has conducted numerous activities in favor of the abolition of the death penalty in Belarus for a long time ; and Mrs Marharyta Vorykhava, President of the Belarusian National Youth Council RADA and Vice-President of the Youth Advisory Council of the Council of Europe.
In view of this discussion, an information note on the death penalty in Belarus was prepared.
This meeting was also a good opportunity to discuss the activities of the Council of Europe’s Contact group for Belarus dealing with the abolition of the death penalty, in particular the training workshop for the young people of Belarus, which took place in Vilnius on 30-31 May 2024 under the auspices of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers, and its follow-up.
Furthermore, other issues regarding the abolition of the death penalty were discussed during this exchange of views, including in view of the next World and European Day against the death penalty on 10 October 2024.
