FIDH and Viasna, its member organisation in Belarus, were invited before the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human rights on Wednesday 19th of June to discuss the exceedingly bleak outlook for Human rights in Belarus. In this latest round of advocacy with key EU actors and rapporteurs over the last couple of years, they also discussed and made recommendations to the EU’s policy towards Belarus, based on the report drafted by MEP Justas Vincas Paleckis.
Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, diplomat and MEP drafted an amendment to the Paleckis report asking for the policy of sanctions against the Belarusian dictatorship to remain unchanged until “ substantial progress in respecting standards of democracy human rights and the rule of law in Belarus, including the release and rehabilitation of all political prisoners, is seen and acknowledged by all actors involved, including the civil society and human rights organisations like the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) ”.
Watch Vladzimir Labkovich from Viasna at the European Parliament, June 19, 2013.