On the situation in Belarus, five years after the stolen presidential elections

B100449/2025

European Parliament resolution on the situation in Belarus, five years after the stolen presidential elections

(2025/2900(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

–having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

–having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

–having regard to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) reports on the state of democracy and electoral integrity in Belarus,

–having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.whereas elections in Belarus have consistently failed to meet international standards of transparency, fairness and democratic legitimacy, as highlighted by independent observers and the OSCE;

B.whereas five years after the presidential elections of August 2020, the situation in Belarus remains marked by serious restrictions on free speech, political pluralism, media independence, trade union rights and civil society;

C.whereas in recent months, Belarusian authorities have released a number of political prisoners – including prominent opposition figures, journalists, and activists such as Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Ihar Karnei, Mikola Dziadok, Ihar Losik and Natallia Dulina – often in connection with high-level international diplomatic contacts; whereas political arrests continue despite these pardons;

D.whereas despite these releases, over a thousand political prisoners remain detained on politically motivated charges, and there are frequent reports of torture, ill-treatment, solitary confinement, lack of fair trials and other serious human rights violations;

E.whereas Belarus remains the only country in Europe to retain the death penalty, with its scope expanded in 2022 to include vaguely defined acts of terrorism and in 2023 to include ‘treason against the state’;

F.whereas sanctions and isolation, while aimed at pressuring the regime, have also had collateral negative effects on ordinary citizens, increasing economic hardship and limiting access to rights and services;

G.whereas the Lukashenka regime granted Russian forces access to Belarusian territory to start the full-scale invasion of Ukraine;

H.whereas sustainable improvement in Belarus requires genuine internal dialogue, societal reconciliation, the restoration of democratic norms and institutions, and an end to foreign domination of domestic affairs;

I.whereas Aliaksandr Lukashenka has been in power continuously for over 30 years, a unique case in contemporary Europe;

1.Condemns the continued oppression of the Belarusian people by the Lukashenka regime, including widespread human rights violations, the systematic repression of political opposition, arbitrary arrests, torture, harassment and ill-treatment of detainees, persistent impunity and a structural lack of respect for due process and fair trials, and the use of violence against peaceful protesters;

2.Denounces the fraudulent nature of elections in Belarus, which fail to meet basic democratic and international standards;

3.Reiterates its full solidarity with the Belarusian people in their struggle for dignity, social justice, human rights and democratic participation;

4.Stresses that Belarus’s future must be determined by the will of its people, free from external pressure or interference; emphasises that Belarus’s sovereignty and political trajectory should reflect the aspirations of its citizens;

5.Reiterates its condemnation of Belarus’s involvement in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; calls on Belarus to refrain from complicity in or facilitating Russia’s war against Ukraine, and to work toward diplomatic solutions and peace in the region;

6.Welcomes the release of political prisoners Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Ihar Karnei, Mikola Dziadok, Ihar Losik and Natallia Dulina and of trade unionists Aliaksandr Yarashuk and Nikita Zolotorjev, as a positive but partial step; calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining political detainees, and for their rights to be restored;

7.Urges the Belarusian authorities to respect their international obligations under human rights treaties and to engage in a genuine, inclusive dialogue with opposition forces and civil society and to stop all kinds of repression;

8.Notes with great concern how the Belarusian Government refuses to respect the fundamental rights of the LGBTI+ community, ethnical minorities and other exploited and discriminated groups; calls in this regard for the full respect and integrity of sexual- and other minority rights;

9.Reiterates its call for the EU and its Member States to simplify the procedures for obtaining visas and provisional identification documents for those fleeing Belarus, and providing rehabilitation, practical and financial support;

10.Calls for the EU to revise its sanctions policy to mitigate harm to ordinary citizens, while maintaining pressure on the regime; insists that any normalisation of relations between the EU and Belarus be conditional on credible progress in respect for human rights, the rule of law, press freedom, the civil society space, and justice for victims of repression;

11.Underlines that a peaceful, democratic, socially just Belarus is in the interest of stability in eastern Europe and the EU, and that isolation risks driving Belarus further into authoritarian dependency;

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