Annual review of European Union’s restrictive measures against Belarus should be made effective by closing loopholes and counterbalancing delistings with additional listings

Working Group on Investments of the Committee on International Control over the Human Rights Situation in Belarus has released on 10 October, 2013 a new policy paper, “Annual review of European Union’s restrictive measures against Belarus: Economic Sanctions should be made effective by closing loopholes and counterbalancing delistings with additional listings”.

The paper is aimed at informing deliberations of stakeholders in the framework of October 2013 annual review of the European Union’s restrictive measures regarding Belarus. The paper is based on a study of open sources and official documents in Belarus and EU, analytical studies, and interviews with Belarusian and international experts in economics and social sciences and civil society activists between June and October 2013. The paper provides analysis of effectiveness of existing European Union’s restrictive measures regarding Belarus and offers the EU member states and institutions concrete recommendations for making these measures more effective in facilitating positive change in the human rights situation in Belarus, starting with the release and rehabilitation of all political prisoners.

Download the paper in the PDF format

News of Belarus

Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Belarus

Human Rights Council
Twentieth session
Agenda items 2 and 4
Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner 
for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the 
High Commissioner and the Secretary-General
Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention

UN human rights office calls on Belarus to free opposition leaders

20 April 2012
Following the release last week of two opposition leaders from prison in Belarus, the UN human rights office today called on the country’s authorities to begin dialogue with the opposition and to unconditionally release all prisoners who are serving sentences for exercising their fundamental human rights.

Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle today launched the European Dialogue on Modernisation

Brussels, 29 March 2012. Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle today launched the European Dialogue on Modernisation with Belarusian society at a meeting in Brussels with representatives of Belarusian civil society and political opposition. This follows the conclusions of the Foreign Affairs Council last week welcoming the idea of launching such a dialogue with the Belarusian society.