“The events that have unfolded following the presidential election of 9 August 2020, including the disproportionate use of force and widespread detentions of peaceful protesters, confirm the need for substantial reforms to bring Belarus’s legislation, institutions and practices in line with international democratic and human rights standards,” said Dame Cheryl Gillan (United Kingdom, EC/DA), Chairperson of PACE Political Affairs Committee, speaking today during a hearing on the situation in Belarus following the Presidential election.
Two motions on the situation in Belarus, she explained, have been submitted to serve as a basis for preparing two separate reports by the Assembly, on “A call for an inclusive national political process in Belarus”, initiated by herself, and on “The urgent need for electoral reform in Belarus”, initiated by Lord Blencathra (United Kingdom, EC/DA), a member of the committee.
The common objective of both proposals, she underlined, is to express “our Assembly’s readiness to engage in an inclusive and constructive dialogue with all stakeholders, including the Belarusian authorities and civil society, with a view to supporting – both politically and in terms of expertise – a peaceful and democratic national political process in the country leading to fundamental reforms, starting with the Constitution and electoral reform.”
Such reforms, she concluded, “could pave the way for ultimately integrating Belarus into the European family where it belongs. The Council of Europe has the standards and co-operation tools to achieve this objective, including through its Venice Commission, of which Belarus is an associate member.”
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Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, former Belarusian presidential candidate, and Andrei Savinykh, Chairperson of the Standing Commission on International Affairs of the National Assembly of Belarus, also participated in the meeting, as well as PACE President Rik Daems, who recently called for “an all-inclusive national political process” in the country to ensure a peaceful and democratic transition.
Belarus applied to join the Council of Europe in 1993 but its parliament’s special guest status with the Assembly – regarded as the first step towards membership – was suspended in 1997. However since then the Assembly has continued to hold an ongoing dialogue with Belarusian authorities, parliamentarians and civil society, and frequently invites members of the National Assembly of Belarus, as well as members of the extra-parliamentary opposition, to attend meetings of its committees.
PACE
