EU Statement - HRC60 - Interactive dialogue with the Group of Independent Experts on Belarus

EU Statement - HRC60 - Interactive dialogue with the Group of Independent Experts on Belarus

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

60^th Session

Interactive dialogue with the Group of Independent Experts on Belarus

19 September 2025

EU statement

Mr President,

The EU thanks the Group of Independent Experts and expresses its strong support for their work.

We strongly condemn the ongoing gross, systematic and widespread human rights violations, some of which may amount to crimes against humanity, and the closed civic space, including the systematic dismantling of civil society. The prevailing impunity for these violations is unacceptable. The EU will support all efforts to ensure accountability and victim's rights to justice and full and effective reparation.

The EU calls for effective and impartial investigations into and accountability for all cases of ill-treatment, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and appalling detention conditions that may have led to deaths in custody.

While we welcome recent waves of releases of political prisoners and take note with appreciation of the recent release of 52 prisoners, we recognize that new arrests and re-arrests continue, therefore we continue to urge for the immediate and unconditional release and effective rehabilitation of all political prisoners as well as for ending repression against free, independent and pluralistic media. The EU stresses the obligation to uphold the rights of political prisoners, including the right to due process and a fair trial, and to safeguard their human dignity, while ensuring they have access to legal representation, medical care and contact with their families.

The EU continues to urge the Belarusian authorities to abolish the death penalty, and as a first step, to introduce a moratorium.

The EU urges the Belarusian authorities to halt their internal as well as transnational repression, to adhere to the country's international obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights, including of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and to cooperate fully with international and regional human rights monitoring mechanisms.

We urge the Belarusian authorities to stop their involvement in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, to immediately ensure the safe return to Ukraine of all unlawfully deported Ukrainian children, and to halt the instrumentalisation of migrants for political purposes, in complicity with Russia. We urge Belarus to respect its international obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.

Independent Experts,

What other possibilities do you see for the international community in addressing the lack of accountability in Belarus?

Thank you.