UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue with the Group of Experts on Belarus. Delivered by the UK's Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders.
The United Kingdom thanks the Group of Experts for their comprehensive report. It confirms that serious human rights violations in Belarus continue, with no genuine accountability.
We remain deeply concerned by the ongoing arbitrary detention of over 1,100 political prisoners, including journalists, human rights defenders, and democratic opposition figures. While we note the release of some detainees, these releases are often conditional and accompanied by forced exile or continued harassment.
The findings on torture, ill treatment, and the systematic use of the judiciary to silence dissent are particularly alarming. We are also troubled by the growing and well-documented pattern of transnational repression targeting Belarusians abroad, undermining international norms and threatening the safety of diaspora communities.
The UK strongly supports international accountability efforts, including through the Group of Experts and the Special Rapporteur.
We call on the Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners without forced exile, end torture and post-release repression, and cooperate fully with UN mechanisms.
We ask the Group of Experts: what further steps can the international community take to counter transnational repression? And how can accountability efforts best support victims in the absence of domestic remedies?