Some 40 OSCE member states call on Belarus to free political prisoners

November 12, BPN. Thirty-eight OSCE member states called on Belarus to release all political prisoners.

“We call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Belarus. We urge the Belarusian authorities to fully implement their international obligations and OSCE commitments, and to make use of the OSCE’s tools and mechanisms to help resolve the continuing human rights crisis,” Canadian Ambassador Jocelyn Kinnear said in Vienna on November 10.

Speaking on behalf of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, the USA and other western nations, she said “in recent months, the Belarusian authorities have intensified the brutal and unprecedented repression of the Belarusian people, and has on top of that been facilitating Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in violation of international law.”

Kinnear recalled that one year ago, OSCE members invoked the organization’s Vienna Mechanism to request information on “serious concerns” from Belarus. She described the mechanism as a tool for dialogue, but “it requires the Belarusian authorities to recognize our legitimate continuing concerns, which mirrors those of civil society, independent media, and human rights defenders.”

She called on Belarus to consider these concerns carefully and to provide the OSCE with “genuine answers.”