Council of Europe launches action plan to support Belarusian democratic forces

February 1, BPN. The Council of Europe (COE) has announced an action plan to support Belarusian democratic forces and civil society.

“The actions we have agreed in the Council of Europe Contact Group on Belarus for 2023 represent the most tangible and meaningful assistance, and I am proud our Organisation is playing a pioneering role in supporting democratic Belarus,” Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić said in Strasbourg.

The plan includes 15 activities, such as human rights training, workshops on the European Convention on Human Rights and study tours to the CoE headquarters for Belarusian lawyers. Abolition of the death penalty, nondiscrimination, gender equality and combating violence against women would also be a focus.

A workshop for journalists in exile has been scheduled for March.