Cichanoŭskaja calls on OSCE to restart human rights mechanism

February 23, BPN. Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja has called on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to restart the Moscow Mechanism for recording and investigating human rights violations in Belarus.

“If the Moscow Mechanism recognizes [Alaksandr] Łukašenka’s terror as crimes against humanity, we will be able to ask the International Criminal Court to open a preliminary investigation,” she told a meeting of envoys to the OSCE in Vienna on February 23.

The opposition leader suggested that allies in the OSCE might develop a joint position on Belarus, designate Łukašenka a supporter of terrorism, declare the deployment of Russian troops in Belarus illegal and reaffirm support for Belarusian independence.

The regime shut down the OSCE’s Office in Minsk over 10 years ago. In 2020, seventeen OSCE states invoked a special mechanism to investigate human rights violations in the country. Rapporteur Wolfgang Benedek found that that year’s presidential election was not transparent and fair, and condemned mass human rights abuses.