02/09/2025 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
“I express my deep concern at reports of the disappearance in Turkey of Anatol Kotau, a respected figure in the international sports community and a long-standing advocate for the rights of Belarusian athletes,” today said Mogens Jensen (Denmark, SOC), general rapporteur on governance and ethics...
30/01/2025 | Session
“The so-called elections organised in Belarus on 26 January 2025 do not meet the minimum international standards for democratic elections and lack any democratic credibility, and there are no grounds for recognising the legitimacy of Aliaksandr Lukashenka as president,” the PACE said today at the...
27/01/2025 | Session
“I wish to start by expressing my gratitude for re-electing me as President of this Assembly for a second term. I consider my re-election as a vote of confidence and approval of the work I have been doing since becoming PACE President in January 2024,” PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos said...
21/01/2025 | Election observation
“The so-called presidential elections arranged in Belarus for 26 January 2025 are set to be a sham that, again, deny the right of the Belarusian people to participate in free and fair elections,” says PACE’s General Rapporteur for a Democratic Belarus, Ryszard Petru (Poland, ALDE). “The...
30/09/2024 | Session
“Dear Vladimir, let me once again express my utmost relief to see you free, and all the more determined to continue with your fight for the free and democratic Russia which we all long for, and which poses no threat to its neighbours nor to its own citizens”, PACE President said today at the...
25/09/2024 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
A guide for European parliamentarians and other policymakers on the practical steps they can take to help Belarusians living in exile in Council of Europe member states is published today. “The Luxembourg Solutions”, a 107-page guide in three languages (English, French and Belarusian) prepared by...
02/07/2024 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
PACE rapporteur Stephanie Krisper (Austria, ALDE) has expressed concerns at the decision by the Polish government in June 2024 to enhance the operations of the armed forces, the police and the border guard in Poland in the event of a threat to state security. The draft law suggests that the use...
07/06/2024 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
Participants at a conference in Luxembourg have explored ways that national parliaments can help to address the challenges faced by Belarusians in exile – whether practical support on issues such as avoiding reprisals and entry and residence procedures, or by helping to preserve Belarusian...
17/04/2024 | Session
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) today condemned the “severe persecution” and repression of dissent in Russia and Belarus amid the illegal full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. In adopting a resolution based on the report by Thórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir (Iceland...
20/03/2024 | President
Following yesterday's decision by the International Olympic Committee not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and responding to a call by Ukraine’s Olympic Champions* urging PACE’s continued support for a total ban on...
26/02/2024 | President
“There cannot be free and fair elections in a situation where freedoms of speech, assembly and association are curtailed; where opposition political parties are liquidated and their leaders persecuted; where the freedom of the media is not respected; and where there is no redress against these...
25/01/2024 | Session
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has set out wide-ranging proposals to build a democratic future for Belarus – including a new set of measures to support Belarusian democratic forces led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who also addressed the Assembly. Approving a resolution...