2001 Annual Session
Resolution on Belarus
presented by the Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security
Ottawa, 9 October 2001

The Assembly,

1. Recalling its decision of 30 March 2001 to continue the suspension of its links with the Parliament of Belarus and adding that the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE had decided to do the same at its 10th Annual Session at the beginning of July 2001;

2. Convinced that Belarus is destined to rejoin the family of European democracies and deeply regretting that the policies of Mr Lukashenko's government and the way in which the presidential election on 9 September 2001 was conducted have made this objective substantially more difficult to achieve;

3. Roundly condemning all the tactics of intimidation, harassment and repression employed against opposition candidates in the election, the non-governmental press, representatives of Belorussian civil society and independent national observers;

4. Denouncing in particular the difficulties experienced by the opposition in obtaining access to State-controlled media - including electronic facilities - and the presidential decrees promulgated in order to curtail the basic freedoms of expression and association, and deeply concerned about the alleged existence of "death squads" responsible for the disappearance of political opponents;

5. Furthermore, condemning the lateness of the official invitations sent to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which limited the scope of OSCE International Election Observation Mission to Belarus considerably, and commending in this connection the work of the national and international observers, including representatives of the OSCE and Council of Europe Parliamentary Assemblies and of the European Parliament, despite the unprecedented restrictions imposed upon them;

6. Taking note of Mr Lukashenko's victory and deeply regretting that this election failed to meet international standards defining a free, fair, verifiable and transparent ballot;

7. CALLS UPON the re-elected president of Belarus, Mr Lukashenko, and his government:

a. to restore democracy and the rule of law in Belarus and to guarantee the protection of human rights, the independence of the judiciary, freedom of the press and free enterprise;

b. to initiate a real political dialogue with the opposition without delay;

c. to free all political prisoners immediately and to promptly set up impartial in-depth enquiries into the fate of persons who have disappeared and into the existence of "death squads";

d. to return to a legal constitution;

e. to extend the powers of parliament to give it the nature and character of a democratic institution capable of exercising legislative authority and political control over the government in accordance with the principle of separation of powers;

f. to end the systematic smear campaign to which the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group in Minsk was subjected and to co-operate fully with it;

8. CALLS UPON the governments and parliaments of member countries of the Atlantic Alliance:

a. to seize every possible opportunity to bring home to the Belorussian authorities that they are expected to honour all their OSCE commitments in the areas of human rights and democracy, and to initiate a real dialogue with the opposition with a view to resolving the crisis affecting the country;

b. to seek active backing from the Russian government and parliament in support of approaches aimed at requiring the Belorussian authorities to bring their legislation and practices into compliance with OSCE standards;

c. to continue to support independent initiatives directed towards consolidating society and the non-governmental organisations sector.

9. CRITICISES Mr Lukashenko's policies severely, strongly SUPPORTS the democratic evolution in Belarus and URGES the governments and parliaments of member countries to assist the Belorussian political and social forces pursuing these objectives, hoping that the political isolation of that country will end.