MEPs called on the International Criminal Court in The Hague to issue an arrest warrant for the self-proclaimed president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.
This was reported in the press service of the European Parliament.
On July 18, the Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a new report on EU relations with Belarus with 49 votes in favor. Three MEPs voted against, two abstained.
In this report, MEPs condemned repression and human rights violations in Belarus. There are currently almost 1 500 political prisoners behind bars in the country, including lawyers, public figures, journalists and human rights defenders. Over 300 000 Belarusians left the country due to repression by the authorities.
MEPs also recognized Belarusʼ political, economic, military and cultural subordination to Moscow, making the country a de facto satellite state that also hosts tactical nuclear weapons under Russian command. Parliamentarians urged the EU not to recognize any agreements concluded by the Lukashenko regime and Russia.
The report also states that the recent arrival of the PMC "Wagner" militants to Belarus creates new potential security risks for Ukraine and the European Union — European parliamentarians demand that the EU recognize the PMC "Wagner" as a terrorist organization. The European Parliament also called for EU sanctions against Minsk to be strengthened.
- On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the President of Russia Vladimir Putin and the Russian Presidentʼs Commissioner for Childrenʼs Rights Maria Lvova-Belova. They are accused of directing the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, which is a war crime.
- Ukraine has evidence that Belarus participates in the deportation of Ukrainian children.
- On April 27, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) recognized the deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to the territory of Russia as genocide. The PACE called on the International Criminal Court to consider the possibility of criminal prosecution for this crime.