PRESS RELEASE : UN Human Rights Council 57 – UK Statement on Belarus [September 2024]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 23 September 2024.

UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue with group of Independent Experts on Belarus. Delivered at the 57th Human Rights Council in Geneva.

We are deeply concerned by brutal and systematic human rights violations in Belarus.  We condemn ongoing arbitrary arrests and widespread repression.

To mark the fourth anniversary of deeply flawed presidential elections in Belarus, we announced new sanctions on four commanding officers of penal colonies in response to ongoing human rights violations.

In addition, we announced £2.5 million support to Belarusian human rights defenders and civil society.

To the representatives of Belarus: while we welcome the recent release of some political prisoners, we urge you to immediately release the over 1,300 political prisoners who remain detained without reason.

Many face isolation, mistreatment, and a lack of medical care.

Six political prisoners are reported to have died since 2021.