Activities of Anna FOTYGA related to 2023/2041(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Relations with Belarus (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on relations with Belarus
Amendments (52)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
– having regard to declaration of independence of Belarus from the Soviet Union on August 25, 1991,
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 b (new)
Citation 1 b (new)
– having regard to Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic on July 27, 1990,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 c (new)
Citation 1 c (new)
– having regard to Belavezha Accords ratified on December 10 1991 by the Supreme Council of Belarus which proclaimed the Soviet Union had ceased to exist,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 d (new)
Citation 1 d (new)
– having regard to The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus on March 15, 1994,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2
Citation 2
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to all, the Charter of the United Nations, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and to all other human rights conventions to which Belarus is a party,
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
– having regard to The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 b (new)
Citation 2 b (new)
– having regard to The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6
Citation 6
– having regard to the statement by High Representative Josep Borrell of 3 March 2023 on the sentencing of Ales Bialiatski and other Human Rights Defenders and of the statement by High Representative Josep Borrell of 17 January 2023 on the trial against Andrzej Poczobut - a journalist and member of the board of independent Union of Poles of Belarus,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
– having regard he United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC, also called the Palermo Convention) of 15 November 2000,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 b (new)
Citation 7 b (new)
– having regard The Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action Against Human Trafficking (GRETA) second evaluation report on the implementation of the Council of Europe Anti-trafficking Convention by Belarus adopted on 28 June 2022,
Amendment 20 #
A. whereas almost three years after the so-called elections on 9 August 2020, the Belarusian authorities are continuexacerbating their repression against the Belarusian people; whereas more than 50 000 Belarusians have been illegally arrested and tortured, with more than 1 5700 persons remain imprisoned on political grounds andadmitting to be imprisoned on political grounds while thousands of others are forced with torture not to admit of having such status; whereas this number includes such vulnerable categories as: women, minors, elderly 60+, disabled, with severe or chronic diseases, with mental health problems, with three or more children, families where both parents are in prison; whereas in detention, they face tortures, isolation from other inmates, arbitrary punishments, and medical and legal help deprivation, it resulted in the death of political prisoners - Vitold Ashurak, Dzmitry Dudoits, Aliaksandr Vikhor, Mikalai Klimovicz and recently Dzmitryj Sarokin; whereas only in the recent years around 300 000 have left the country for fear of a similar fate;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights report on the situation in Belarus compares repression to atrocities against humanity; whereas, according to S.Tshihanouskaya 18,000 pieces of sufficient evidence were collected to launch a preliminary investigation against Lukashenka’s regime, and an international arrest warrant for Alexandr Lukashenka and his accomplices should be issued in order to seek criminal accountability for their atrocities;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas international community, including the EU and its Member States did not recognise the results of the presidential election and do not recognise Aliaksandr Lukashenka as president of Belarus;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the Lukashenka regime is dangerously undermining the sovereignty of Belarus by deepening Belarus’ integration into the Union State with Russiaallowing and actively participating in creeping annexation by the Russian Federation; whereas the regime allows the Russian security forces and military contingent and bases on its territory to be present in such numbers as to make the risk of direct occupation extremely high;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the Belarusian authoritiesLukashenka regime actively supports and haves become accomplices in Russia’s unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine; whereas the regime is directly enabling and supporting the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, inter alia, by allowing Russia to attack Ukraine, including through the launching of ballistic missiles from Belarusian territory, enabling the stationing and transport of Russian military personnel, the storing, supplying and transport of military equipment and weapons, including heavy weapons, by allowing Russian military aircraft to fly from and over Belarusian airspace into Ukraine and by providing refuelling points;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas at least 2150 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported to Belarus with the Dubrava camp owned by Belaruskali served as a primary destination;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas the Lukashenka regime continues to organise smuggling of people and illegal border crossings by undocumented migrants as tool of a hybrid war against the EU, which preceded and still accompany the escalation of war in Ukraine which caused a wave of refugees who seek shelter on the EU’s territory;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas a political prisoner and an activist of European Belarus civil campaign Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk had to renounce her Belarusian citizenship in protest against the torturous conditions she faces while being incarcerated; whereas Sharenda-Panasiuk filed a formal application to give up her Belarusian citizenship and was escorted to undergo a psychiatric examination, her location has been unknown since;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas in recent months the Belarusian authorities have dramatically increased the pressure and cruel mistreatment of political prisoners; whereas the lives of a number of political prisoners are in imminent danger;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the Belarusian democratic forces led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya have a well-established and internationally recognised structure, including the recent formation of the United Transitional Cabinet and the openCoordination Council, which was recognised by the European Parliament in 2020 as an interim representation of the people demanding democratic changes in Belarus, that is open to all political and social stakeholders and the establishing of the Mission of Democratic Belarus in Brussels;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the leaders of democratic political parties have publicly declared their support for the European choice of new Belarus;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas Lukashenka continues his policy of russification of Belarus, with strategic line towards marginalization and destruction of manifestations of national identity of Belarusians, including language and culture, by arbitrary arrests, detentions, and especially brutal treatment of cultural figures - writers, artists, musicians, and in general people who speak Belarusian on public, banning of national and historical symbols of Belarus such as white-red-white flag and Pahonia, closure of publishing houses, private schools and Belarusian language courses;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
Fc. whereas the Lukashenka regime continues to discriminate against national and religious minorities by persecutions of their leaders including Andrzej Poczobut, closure of educational institutions for Polish and Lithuanian minorities eliminating education in their national languages and destruction of Polish memorial cemeteries to violate the freedom of religion or belief and to repress religious communities and individuals; whereas numerous Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Greek Catholic priests and pastors have been subjected to various forms of persecution, ranging from fines to lengthy imprisonment;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F d (new)
Recital F d (new)
Fd. whereas the former Archbishop of Grodno, Artemy (Kishchanka), who was the only hierarch of the Moscow- subordinate Belarusian Orthodox Church - the Belarusian Exarchate - to condemn the violence used by Aliaksandr Lukashenka's regime against peaceful protesters in 2020, died on 22 April, on Orthodox Easter Saturday; whereas the attempts of Metropolitan Benjamin to pacify Archbishop Artemy were not successful, he was "sent" into retirement with the diplomatic wording "for health reasons"; whereas after the so-called retirement, he was subjected to harassment, which affected his state of health;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F e (new)
Recital F e (new)
Fe. whereas, following the regime's denunciation of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Belarusians are left with practically no means of international protection: neither the Human Rights Council nor the European Court of Human Rights consider the complaints of Belarusians;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Condemns in the strongest terms the unabated repression and the systematic and widespread human rights violations committed by the Lukashenka regime, including manifold cases of mistreatment and torture of political prisoners; continues to stand in solidarity with the brave people of Belarus who stand up for a sovereign, free and democratic Belarus where justice, peace and human rights prevail, risking their freedom and lives;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Urges the Belarusian regime to end this spiral of violence, torture and repression against dissenting voices and perceived critics, to release immediately and unconditionally all political prisoners and all persons arbitrarily detained, and to engage in a genuine dialogueincluding relatives of democratic movement members taken as hostages, and to engage in the negotiations with representatives of the democratic forces and civil society in order to find a way out of the current political crisis through the organisation of free and fair elections to be organised under international observation led by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Demands that the Lukashenka regime immediately guarantee proper medical supervision of the health of political prisoners and the possibility of independent international medical commissions to have access to them; in particular calls on the IRC to intensify its support for oppressed Belarusians, demands an independent investigation and expert report into the deaths of political prisoners which prove that Lukashenka's prisons are an instrument of killing;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Underlines that the usurper Lukashenka and his entourage should be removed from power and put to trial for their crimes against the people of Belarus; calls for the Member States and the EU to take all necessary action in international institutions and proceedings and at the International Criminal Court or other appropriate international tribunals or courts to support the investigation and prosecution, in relation to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, of the actions of those politically responsible in Belarus, in particular Aliaksandr Lukashenka, as war crimes and crimes against humanity;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Demands that Aliaksandr Lukashenka, the dictator of Belarus, who has been importing migrants and assisting their illegal crossing of the Polish and Lithuanian borders since 2021, should be sought by Interpol and other international institutions and tried for human smuggling at an international court, such as the International Court of Justice;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Reiterates that the Lukashenka regime’s unilateral withdrawal from the Eastern Partnership policy, announced on 28 January 2021, has no legitimacy as it does not reflect the true will of the Belarusian people; calls on the EU institutions to invite to their meetings Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a legitimate representative of Belarus people; welcomes upcoming signing of the Agreement of Cooperation between EP and the Democratic forces of Belarus;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Denounces politically motivated ‘show trials’ aimed at instilling fear in representatives and supporters of the democratic forces, civil society, independent media, free trade unions and human rights defenders, religious communities and in particular the recent sentencing to long prison terms of Nobel Peace Prize and Sakharov Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich, Zmitser Salauyou, Uladzimir Labkovich, Raman PrataseUladzimir Labkovich, Henadz Fiadynich, Vasil Berasneu and Vatslau Areshka, as well as the sentencing in absentia of leading figures of the democratic forces such as Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Pavel Latushka, Maryia Maroz, Volha Kavalkova, Siarhei Dyleuski, Valery Tsapkala, Stsiapan Putsila and Yan Rudzik on spurious charges of ‘conspiracy to seize power’ or ‘forming extremist organisations’;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Demands information and access to imprisoned political prisoners: former potential presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka, who was hospitalised with the signs of beating; political prisoner and Belarusian social democrat Mikalai Statkevich, about whom there has been no news since mid-February and Andrzej Poczobut, journalist and one of the leaders the Polish minority in Belarus and a political prisoner and an activist of European Belarus civic campaign Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Condemns the recent decisions of the Lukashenka’s authorities aimed at liquidation of Polish schools and eliminating education in the Polish language;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for the EU institutions and the Member States to take all the actions necessary to enable the criminal prosecution of, including issuing an international arrest warrant, of Aliaksandr Lukashenka and other Belarusian officials, who are complicit in the war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of genocide and the crime of aggression committed in Ukraine as well as other crimes such as forced displacement of Ukrainian children and human trafficking;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for the EU and its Member States to broaden and strengthen the scope of sanctions (‘restrictive measures’) against individuals and legal entities responsible for or complicit in grave human rights violations in Belarus under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Mechanisms (EU Magnitsky Act), including judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, prison and penal colony officials, propagandists and agents of the infamous KGB and GHUBOPiKAZiK ("Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption"); to designate the recent as terrorist organizations; insists that Belarusian potash, which is the main source of the regime’s income, should remain on the list of sanctions; urges the EU and its Member States to increase their capacity to assess the real effect of sanctions in order to ensure their full implementation and to thwart any circumvention schemes;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes with great concern the rampant economic, political and military integration of Belarus into the Union State with Russiacreeping annexation of Belarus into the Russian Federation as already visible in the field of rampant economic, political and military subordination to Moscow; condemns the announced deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons under Russian command on Belarusian territory; calls for the EU and the Member States to maintain unity in addresscountering the multifaceted threats posed by the Lukashenka regime to the EU, in particular the continued state-engineered illegal migration crisis at the borders of Belarus with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, and to work in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure nuclear safety at the Belarusian NPP;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Denounces the announced deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons under Russian command on Belarusian territory, an irresponsible act of further breach of Russia’s arms control commitments, international law and Belarusian constitution and urges on the EU institutions and its Member States to take all the necessary steps to prevent such a development, including additional sanctions on Russian and Belarusian ruling regimes;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Condemns creation of unbearable conditions and restrictions that led to the formal liquidation of opposition democratic parties in Belarus in May, 2023; calls for the Member States parties and international organizations to continue and develop cooperation with them and their support;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10c. Commemorates the memory of the former Archbishop of Grodno, Artemy (Kishchanka) who died on 22 April and who condemned the violence used by Aliaksandr Lukashenka's regime against peaceful protesters in 2020;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 d (new)
Paragraph 10 d (new)
10d. Strongly condemns the persecution of religious communities in Belarus, as well as the persecution of clerics and laity, who in their religious activities refuse to support the position of the regime, including the sentencing of Orthodox priest Siarhei Razanovich, his wife and son to 16 years in prison;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 e (new)
Paragraph 10 e (new)
10e. Considers unacceptable the pressure exerted by the Lukashenka regime on the leadership of the Christian churches in order to remove objectionable bishops and priests, as well as the regular arrests of clergy, including the arrest of the Catholic priests Vyacheslav Adamovich, Andrei Kulik, Aliaksandr Shautsou and ordinary members of the Church for preaching in May 2023, the confiscation of churches from Catholics in Minsk and the prohibition of the work of Protestant congregations;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 f (new)
Paragraph 10 f (new)
10f. Recognizes Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya as legitimate representative of Belarus people, welcomes the creation of the United Transitional Cabinet as the central executive body of the democratic movement, which together with Coordination Council, a unified representative body of Belarusian democratic society, should be treated by the international community as the only representatives of the people of Belarus; welcomes upcoming signing of the Agreement of Cooperation between EP and the Democratic forces of Belarus;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 g (new)
Paragraph 10 g (new)
10g. Is of the opinion that EU restrictive measures against the Lukashenka regime in response to developments in Belarus are not adequate to the scale of regime's involvement in Russia's military invasion of Ukraine and the level of repressions and Lukashenka's support to Russia's war of aggression; therefore welcomes sanctions imposed by individual Members States and calls on the Council to adopt a new set of sanctions which will be an adequate response to the scale of Lukashenka's cruelty;
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls for the EU, its institutions and its Member States to develop a more ambitious and comprehensive strategy in order to support democratic forces, civil society activists, independent trade unions and free media both in and outside Belarus; calls for improved EU communication with the people in Belarus in order to provide them with information and counter disinformation and propaganda by the state-controlled media; urges the EU Member States to coordinate their actions in order to alleviate the difficulties faced by democratic forces and civil society activists in exile, for example in the process of obtaining residence permits or, opening bank accounts and effective visa application procedure in Belarus and in the third countries;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Insists on continuation and broadening of support coming from the EU for the cultural and educational activities of the independent Belarusian civil society and academic institutions, including those directed to the support of Belarusian language; calls on the Commission to further support independent news outlets, especially new media such as Nexta, which has not received any EU financial support despite having a broad audience in Belarus; urges EU institutions to continue programs of internships for young Belarusians in order to be prepared for future democratic transitions, as well as legal expertise for the legislation drafts elaborated by Belarusian democratic forces;
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Calls for a list to be drawn up of families of those linked to the criminal Lukashenka regime who are enjoying the hospitality of the countries of the European Union and are studying at schools and universities there; calls for their immediate removal from educational establishments and review their entry visas and residency status;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Welcomes the declaration of European choice made by Belarusian democratic leaders; considers it necessary to develop a common strategy for preserving the independence of Belarus, including international guarantees for it, and for Belarus transition to democracy with the participation of the EU and international institutions OSCE, CoE, G7;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 d (new)
Paragraph 11 d (new)
11d. Calls on the international community, the European Commission, EU Member States and institutions such as ICRC, UNICEF to organise systematic and comprehensive support for Belarusian political prisoners and their families who are in a precarious financial situation, as well as support for political prisoners who have served their sentences, including financial support and assistance with medical and psychological rehabilitation;
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 e (new)
Paragraph 11 e (new)
11e. Calls on the international community to ensure that no invitation to attend meetings, symposia or seminars, sport or cultural events is extended to the representatives of Lukashenka regime and those individual and institutions which support its oppressive policy;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the International Labour Organisation, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the representatives of the Belarusian democratic forces, International Red Cross, International Olympic Committee, UEFA, FIFA, IIHF, ITF, ATP, WTA and the de facto authorities of the Republic of Belarus.