Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The repression carried out by the Lukashenko regime in Belarus has intensified over recent months with widespread crackdowns against political dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists and media outlets, civil society organisations and minority groups.

At our meeting on 21 June, EU foreign ministers adopted a fourth package of targeted sanctions against 78 individuals and eight entities. These measures target those behind the repression, those responsible for the forced landing of the Ryanair flight in Minsk on 23 May and several prominent business figures who support and benefit from the Lukashenko regime. Ministers also agreed on sectors to be targeted by economic sanctions and work is under way to implement that agreement. Although there have been some signs of willingness from the Belarusian authorities to move the two individuals arrested on 23 May, Mr. Roman Protasevich and Ms Sofia Sapega, to a less onerous form of detention, Ireland will continue to insist on their immediate and unconditional release.

Ireland, the EU and our like-minded international partners are united in calling for the regime to end the repression against its own people and for the Belarusian authorities to co-operate fully with international investigations into the forced landing of the Ryanair aircraft. Ireland played a constructive role in the successful adoption of an EU-led resolution at the Human Rights Council that gave the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights a mandate to investigate human rights violations in Belarus. Her team is scrutinising more than 2,000 reports of human rights violations and we support this work.

The EU will also seek a mandate renewal for the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus during the 47th session of the Human Rights Council. Ensuring accountability will remain a key priority for Ireland.

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