Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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132. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the action being taken in relation to the ongoing detention of opposition activists in Belarus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4376/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland has unequivocally condemned the brutal repression and the politically motivated trials aimed at silencing any independent voices and closing all remaining space for democratic debate in Belarus. We use our voice at all relevant multilateral fora to raise actions by the Belarussian regime targeting civil society, pro-democratic movements, human rights defenders, journalists, and independent trade unions members including violations of the right to a fair trial, the use of torture and numerous acts of intimidation of those in detention.

Since the harsh crackdown of the widespread protests sparked by the fraudulent 2020 elections, Ireland has provided political support to Belarusian civil society and democratic forces. This includes supporting extensive EU sanctions targeting members of the regime.  The European Commission is now preparing a further package of restrictive measures that target the Lukashenko regime.

In 2022, Ireland provided funding to support independent Belarusian media, as well as to the International Accountability Platform for Belarus, a coalition of independent NGOs working to collect, consolidate, verify, and preserve evidence of human rights violations allegedly perpetrated by the Belarusian authorities.

Our diplomats are in regular contact with the Belarusian democratic movement in exile. Ireland’s Embassy in Vilnius participates in a coordinated EU social media communications campaign to highlight the individual cases of political prisoners, along with other EU missions accredited to Belarus.

Ireland will continue to support the brave women and men striving for a free, democratic and independent Belarus using all available political and diplomatic tools at its disposal.