Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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134. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his and his Department’s recent engagements with the Belarusian government, including with embassy officials; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22457/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have not met with Belarusian government representatives since taking up the role of Minister for Foreign Affairs. Belarus is accredited to Ireland through its Embassy in London. Ireland does not operate an Embassy in Minsk. Ireland’s Embassy in Vilnius covers Belarus, but since 2020 no Irish Ambassador has been accredited to Minsk. There have been no meetings between the Embassy and the Belarus Government since the fraudulent elections of 2020.

Ireland, along with our EU partners has consistently condemned the actions of the regime since the fraudulent 2020 Presidential election and the brutal crackdown that followed, and have supported extensive EU sanctions against the Lukashenko regime.

We continue to speak out at the EU and multilateral levels to condemn and hold the regime to account. At the Human Rights Council in March, Ireland made national statements and joined EU statements on the situation in Belarus, and supported the extension of the mandate of the High Commissioner to continue to investigate the situation for one year.

The Government continues to support independent Belarusian civil society and media organisations to hold the regime to account, and has engaged with the leaders of the democratic movement who tirelessly advocate for the human rights of the Belarusian people, including Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Ms Tsikhanouskaya recently visited Ireland in May 2023, during which I held a productive meeting with her. She also met with the Taoiseach, the President, and Oireachtas members amongst others. This was the second time that both the Taoiseach and I met with Ms Tsikhanouskaya this year, and we will continue our engagement with the democratic movement.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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135. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will outline the sanctions that currently apply to the government of Belarus or which have been applied to individual Belarusian citizens; the actions taken by the Government to enforce such sanctions in Ireland; if further sanctions are under active consideration at an EU level; the position of the Government on such; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22458/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The EU condemns Belarus' involvement in Russia's unprovoked and unjustified full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. In response to the invasion, since late February, the EU has adopted a wide range of sanctions targeting both Russia and Belarus.

The measures targeting Belarus build on restrictive measures first introduced by the EU following the presidential elections in Belarus in August 2020 and the crackdown on peaceful protesters, democratic opposition and journalists that followed. The current measures in large part mirror the restrictions introduced against Russia. Restrictions have been placed on trade between the EU and Belarus, in particular on goods used for the production of tobacco, hydrocarbons, and a range of materials like potash, wood, cement, iron, steel and rubber, which generate significant revenue for the Belarusian regime.

In addition, restrictions have been imposed on exports to Belarus of dual-use goods and technology that could contribute to Belarus’ military, technological and security development. Belarusian road transport operators have been banned from transporting goods by road within the EU. A range of measures have been introduced targeting the Belarusian financial sector. Several Belarusian banks have been removed from the SWIFT financial messaging system and transactions with the Central Bank of Belarus are prohibited. Sanctions also include asset freezes and travel bans targeting Belarusian military personnel, state officials, members of the judiciary, and businesspeople.

Limits have been placed on financial inflows from Belarus to the EU, and the provision of euro banknotes to Belarus is also now prohibited, while a ban has been placed on the listing and provision of services in relation to shares of Belarusian State-owned entities in EU trading venues.

On 24 February 2023, the European Council decided to extend for a further year the restrictive measures linked to the ongoing involvement of Belarus in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the human rights situation in the country.

EU sanctions are legally binding on all natural and legal persons in Ireland and the EU. EU Council Regulations have direct effect, and must therefore be complied with in the same way as domestic Irish legislation. A Cross-Departmental International Sanctions Committee (CDISC), chaired by the Department of Foreign Affairs monitors, reviews, and coordinates the implementation, administration and exchange of information on international sanctions regimes in Ireland.

Ireland has fully supported and implemented the sanctions adopted in response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, including the sanctions imposed on Belarus for its role in supporting Russia in this conflict.

The EU is considering adopting further sanctions against the Lukashenko regime in response to internal repression in Belarus and the regime’s support for the war against Ukraine. Ireland is actively involved in these discussions and supports coordinated EU sanctions, and other measures including action at the UN, to hold Belarus accountable for its violations of human rights and the rule of law, and its complicity in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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136. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his response to the detention of political activists, politically motivated trials and liquidation of non-governmental organisations in Belarus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22459/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland strongly condemns the human rights violations committed against the people of Belarus under the Lukashenko regime. As of 9 May, there were 1,493 political prisoners in Belarus, and there were an estimated 5,000 new politically-motivated criminal trials last year. An estimated 40,000 politically motivated arrests have been made, more than 11,000 criminal cases are under investigation and 1,249 NGOs have been closed by the regime, or are in the process of being shut down.

The recent report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights into the situation in Belarus in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and in its aftermath found that widespread and systematic violations of international human rights law have taken place, including unlawful deprivation of life and numerous cases of arbitrary deprivation of liberty, torture and ill-treatment, as well as sexual and gender-based violence, violations of the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and the denial of due process and equal protection of the law. The High Commissioner reported that some of these violations may amount to crimes against humanity.

Ireland, along with our EU partners, has consistently condemned the actions of the regime, since the fraudulent 2020 Presidential election and the brutal crackdown that followed, and has engaged with Belarusian democratic leaders such as Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who have advocated for the human rights of the people of Belarus.

Ireland continues to condemn the politically motivated trials and sentencing of human rights activists and democratic leaders, and has supported extensive EU sanctions against the Lukashenko regime in response.

Ireland has also provided support to Belarusian civil society and democratic forces. In 2022, the Department of Foreign Affairs provided €150,000 to support the continued operations of Tut.by (now Zerkalo.io), one of the most popular independent online news portal for Belarus. €50,000 was provided to support the work of the International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB), a coalition of independent NGOs working to collect, consolidate, verify, and preserve evidence of human rights violations. The Department recently approved a similar level of funding in 2023, including €100,000 to the European Endowment for Democracy, for projects including support for independent media, and €50,000 to the IAPB.

In addition, Ireland’s Embassy in Vilnius has also engaged with and supported the Belarusian democratic movement in exile in Lithuania. This has included meeting virtually with family members of political prisoners to better understand the difficulties they are facing; participating in a coordinated EU social media communications campaign to highlight the individual cases of political prisoners; regularly highlighting the activity of the Belarusian democratic movement; and hosting an event with Frontline Defenders on Human Rights Day for former political prisoner Volha Harbunova.