The United States and 37 other countries have asked the Moscow Mechanism of the OSCE that the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) establish an expert mission to study the continuing deterioration of the human rights situation in Belarus.
That’s according to a statement from Deputy State Department Spokesperson Vedanta Patel released Thursday.
The US appeal is based on a November 2020 OSCE Moscow Mechanism mission report that documented systematic human rights violations and abuses by the Lukashenko regime before, during and after. the rigged presidential election of August 9, 2020.
This report calls on the Lukashenka regime to hold new, fair presidential elections based on international standards, release those unjustly detained, engage with the political opposition and civil society, and ensure accountability for perpetrators of violations.
“This new call will establish an expert mission to examine the human rights situation in Belarus and the growing evidence of the Lukashenka regime’s brutal repression against all elements of Belarusian society since 2020, as well as the allegations of serious abuses related to the complicity of the Lukashenka regime in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” the statement said. “The expert mission will be mandated to assess compliance by the Belarus of its commitments to the OSCE.
The United States called on Belarusian authorities to fully cooperate with the expert mission and facilitate its work.
“The United States and our partners will continue their efforts to hold the Lukashenko regime accountable for human rights abuses,” the document said.
