EUSR for Human Rights meets with Belarusian human rights defenders

EU Special Representative (EUSR) for Human Rights Stavros Lambrinidis met representatives of non-governmental human rights organizations in Belarus on March 9. Head of the EU representative office in Belarus Andrea Wiktorin and member of the representative office for political affairs Renata Vrubel also attended the meeting.

Belarus was represented by chairperson of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee Aleh Hulak, director of the Legal Transformation Centre Volha Smalyanka, head of the human rights centre Identity Natallya Mankouskaya, deputy head of the Belarusian Documentation Centre Tatstsyana Aheyeva and deputy head of the human rights centre Viasna (closed by the authorities) Valyantsin Stefanovich.

The human rights situation in Belarus and a number of other issues were discussed during the 90-minute meeting with EU representatives, the website of Viasna reports.

The EUSR for Human Rights will stay in Minsk on March 8-11. He will take part in the International Death Penalty Conference organized by the UN representative office in Belarus with the assistance of the British Embassy on March 10.

Lambrinidis also met with Minister for Foreign Affairs Uladzimir Makei, head of the House of Representatives Uladzimir Andreichanka and President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on March 9. He is planning to meet with ex-political prisoner and ex-presidential candidate Mikalai Statkevich and some other representatives of the civil society on March 10.