Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian leader of Belarus, has never been held to account for perpetrating massive human rights violations after the country’s fraudulent presidential election on Aug. 9, 2020. This ongoing impunity has caused unspeakable suffering for Belarusians and now fuels the Belarusian regime’s complicity in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
From facilitating Russian troop movements to reportedly enabling forcible transfers and indoctrination of Ukrainian children, Lukashenko’s regime has enabled the atrocities committed in Ukraine since February 2022. As abuses in Belarus continue to send ripple effects far beyond his country’s borders, now is the time to recommit to the fight for justice in Belarus.
Following Belarus’s fraudulent 2020 presidential election, hundreds of thousands of Belarusians joined country-wide protests to peacefully demand free and fair elections and respect for human rights. Instead of heeding the people’s calls for democracy, Lukashenko responded with brute force. With Putin’s support, Lukashenko and his regime embarked on a vicious crackdown that included mass arrests and torture of thousands of detainees.
When the Belarusian people refused to be silenced by the regime’s brutality, Lukashenko turned to Putin for reinforcements. Putin delivered, flying in Kremlin-sponsored propagandists to replace striking Belarusian journalists and suggesting that the Russian military could intervene on Lukashenko’s behalf. Testimonies from those reportedly tortured in the days following the election revealed that the abuse was at times committed by masked individuals using Russian vernacular.
In Belarus, there are now nearly 1,400 verified political prisoners held in abysmal conditions and often incommunicado. At least 30,000 individuals have been unjustly detained since 2020 and over 300,000 forced into exile, according to the UN’s most recent reporting. In 2022, the UN Special Rapporteur for Belarus shared her findings that gross human rights violations in the country may amount to crimes against humanity.
Lukashenko’s illegitimate regime has found new ways to repress Belarusians in exile, including by targeting them for politically motivated trials in absentia, auctioning off their property and harassing their families and friends. In 2023, the regime suspended consular services abroad, preventing Belarusians living outside of the country from renewing passports or obtaining travel documents for their children, and making it nearly impossible to maintain control over their homes and property in Belarus.
The lack of accountability and entrenched impunity for this brutal state of affairs is the key challenge. There is much we can do to promote accountability and justice, notwithstanding Lukashenko’s cruel grip on power.
We can provide robust support and training for human rights defenders, independent media and Belarusians living in exile who are working to document abuses for use in future criminal trials. This includes support for the International Accountability Platform for Belarus, a unique coalition of non-governmental organizations working together to collect, consolidate, verify and preserve evidence of gross human rights violations.
We can continue to activate rapid expert investigations by the Moscow Mechanism of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, which can inform accountability bodies. We can support efforts in other countries to open investigations into those responsible for atrocities and other abuses in Belarus. We can make headway toward justice by supporting investigations under universal jurisdiction provisions around the globe.
State parties to various international human rights treaties should also use those treaties to hold Belarus accountable. We can ensure that sanctions against Belarus are comprehensive and in sync with our partners abroad. Finally, we can safeguard the rights of Belarusians living in exile while pressing for the release of political prisoners at home.
The path to justice in Belarus is fraught with challenges, but that is no reason to halt the journey toward righting the wrongs committed by Lukashenko’s regime. By standing firm against impunity in Belarus, supporting its civil society and aligning global efforts, we acknowledge the dignity and rights of people everywhere who are striving for a future free from repression and Russia’s malign influence.
Beth Van Schaack is the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is a leader of the Belarusian democratic movement.