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having regard to its previous resolutions and recommendations on Belarus,

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having regard to the parliamentary elections of 11 September 2016, the presidential elections of 11 October 2015 and the local elections of 18 February 2018 held in Belarus,

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having regard to the statement of 20 February 2018 by the spokesperson of the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs (VP/HR) on the local elections in Belarus,

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having regard to the statement of 25 March 2018 by the spokesperson of the VP/HR on developments in the run up to and during Freedom Day in Belarus,

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having regard to the Council conclusions on Belarus, in particular those of 15 February 2016 lifting sanctions against 170 individuals and three Belarusian companies and setting out the framework for policy dialogue and the conditions for EU-Belarus relations to develop on a more positive agenda, notably as regards democratic reforms,

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having regard to the conclusions of the Eastern Partnership Summit of 24 November 2017, and the endorsement of the 20 Deliverables for 2020, which is designed to bring results for citizens,

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having regard to the visit of Commissioner Hahn to Belarus in January 2018 and the ongoing negotiations on the EU-Belarus Partnership Priorities,

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having regard to the decision of the Foreign Affairs Council to prolong for one year until February 2019 the remaining restrictive measures against Belarus, including an arms embargo, the ban on the export of goods for internal repression and an asset freeze and travel ban against four individuals listed in connection with the unresolved disappearance of two opposition politicians, one businessman and one journalist in 1999 and 2000,

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having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to all human rights conventions to which Belarus is a party,

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having regard to the statement of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus of 28 March 2018,

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having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas following the presidential elections in 2015 and the parliamentary elections in 2016, Belarus held local elections on 18 February 2018; whereas the longstanding recommendations by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Venice Commission in the field of electoral legislation and processes remain unaddressed in Belarus; whereas, according to foreign diplomatic and Belarusian observers, the local elections that were held in February 2018 only reconfirmed such shortcomings;

B.

whereas the EU lifted most of its restrictive measures against Belarusian officials and legal entities in February 2016 as a gesture of goodwill designed to encourage Belarus to improve its records on human rights, democracy and the rule of law;

C.

whereas the EU has repeatedly stated that respect for fundamental freedoms, the rule of law and human rights constitutes a clear precondition for the improvement and further advancement of relations between the European Union and Belarus; whereas, however, the situation in the country continues to remain of concern, as only very limited, tentative steps for improvements can be observed in this respect;

D.

whereas the long-awaited constitutional and legislative reforms that would allow for the development of a true democracy are lagging behind;

E.

whereas no electoral reform has been attempted and, as demonstrated during the local elections of February 2018, a significant number of severe shortcomings and procedural irregularities remain, including a restrictive legal framework for political rights throughout all stages of election campaigns and problems with observing, voting and counting votes; whereas since 1994 no free and fair elections have been conducted in Belarus;

F.

whereas international observers were not invited to observe the local elections, while the Belarusian observers, for their part, collected tangible evidence of mass nationwide efforts to inflate turnout totals and of carousel voting, with the latter being used for the first time in several years;

G.

whereas intimidatory activities continue, including numerous cases of the detainment of independent and opposition activists, politicians and journalists; whereas, once again, prominent members of the opposition, and pro-democracy and human rights defenders, were prevented from participating in or were arrested in the run-up to, and during, an unauthorised demonstration in Minsk on 25 March 2018 to mark the 100th anniversary of Belarus’ proclamation of independence, although most were subsequently released without charge;

H.

whereas two political prisoners, Mikhail Zhamchuzhny and Dzmitry Paliyenka, remain in detention;

I.

whereas the European Parliament has been supporting Belarusian civil society for years, by awarding the Sakharov Prize to the Belarusian Association of Journalists in 2004 and to Alaksandr Milinkievich in 2006, among other initiatives;

J.

whereas the events of Freedom Day 2018 demonstrate once again that the Belarusian Government has no intention of abandoning its old policies of repressing, on a mass scale, citizens attempting to exercise rights provided for by the constitution and by international treaties;

K.

whereas on 24 January 2018 the Ministry of Information arbitrarily blocked access to the leading independent news website Charter97.org on the territory of Belarus; whereas criminal proceedings against independent bloggers have been opened; whereas the draft amendments to the Law on the Media would, if adopted, pose a new and significant threat to freedom of expression in the country;

L.

whereas on 25 October 2016 Belarus adopted its first National Human Rights Action Plan, approved by a resolution of the Belarusian Council of Ministers, which defines the principle lines of action for implementing the country’s human rights commitments;

M.

whereas Belarus is the only country in Europe that still carries out capital punishment; whereas the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus has noted that death sentences in Belarus can be considered highly disputable owing to the lack of an independent judiciary and of fair trials;

N.

whereas the EU and Belarus are currently negotiating tailor-made Partnership Priorities, whose main areas of interest include economic development and modernisation, strengthening institutions and good governance, connectivity and people-to-people contacts; whereas the Belarusian Government has repeatedly stated that it is seeking the normalisation of relations with the EU, the lifting of the remaining sanctions, and visa liberalisation; whereas, however, progress in this regard is necessarily subject to Belarus showing political will and commitment towards democratic values, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms;

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