At the OSCE Ministerial Council on 5 December 2025, Sweden delivered a joint statement-published by the UK Government-condemning continuing repression in Belarus and reaffirming that OSCE human dimension commitments apply across borders. The text situates Belarus’s situation within longstanding OSCE norms and urges remedial action by Minsk.
The statement was issued on behalf of the Informal Group of Friends of Democratic Belarus: Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czechia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Sweden. Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Liechtenstein, Malta, Moldova, San Marino and Switzerland joined the statement.
Citing the 1991 Moscow Document, the signatories recalled that human rights commitments are a matter of direct and legitimate concern to all participating States and are not confined to domestic jurisdiction. They noted that this principle was reaffirmed by heads of state and government at Astana in 2010, forming the basis for concerted responses when serious violations occur.
Five years after the 2020 presidential election, the statement describes a pattern of systematic violations documented by international human rights bodies and civil society. It highlights the targeting of political opposition figures, human rights defenders, independent media and other parts of society, and condemns Belarusian authorities’ involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The text calls on Minsk to ensure that no Ukrainian children are forcibly transferred to or through Belarusian territory and to provide full transparency regarding any such cases. This sits alongside the broader demand that Belarus align with international obligations and OSCE commitments on human rights and democracy.
The Moscow Mechanism, invoked in 2020 and again in 2023, is referenced as the formal basis for expert scrutiny of Belarus’s record. According to the 2023 report, Belarus has infringed political rights, the democratic process, freedoms of assembly and association, freedom of expression and access to information, as well as rights to liberty and security, freedom from torture and ill‑treatment, fair trial and effective remedy. The statement notes there has been no progress on recommendations from either the 2020 or 2023 reports.
In July 2024, 38 participating States invoked the Vienna Mechanism to put formal questions to Belarus on persistent human rights concerns. The statement records that Belarus has not provided a substantial response. It also references the UN Special Rapporteur’s assessment that the overall human rights situation worsened over the past year, with new forms of repression reported.
As of 5 December 2025, the Belarusian human rights organisation Viasna has documented 1,218 political prisoners. The statement describes appalling detention conditions, including incommunicado detention and brutal treatment, and cites the UN Committee Against Torture’s conclusion that torture is systematic, with women subjected to gender‑specific ill‑treatment. While some releases have occurred, the text notes that former prisoners often face surveillance, ongoing pressure or de facto exile.
The signatories demand the immediate and unconditional release and rehabilitation of all political prisoners, explicitly naming Ales Bialiatski, Maryia Kalesnikava, Mikalai Statkevich, Viktar Babaryka, Maksim Znak, Pavel Seviarynets and Andrzej Poczobut. They further call for a moratorium on the death penalty as a first step towards abolition.
On the January 2025 presidential election, the statement cites a repressive environment marked by pressure on civil society, arbitrary detentions and severely restricted political participation. It records that the Belarusian authorities issued ODIHR’s invitation only ten days before the election, preventing access to key stages of the process and making meaningful observation impossible, while reiterating full support for ODIHR’s independent, recognised methodology.
The statement urges Belarus to implement its international obligations and OSCE commitments without delay and to end support for Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine. It closes by affirming continued support for the Belarusian people’s aspirations for a free, democratic and independent state.
Policy Wire analysis: The document consolidates a cross‑regional position inside the OSCE, signalling ongoing reliance on the Moscow and Vienna Mechanisms and support for ODIHR rather than announcing new punitive measures. For officials, near‑term watchpoints include any Belarusian response under the Vienna Mechanism, follow‑up in the OSCE Permanent Council and movements in detention figures or trial patterns in the months ahead.