On February 27, the Concept of Lustration and the Establishment of the Institute of National Remembrance of Belarus were presented in Vilnius. The event was organized by the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in cooperation with the European Dialogue Center. Belarusian and international experts, historians, and human rights defenders participated in the event.
The Institute of National Remembrance will focus on opening the archives of repression, establishing facts of gross human rights violations, supporting victims and their families, and integrating verified information into education and the public sphere in a new Belarus. During the discussion, experts addressed specific issues outlined in the Concept of Lustration for Belarus.
Participants emphasized that dealing with the past is not a matter of revenge but of justice, truth, and guarantees of non-repetition. A sustainable democratic state cannot be built without establishing the truth, opening the archives, and providing institutional recognition of past violations.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Legal Affairs, Leanid Marozau: “The right to the truth about the past is the foundation of trust between the state and society. For tens of thousands of victims, this is not a theory but personal experience. The Institute of National Remembrance must become a transparent and professional instrument that ensures the opening of archives, the establishment of facts, and the legal assessment of violations in the interests of justice and the country’s future”.
The first draft of the Concept of the Institute of National Remembrance of Belarus was presented to Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who previously served as the Director of the Institute of National Remembrance.
