On April 13, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya took part in a hearing in the Parliament of Canada on the global human rights situation. She spoke about mass repression and how the regime has turned the country into a launchpad for Russian aggression. She also noted that despite recent releases, persecution in the country has not stopped.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addressed the Government and Parliament of Canada with proposals to:
- continue pressure on the regime: maintain a firm stance and work toward the release of all political prisoners and an end to repression;
- continue and increase support for Belarusian civil society, democratic forces, cultural initiatives, and independent media; Canada could also support the International Humanitarian Fund;
- support efforts to hold the regime accountable both for repression and for its complicity in Russia’s war and the forced displacement of Ukrainian children to Belarus;
- assist Belarusians in Canada: create simplified residency mechanisms and ban extradition to Belarus;
- help raise the issue of transnational repression at the UN and OSCE to prevent dictators from abusing international mechanisms (including Interpol) for political persecution;
- strengthen relations with the democratic forces and the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Belarus is a vivid example of what happens when democracy is disregarded. It shows how closely security and democracy are interconnected. Authorities that do not respect their own people will not respect their neighbors either”.
