Declaration on Belarus

XXVI Congress of the Socialist International, Madrid

25-27 November 2022

The Congress is in full solidarity with the people of Belarus, who have declared their desire for freedom and democracy and rejected the dictatorial regime of Alexander Lukashenko. We are concerned the information about the state of health of the leader of the Narodnaya Hramada Mikalai Statkevich and demand immediate assistance to him.

It demands the full and unconditional release of Mikalai Stakevich, members of Narodnaya Hramada and all political prisoners. Their fate cannot be subject to bargaining.

Lukashenko is an accomplice of the terrorist regime of Vladimir Putin in Ukraine and cannot represent the will of the Belarusian people. The authoritarian regime is not a guarantor of the independence of Belarus but rather a threat to its sovereignty, and Lukashenko’s actions have placed Belarus under de facto occupation. Any negotiations with the regime must result in the release of political prisoners, the withdrawal of Russian troops and the transfer of power to bring an end to the dictatorship.