5 minutes agoCouncil of Europe interrupts relations with Belarus
Periskopi(4 years ago)
(4 years ago)The Council of Europe announced today that it has severed relations with Belarus due to the country's active participation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The executive body of the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers, “today decided to suspend all relations with Belarus. The Committee of Ministers suspends Belarus's right to participate in it [...]
The executive body of the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers, “today decided to suspend all relations with Belarus. The Committee of Ministers suspends Belarus's right to participate in all meetings and activities of the organisation”, the Council of Europe's website says in a statement.
Belarus is not a full member of the Council of Europe because it has not signed the European Convention on Human Rights.
The country co-operated with the organisation as signatories of 12 conventions initiated by the Council of Europe, particularly the Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, the European Cultural Convention and the Convention on Conservation of Wild Animals in Europe.
Belarus is also a member of four partial agreements, which do not have the status of international agreements, but offer a form of co-operation on specific topics.
The official Minsk has also participated in the work of the Group of States against Corruption and the Venice Commission, an advisory group that gives states legal opinions on bills or laws already in force.
The Council of Europe's decision on Belarus comes a day after Russia's expulsion from membership in the organisation. Russia's participation in the main bodies of the Council of Europe was suspended for the first time on February 25th, a day after the start of Ukraine's Russian occupation.
