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On 4th of November, Lithuania, together with 34 other participating states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), invoked the Vienna Mechanism in relation to ongoing serious human rights violations in Belarus and the instrumentalization of the illegal migration by the Lukashenka regime.

A year ago on initiative of seventeen OSCE participating states (including Lithuania) an independent expert, Professor Wolfgang Benedek, has issued a report on alleged human rights violations related to the Presidential elections of 9 August in Belarus. This report has confirmed the commitment of massive and systematic violations and abuses of human rights and fundamental freedoms and made a number of recommendations to the Belarusian authorities, to all participating States and to the wider international community.  

The OSCE Vienna mechanism has been invoked since in spite of repeated calls by the international community the Belarus authorities have not taken any steps towards the implementation of these recommendations. On the contrary, the human rights situation in Belarus has worsened, and furthermore the Minsk regime actions in political instrumentalization of migrants puts vulnerable people at risk, and has a destabilising effect on regional security. 

The Vienna Mechanism is an OSCE Human dimension tool, allowing a possibility without the need for consensus to request a certain country to provide information and concrete responses in regards to the implementation of their OSCE human dimension commitments.

Please find the attached statement delivered on behalf of the following delegations: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, The Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, Ukraine, and the United States.