The International Accountability Platform for Belarus responsible for the documentation of human rights violations established today
Created 2021-03-24
Today, on 24 March, the International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB) was established. The IAPB aims to collect, consolidate, verify and preserve information, documentation and evidence of severe human rights violations committed in Belarus in the run-up to the presidential election of 9 August 2020 and its aftermath.
The material collected by the IAPB will be handed over to a UN mechanism for investigation once it is operational. The documentation will also serve future independent criminal investigations and criminal proceedings, in accordance with international law standards, in national, regional or international courts or tribunals that have or may in the future have jurisdiction over those crimes, in accordance with international law.
Lithuania, together with other 18 like-minded countries, adopted a joint statement in support of the establishment of the IAPB. The states stand in solidarity with the Belarusian people in their demand for a democratic transition. They also call on the Belarusian authorities to immediately cease all forms of violence against peaceful protesters.
“The unprecedented human rights violations continue in Belarus. Thus, we must demand that Lukashenko's regime and his accomplices be held accountable. Representatives of force structures responsible for the ongoing repression of peaceful citizens must know and feel that they will not go unpunished, but will be held accountable for their crimes sooner or later. We believe that the IAPB, which was established today, will make a valuable contribution to the achievement of a common goal through effective cooperation with other initiatives aimed at collecting evidence of human rights violations carried out by Lukashenko's regime," said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis.
The IAPB will be led by the Danish Institute Against Torture DIGNITY with such co-leads as the Belarusian Human Rights Center VIASNA, the International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus, and REDRESS (the UK).
Lithuania, together with other 18 like-minded countries, adopted a joint statement in support of the establishment of the IAPB. The states stand in solidarity with the Belarusian people in their demand for a democratic transition. They also call on the Belarusian authorities to immediately cease all forms of violence against peaceful protesters.
“The unprecedented human rights violations continue in Belarus. Thus, we must demand that Lukashenko's regime and his accomplices be held accountable. Representatives of force structures responsible for the ongoing repression of peaceful citizens must know and feel that they will not go unpunished, but will be held accountable for their crimes sooner or later. We believe that the IAPB, which was established today, will make a valuable contribution to the achievement of a common goal through effective cooperation with other initiatives aimed at collecting evidence of human rights violations carried out by Lukashenko's regime," said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis.
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