Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 9, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleAustralia, Canada, and the UK condemn Belarus for human rights violations, urging an end to repression and the release of political prisoners.
By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The governments of Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom condemned what they called ongoing repression and human rights violations in Belarus and accused Belarusian authorities of waging a campaign to shut down civil society, independent media and any form of political opposition.
KEY QUOTES
"We — Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom — stand united in condemning the ongoing repression and human rights violations," the three countries said in a joint statement on Saturday.
"Thousands have been unjustly detained, subjected to torture, or forced into exile. These actions represent a flagrant breach of Belarus' international law obligations and are a serious violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms," they added, urging Belarusian authorities "to end their campaign of repression."
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has led Belarus through more than three decades of authoritarian rule and was re-elected in January for a seventh five-year term.
Lukashenko crushed huge street protests in 2020 after an election the opposition and Western governments accused him of stealing, and all his leading opponents were jailed or forced to flee the country.
CONTEXT
Several hundred people convicted of extremism and other politically related offences have been released since mid-2024 in what analysts see as a bid by Lukashenko to ease his isolation from the West. However, human rights groups say nearly 1,200 are still behind bars.
Lukashenko denies there are any political prisoners in the country.
Australia, Canada and the UK said they welcomed the recent releases of several political prisoners in Belarus but added that they remain concerned by what they termed as continued arrests and persecution of individuals for exercising their human rights.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Mark Porter)
Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world, from birth until death. They apply regardless of where you are from, what you believe, or how you choose to live your life.
International law is a set of rules and principles that govern the relations and dealings of nations with each other. It includes treaties, agreements, and customary practices that countries are expected to follow.
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