Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 12 October (BelTA) – All prerequisites are in place for Belarus and the Council of Europe to develop cooperation, Chairman of the Standing Commission on Human Rights, National Relations and Mass Media of the House of Representatives Andrei Naumovich said during a meeting of the PACE Commission on Political Affairs and Democracy in Strasbourg, BelTA learned from the press service of the House of Representatives.

Andrei Naumovich noted that the Belarusian Parliament welcomes the decision of PACE as set out in its resolution of 27 June this year to continue working on the development of cooperation with Belarus and supports PACE’s call to the European Union to consider lifting all existing sanctions against Belarus. He stressed that the PACE resolution, despite all its flaws, creates the necessary prerequisites for the development of cooperation between Belarus and the Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly. Elena Anisim, a member of the Standing Commission on Education, Culture and Science, also made a report during the meeting.

The Belarusian MPs took part in the debate: Return of the death penalty in Europe: genuine threat or populist fiction? During the debate, Andrei Naumovich, who also heads the parliamentary working group on the death penalty as a tool of punishment in Belarus, informed the participants about the activities of the group.

The Belarusian MPs also met with Rapporteur on Belarus of the PACE Political Affairs and Democracy Committee Andrea Rigoni, PACE Secretary General Wojciech Sawicki, the delegations of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, Head of the Political Affairs Directorate of the Council of Europe Alexander Gessel. “An agreement was reached with Andrea Rigoni on his visit to Belarus in November this year to participate in joint activities of the parliamentary working group on the death penalty,” the press service of the House of Representatives informed.