Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and head of the National Anti-Crisis Management Paval Latushka met with New Zealand’s Ambassador to Poland Paul Ballantyne, who is also accredited to Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Ukraine.
The main focus of the talks was New Zealand’s possible support for proceedings before the International Criminal Court aimed at holding Aliaksandr Lukashenka and representatives of his regime accountable for crimes against humanity.
The Belarusian politician presented a legal strategy for pursuing international criminal responsibility and outlined the scale of transnational repression against Belarusian citizens. The New Zealand ambassador said he would forward the information to Wellington.
The two sides also discussed the human rights situation in Belarus. Latushka said that repression continues across the country, new political prisoners continue to appear, independent political parties are no longer allowed to operate, more than 2,000 non-governmental organizations have been dissolved, and independent media remain banned.
The participants stressed that accountability for violations of international law is an essential condition for restoring justice and strengthening regional security, while international cooperation in the field of justice is of fundamental importance.
The New Zealand ambassador also expressed interest in the Belarusian authorities’ support for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Latushka presented a report prepared by the National Anti-Crisis Management on the Lukashenka regime’s preparations for possible entry into the war on Russia’s side. According to the United Transitional Cabinet’s press service, the document will be forwarded to New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The embassy also received a report by the Viasna Human Rights Centre on repression in Belarus, as well as a study on the scale of political repression prepared by BELPOL, the United Transitional Cabinet’s Representative Office for Social Policy, and the Volnyja initiative, with the participation of the human rights organizations Dissidentby and Viasna.