Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on allegations of detained protestors being tortured in Belarus.

The UK is deeply concerned by the reports of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment that have taken place in Belarus. The UK led sixteen partners in triggering the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Moscow Mechanism investigation into the allegations of human rights violations in Belarus. The subsequent report concludes that human rights violations have occurred on a massive and systematic scale. The UK has repeatedly raised its concerns directly with the Belarusian authorities. On, 9 December HMA Minsk joined EU, US and Swiss counterparts in a meeting with the Belarusian Foreign Minister and called on the authorities to end impunity, investigate allegations of torture and mistreatment and allow access to the detention centres for international observers. We have raised our concerns in the UN General Assembly, the UN Human Rights Council and at the OSCE, including a UK-hosted side event on Belarus at the OSCE Ministerial meeting on 3 December, where the Belarusian Association of Journalists and human rights organisations Viasna and Civil Solidarity briefed international delegations.