The human rights issue is crucial in the EU-Belarus relations, Andrea Wiktorin, Head of the European Union Delegation to Belarus, said at a conference in Minsk on January, 26.
“Our objectives are Belarus’ being an independent and sovereign state, the development of democracy in the country, strong rule of law. We will be striving for these goals, which means that human rights issues will remain the centerpiece on our agenda,” TUT.BY quotes the top diplomat.
Three years ago she was appointed to the current position; since then, the dialogue between Brussels and Minsk has expanded and become more intense, Andrea Wictorin believes.
“Unfortunately, we had not managed to sign the Partnership Priorities agreement by the end of 2018. This year, we are continuing to work on the document. I am optimistic about the agreement on relaxing the visa regime. I think it will be signed in the near future,” Head of the EU Delegation to Belarus said.
According to her, the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership initiative (it will be marked in 2019) should be used for raising public awareness about the EaP aims and objectives and its achievements over the years.
“It is also important to us that know more about the EU’s work in Belarus. And it is important to spot fake news on the activities and intentions of the EU in Belarus, so that we could debunk them in due time. We are trying to provide more information about what the EU is doing for the benefit of the Belarusian people,” the envoy said.
The sides have contrary policies towards the death penalty.
“There are still contradictions on the issue the EU considers fundamental, i.e abolition of the death penalty or introducin moratorium. We will continue trying to talk Belarus into making that step,” Wiktorin stressed.
However, in her opinion, there is currently a real warming in other fields. “Some positive steps have been taken. Of course, there are still problems that raise concern. This regards not only Belarus, but also EU countries. I mean gender equality, violence against women, inclusion, tolerant attitude towards people from different groups. And we do have a dialogue with Belarus, and we discuss these issues as part of it,” the diplomat said.
In addition, she stressed the need of the Belarusian civil society’s being involved in all sectors of Minsk and Brussels cooperation. EU member countries believe that one is able to form strong state institutions only in collaboration with civil society, Wiktorin noted.
СК, belsat.eu
