Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has received on human rights in Belarus; and if he will make a statement.

We regularly receive and make representations to the Belarusian government on human rights both bilaterally and through the EU, particularly on the release of political prisoners and the abolition of the Death Penalty. Most recently, in September our Ambassador in Belarus met with Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) officials to discuss the Death Penalty. We have also recently engaged with the Belarusian MFA on the establishment of a National Human Rights Institution in Belarus.