Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support independent civil society in Belarus.

We are supporting civil society and independent media in Belarus and have significantly increased our funding since 2019.

The UK has imposed over 100 sanctions in response to the fraudulent elections, human rights violations, and repression of civil society and democratic opposition in Belarus. The UK is pleased to have worked alongside Germany, Denmark and other partners to establish the International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB) in 2021. We are also strong and vocal supporters of the UN's mandate on accountability in Belarus. We back the extension of this UN mandate, and are working to ensure collaboration between the IAPB and UN, strengthening shared efforts to hold the Lukashenko regime to account for its reprehensible actions.