The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada is imposing new sanctions against 10 individuals and 12 entities under the Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Regulations in response to ongoing gross and systematic human rights violations committed by the Lukashenko regime in Belarus, as well as its support of Russia's violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Following the 2020 presidential election in Belarus, which the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) described as "severely flawed, not transparent, free or fair," the Lukashenko regime brutally suppressed its citizens' rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. It allowed its security forces to unlawfully use force, brutality and intimidation against peaceful protestors, resulting in arbitrary detentions, wrongful prosecutions and lengthy prison sentences. The individuals sanctioned today include people who have direct connections with persons already sanctioned for their participation or complicity in these human rights violations.
The entities being sanctioned today include three Belarusian state organizations that, under the instructions of the regime, have been continuously involved in gross and systematic human rights violations through repression, violence and other abuses of the Belarusian population. Canada is also sanctioning nine entities that are part of the Belarusian military-industrial complex for their involvement in the production and supply of military equipment being sent to Russia for use in its war of aggression against Ukraine. Certain senior officials of these entities are also being sanctioned.
These sanctions are being announced in coordination with the United Kingdom. Canada will continue to work with international partners to counter Russian influence and uphold Belarusian's rights, including the right to determine their own future in a genuine and inclusive manner, free of oppression and external interference.
