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Belarus: UK triggers Moscow Mechanism at OSCE to investigate elections

The UK and 16 other states have triggered the Moscow Mechanism to investigate Belarus elections.

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

The UK, along with 16 other members of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has triggered the Moscow Mechanism, which mandates an independent investigation into the human rights abuses and conduct of the elections in Belarus.

Announcing the invocation, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:

Today, with our partners in the OSCE, we have triggered the Moscow Mechanism, initiating an independent international investigation into the vote rigging and human rights abuses in Belarus. There must be accountability for Belarus’s failure to respect its OSCE obligations.

Notes to editors:

  • The full list of states triggering the Moscow Mechanism includes: Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the UK, and the United States.

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Updates to this page

Published 17 September 2020