Minister Joly announces new sanctions in response to fraudulent presidential election and ongoing human rights violations in Belarus

News release

January 27, 2025 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

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.

Quotes

“Today, we are sending a clear message to Alexander Lukashenko: Canada will not remain silent as his regime continues to trample on the rights and freedoms of Belarusian citizens and to support Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We remain in solidarity with the Belarusian people, as well as the Belarusian democratic forces, and we will continue to support their efforts toward establishing a real democracy in Belarus.”

- Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Quick facts

The OSCE Ministerial Council met on December 4 and 5, 2024. During that meeting, the Informal Group of Friends of Democratic Belarus, of which Canada is a member, issued a statement on the situation in Belarus. The statement condemns Russia’s war in Ukraine and the human rights violations in Belarus, including the use of detention and violence to intimidate and repress civil society.
The election that took place on January 26, 2025, extended the rule of Alexander Lukashenko (also known as Alexander Lukashenka), who has been in power since 1994 and is known for his authoritarian governance and suppression of legitimate political dissent. Despite the presence of regime-approved token candidates in the race, the so-called election occurred in an environment marked by ongoing repression and mass arbitrary detention, similar to what took place in the previous election in August 2020.
Since 2014, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 3,000 individuals and entities in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova complicit in the violation of Ukraine’s and Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as gross and systematic human rights violations.

Associated links

Contacts

Media Relations Office
Global Affairs Canada
media@international.gc.ca

Page details

Date modified:: 2025-01-27

Language selection

Search