The Council of Europe has published its 2026–2027 List of activities of the Contact Group on co-operation with representatives of Belarusian democratic forces and civil society, reaffirming its commitment to address the aspiration for a free and democratic Belarus, including progress towards the abolition of the death penalty.
The List of activities, approved by the Contact Group in December 2025, was made public following the meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies on 24–25 February 2026, during which the Deputies held their exchange of views with Ms Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian democratic forces.
The programme sets out a comprehensive framework for co-operation over the next two years, focusing inter alia on strengthening democracy, supporting civil society and promoting alignment with Council of Europe standards. A particular attention is given to death penalty-related activities, reflecting the Organisation’s longstanding commitment to its universal abolition. Belarus remains the only country in Europe that still applies capital punishment.
The new programme foresees focused initiatives to support abolitionist efforts, including awareness-raising targeting both the population in the country and the diaspora, expert dialogue and co-operation with media, youth and civil society actors.
These activities build on previous work carried out within the Contact Group, which has contributed to advancing abolition-oriented commitments among Belarusian democratic forces. Indeed, the Council of Europe already conducted several activities within this framework, including a seminar entitled “Abolition of the death penalty in Belarus – Next steps” in March 2025 which led to the adoption by the Belarusian democratic forces of a Memorandum to abolish the death penalty in Belarus.
To know more about the Contact Group on co-operation with representatives of Belarusian democratic forces and civil society : Contact Group on Belarus - Portal
Coordinator for the Abolition of the death penalty
