On 29 October, on the sidelines of its 49th session, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities organised the side event “When passports become weapons: Local authorities’ response to transnational repression against Belarusians abroad”. The objective was to initiate a process towards the localisation of the landmark Resolution 2499 (2023) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on “Addressing the specific challenges faced by the Belarusians in exile (known as the “Luxembourg Solutions”)”.
This panel discussion addressed the growing challenge for local and regional authorities across Europe since 2023 when dealing with Belarusians in exile, after the authoritarian regime in Belarus ceased key consular services for its citizens abroad – thus transforming passports into weapons of transnational repression. This policy forces Belarusians who stand for democracy into an impossible choice: return to Belarus and face credible threats of imprisonment, or remain in exile and be stripped of their legal identity.
Opening the event, Cecilia Dalman-Eek, Congress Vice-President and Rapporteur for a Democratic Belarus, highlighted that “Belarusians in exile are not economic migrants but political exiles seeking safety from an authoritarian regime”. She was joined by Iryna Khalopitsa, Head of the delegation of the Belarusian Democratic Forces to the Congress, who underlined the urgent need for multilevel co-operation between local, regional and national authorities, as well as with Belarusian democratic forces’ institutions, Belarusian diaspora, and human rights organisations to protect local residents.
The discussion featured Alana Gebremariam, Belarusian pro-democracy activist and former political prisoner; Alexandra Mamaeva, Head of the delegation of the Belarusian Democratic Forces to PACE and Co-ordinator at the People’s Embassies of Belarus and Tatiana Termacic, Head of Secretariat of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons. They shared personal testimonies and practical examples of how municipalities can support Belarusian residents facing translational repression in Council of Europe member states.
Congress Director Claudia Luciani, moderating the event, concluded that “when passports become weapons, local and regional authorities have the responsibility to act as shields to protect human rights.”
The side event was organised within the project “Leading the change for democracy and human rights at local level with Belarusian democratic forces” (2024–2025), as part of the Council of Europe’s Contact Group on Co-operation with Belarusian Democratic Forces and Civil Society.
For additional information, please consult:
- A one-page explainer, addressing common questions for local and regional authorities to effectively respond to transnational repression against Belarusian residents.
- A policy brief for local and regional leaders, outlining the context of this challenge and providing a checklist for local action.
