EU members urge Hague court to issue arrest warrant for self-proclaimed Belarusian president

European Parliament members are urging the International Criminal Court in The Hague to consider issuing an arrest warrant for self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Deputies state that Belarus is responsible for the damage caused to Ukraine and the crimes committed, including the regime's role in the illegal deportation of children.

With the International Criminal Court (ICC) already having issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, MEPs call on the ICC to consider a similar arrest warrant for Aliaksandr Lukashenka.

The Council should also expand the list of Belarusian and Russian individuals sanctioned by the EU, including those involved in the forced deportations of Ukrainian children.

During the war, Russian forces have repeatedly taken Ukrainian children to its state, as well as to Belarus and occupied territories.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, as of July 1 this year, 19489 children were deported to Russia, and the so-called republics, and only 373 of them were returned home.

Recently, Ukraine's President Zelensky discussed the return of Ukrainian children deported by Russia with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

Special Representative at the UN Serhii Kyslytsia stated at the Security Council that Russia's invasion of Ukraine affected all 7.5 million Ukrainian children.

For all the crimes, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Levova-Belova.

The European Parliament did not recognize the results of the elections in Belarus. MEPs do not consider the elections to be free or fair and consider Alexander Lukashenko persona non grata in the EU.

Neither Canada approved the presidential election in Belarus, calling for just new elections. The UK and the US also do not recognize Lukashenko's victory and call for an investigation into election violations and violence during the 2020 protests against his regime.