Belarus joins Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

Mr. Jagland welcomed the move and expressed hope for a constructive dialogue between the Belarusian government and the Council of Europe, the press office said. 

Messrs. Yarmalyuk and Jagland discussed the current state of relations between Belarus and the Council of Europe, including the prospects for Belarus' accession to other CoE conventions, the press office said. 

Let us recall that Belarus is the only country in Europe that is not a member of the Council of Europe. In 1993, the Belarusian parliament was granted Special Guest status in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), but was stripped of it in 1996 following a referendum that approved the use of the death penalty in the country. 

In June 2009, PACE decided that the Belarusian parliament’s Special Guest status in the Assembly might be restored only after Minsk imposed a moratorium on the death penalty. The following year Belarus carried out a number of executions after which PACE advised its members against visiting Belarus. The use of the death penalty makes it impossible for Belarus to have any status in the Council of Europe, Mr. Jagland told reporters in Strasbourg in January 2012.