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Meeting Brief: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Belarusian Opposition Leader in exile
[Pronounced: Sve-aht-lah-nah; Tsee-khah-noos-kah-yah]
Time and date (NZT):
Monday 3 November, 4:00pm (half hour call)
Ms Tsikhanouskaya has requested this meeting. You have not met
her before.
Opposition leader of Belarus, in exile and based in Lithuania. Her
husband was a candidate in the 2020 Belarusian Presidential
Election before being imprisoned, and Ms Tsikhanouskaya stood in
his place. She, and many independent election observers, claim that
she won, although official results from the state-controlled Central
Election Commission showed that she only won 10% of the vote.
She was subsequently forced to leave Belarus or face imprisonment.
She is generally referred to as “Ms Tsikhanouskaya”, because she
does not hold any official or diplomatic status. She presents herself
as the leader of a democratic Belarus, and the president of a
government-in-exile. Lithuania is the only country that has formally
recognised Ms Tsikhanouskaya as the legitimate head of state of
Belarus, but countries support her as an exiled opposition leader.
After New
Zealand she is travelling to Australia to meet
Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
Key objectives
•
Welcome Ms Tsikhanouskaya to New Zealand, her first visit here.
•
Register our support for reform in Belarus, and our condemnation of its government’s
actions in support of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
•
Ask her to outline her plans for achieving change in Belarus.
Discussion points
•
Note New Zealand’s concern at the worsening human rights situation in Belarus, reflected
in the statement New Zealand will issue tonight in the Human Rights Council in its
under the Official Information Act 1982
Universal Periodic Review.
[If raised: asks for support to Tsikhanouskaya’s cause]
•
s6(a)
note the robust sanctions implemented under the Russia
Sanctions Act 2022 in response to Belarus’ support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (ban
on all Belarusian Government and military aircraft and vessels from New Zealand and ban
of exports to Russian and Belarusian military and security forces).
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•
Note New Zealand has joined several public statements with other likeminded countries
condemning political repression in Belarus; abuses of human rights; and restrictions on
media freedom.
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Background
New Zealand imposed travel bans on selected individuals associated with the Lukashenko
regime, following ongoing concerns about election fraud and human rights abuses after the 2020
Belarus elections. New Zealand suspended all high-level bilateral political (ministerial), defence
and military engagement with Belarus in 2021.
2
We have joined several statements with Five Eyes partners regarding the human rights
situation in Belarus along with concerns about restrictions on media freedom, and political
repression. Most recently we issued a statement along with Australia, Canada, the European
Union, and the United Kingdom expressing our disapproval of the results of the 26 January 2025
elections, which only allowed limited scrutiny by human rights observers.
3
You sent a Tweet on 18 August 2020 regarding the 9 August 2020 election in which
Ms Tsikhanouskaya opposed Mr Lukashenko. At that time, New Zealand had denounced the
election as a sham, and you wrote that:
“New Zealand is deeply concerned by recent events in Belarus. Free and fair elections, freedom of
expression and freedom of peaceful protest are fundamental to a healthy democracy and must be
protected rather than suppressed.”
4
Belarus has provided economic and logistical support to Russia’s illegal war of
aggression against Ukraine, including through its strategically important oil and gas sector.
5
In response to Belarus’ support for Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, since February 2022
New Zealand has:
•
Banned all Belarusian Government and military aircraft and vessels from New Zealand.
•
Sanctioned seven Belarusian financial institutions, and Belarusian defence entities; and
•
Expanded sanctions to include actors from Belarus involved in refining and transporting
Russian oil, and in facilitating oil payments.
6
In multilateral fora, we have raised concerns about the situation in Belarus at the Human
Rights Council (UNHRC), including through Belarus-specific sessions under the UNHRC High
Commissioner and the Special Rapporteur. On Monday 3 November 2025 in Geneva, New
under the Official Information Act 1982
Zealand will deliver the attached statement during the Universal Periodic Review of Belarus’
human rights situation.
Europe Division / New Zealand Embassy, Moscow
November 2025
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UNCLASSIFIED
Human Rights Council
50th Session of the Universal Periodic Review
Belarus
Delivered by Deputy Permanent Representative Emma Hodder
3 November 2025
Mr President,
We welcome Belarus’ participation in today’s UPR.
New Zealand regrets the lack of progress on the recommendations from
Belarus’ last review in 2020, and we call on Belarus to act with urgency to
address ongoing violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms.
New Zealand
recommends that Belarus:
1. Act immediately to release all political prisoners.
2. Bring conditions in detention facilities in line with international
standards.
3. Ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OP-
CAT).
4. Ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.
under the Official Information Act 1982
Mr President, we make these recommendations to ensure rights to life,
liberty and security of person, and the right to freedom from torture for
Belarusians.
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Thank you, Mr President.
UNCLASSIFIED
Meeting with Opposition-in-exile leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Readout
Dated 5 November 2025
See below key points from the discussion:
- s9(2)(ba)(i)
- In response to MFA’s query about plans for reform in Belarus, s9(2)(ba)(i)
- Asked about the Ukraine war, s9(2)(ba)(i)
MFA explained
the sanctions New Zealand had put in place, which extended to Belarus as supporters of
the war. This was our only autonomous sanctions regime, which showed how seriously we
took the invasion, despite it being in a different part of the world.
- Noting that New Zealand has a strong voice in the international arena, s9(2)(ba)(i)
MFA took this opportunity to note
our statement to be made at the UPR that evening and handed over a copy to the
delegation, which was well received.
- s9(2)(ba)(i)
under the Official Information Act 1982
- s6(a)
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