A resolution to condemn the December 19, 2010, elections in Belarus, and to call for the immediate release of…

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Condemns the December 2010 election in Belarus as illegitimate and joins the European Parliament in calling for new elections that meet international standards.

Condemns the Alexander Lukashenko regime's systematic efforts to prevent freedom of expression and association in Belarus.

Stands in solidarity with the people of Belarus.

Applauds: (1) the pledges of the U.S. government and the European Union (EU) to impose targeted sanctions on Belarusian officials responsible for the recent crackdown and human rights abuses; and (2) the decisions of the U.S. government, the EU, and other democratic allies to expand assistance to civil society in Belarus.

Calls on the Lukashenko regime to: (1) release all political prisoners who were arrested in association with the December 2010 election, including presidential candidates Andrei Sannikov, Nikolai Statkevich, and Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu; (2) authorize the extension of the mandate of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Office in Belarus; and (3) hold new and free presidential and parliamentary elections.

Urges the President and the Secretary of State to: (1) coordinate U.S. and EU policies towards Belarus; (2) resume support to the opposition and civil society in Belarus; (3) impose sanctions where warranted on Belarusian officials responsible for the crackdown following the December 2010 election, associated human rights abuses, and the mistreatment of political prisoners; and (4) identify and freeze the assets of entities that enrich Mr. Lukashenko and his regime.

Urges the EU to: (1) join the United States in prohibiting business with, and freezing the assets of, specified Belarusian state-owned oil and petrochemical companies; (2) cut projects to Belarusian authorities linked to the crackdown and human rights abuses; (3) exclude Belarusian officials from EU Eastern Partnership policy meetings; and (4) increase support to the opposition and civil society in Belarus.

Calls on: (1) other members of the international community, including Russia, to take similar targeted actions against the leaders of the government of Belarus; (2) the government of Lithuania, as chair of the OSCE for 2011, to make the reestablishment of the OSCE Office in Belarus one of its chief priorities; and (3) the International Ice Hockey Federation to suspend its 2014 International World Ice Hockey championship in Minsk, Belarus, until all political prisoners in are released.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov