EU urges Belarus to free political prisoners

The European Union has called on Belarus to release all political prisoners and raised concerns about the rights situation in the former Soviet nation. The EU Foreign Affairs Council said in a statement issued after a meeting in Brussels on Monday that it will raise attention to systematic rights violations at an upcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council. The council reiterated the EU’s strong opposition to the death penalty and said it would seek to apply a moratorium on capital punishment. Belarus remains the only country in Europe that applies capital punishment. In its conclusions on EU priorities for the UN HRC, the council stressed that all human rights are of universal nature and the EU would remain a staunch and steadfast advocate for universal human rights, including for gay, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and intersex individuals. "Discrimination and violence perpetrated against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity is entirely unacceptable. The EU will proactively engage partners in the promotion of the human rights of LGBTI persons in UN Fora," the council said