Lifting restrictions or unfreezing the assets of "Belaruskali" would directly legitimize and fund an entity implicated in war crimes
Theses of the speech by Pavel Latushka, Member of the Delegation of the Coordination Council to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, to the PACE Parliamentary Network on the Situation of the Children of Ukraine
Today, a lobbying thesis is being heavily pushed upon us claiming that Belarusian potash is a matter of global food security. Active lobbying is currently underway to reopen transit through Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland. The United States has already resumed buying potash following the lifting of U.S. sanctions; the first ship carrying 30,000 tons departed from the port of Ust-Luga in Russia's Leningrad region, heading to the Port of New Orleans in the U.S. However, we cannot forget that Belarusian potash serves as an instrument for committing war crimes.
In 2023–2024, the National Anti-Crisis Management documented in detail a system involving the unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to Belarus, followed by their ideological indoctrination into the narratives of the "Russian world."
According to our data, at least 3,500 Ukrainian children have been transferred to Belarus.
According to a report by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab dated November 16, 2023, prepared on the basis of materials provided by the National Anti-Crisis Management, the transfer of at least 2,400 children was recorded between February 2022 and October 2023.
We have already taken concrete legal steps to hold those responsible to account:
We submitted two official communications to the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC in The Hague during a meeting with Brenda Hollis’s investigative team.
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General’s Office of Lithuania have launched investigations into these facts; my colleagues from NAM and I have given testimony as witnesses in these cases.
Following a visit to Kyiv and a meeting at the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, I handed over a list of orphaned children to the Ukrainian side to assist in bringing them home.
"Belaruskali" serves as the key institutional and financial link in this criminal system:
More than 2,050 Ukrainian children were sent to the "Dubrava" children's camp, owned by "Belaruskali." Systematic actions aimed at erasing the national identity of Ukrainian children were carried out within its walls.
Former Director General Ivan Golovaty personally signed documents, allocated funding, and provided buses for the transportation of the children. Golovaty ordered the "Dubrava" camp to be prepared and used to host Ukrainian children. He issued specific instructions regarding the operation of the camp during their stay.
Lifting restrictions or unfreezing the assets of "Belaruskali" would directly legitimize and fund an entity implicated in war crimes.
On behalf of the democratic forces of Belarus, I ask all our partners:
To firmly reject any initiatives aimed at lifting, easing, or granting exemptions regarding the import and transit of Belarusian potash
To maintain a strict and uncompromising sanctions regime against "Belaruskali," as this company has effectively funded war crimes.
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