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"Only a strong international response can prevent new crimes against humanity" The situation in Belarus concerns not only its citizens — the regime created an international crisis and commits crimes against humanity every day in an attempt to retain power. Lukashenka has become a problem not only for our people, but also for the world community. Here is what the Polish lawyer Tomasz Wilinsky, one of the initiators of the NAM legal conference in Nuremberg, thinks about this: "Since August 2020, the norms of international law have been regularly violated in Belarus, including damage of the Poland state interests." "The judicial system in Belarus is subordinate to Lukashenka and in fact cannot prosecute these crimes. But the principles of international law, the so-called The Nuremberg Principles state: — statesmen are not exempt from criminal responsibility for international crimes; — acting on the orders of the government or superiors does not exempt from liability". "According to the principle of universal jurisdiction, criminal law applies to a foreigner if he commits a crime abroad that is prosecuted in accordance with international agreements. Such a norm is also contained in the Polish criminal law, which allows us to conclude: Poland has the right to initiate a criminal case in this regard". "The migration crisis on the border between the EU and Belarus is a violation of the Protocol against the smuggling of migrants by land, sea and air, supplementing the 2000 UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and signed by Belarus. In accordance with this international legal act, if it is impossible to agree on arbitration within 6 months, which is preceded by negotiations, the case can be referred to the International Court of Justice. Poland, Lithuania and Latvia are obliged to use this procedure, as it may be important for the activation of international criminal law instruments". "Only a strong international response can prevent new crimes against humanity".

The NAM Head Pavel Latushka sent information to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights about the violation of rights in Belarus — and calls on every Belarusian to do so In the spring of 2021, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights announced the creation of a special mission to collect data on human rights violations in Belarus. The Office is collecting information on violations committed in Belarus since May 1, 2020. We Belarusians know that human rights are systematically violated in Belarus. You, your colleagues and loved ones know about it. It did not start in 2020, but has been going on for decades. But since last May, human rights violations in our country have reached unimaginable proportions. It is extremely important for us not only to understand this ourselves, but also to pass on information about violations to international organizations. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has prepared a special appeal template. Send information about any human rights violations in Belarus. Please follow this link for details. Information is accepted until December 15, 2021. Pavel Latushka filled out a questionnaire and sent it to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It is important that every Belarusian, whose rights have been violated, do the same. This will help all of us to come closer to our common goal — to bring to justice all those responsible for crimes against the Belarusian people. The Lukashenka regime continues committing crimes against Belarusians. Our task is to document them and hand them over for prosecution of the perpetrators. No one will do it for us!

Strategy of the democratic forces of Belarus at the "Referendum" of Lukashenka We call on all those who disagree with the lawlessness that swept our country to join the strategy of action at the Referendum, which was developed by civil initiatives *Honest People, Zubr and the Voice platform with the participation of the Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Office, the National Anti-Crisis Management and the Coordination Council. The "referendum" is scheduled for early 2022. This event is a crime and deception, which we, citizens of Belarus, will turn into a "vote of no confidence" for Lukashenka and his entourage. We urge you to come to the polling stations and invalidate the ballot. This action means that we do not agree with the Lukashenka regime and are in favor of establishing the rule of law and creating conditions for holding fair elections. How do I invalidate a ballot paper? Come to the polling stations on the voting day. Put crosses in front of all the options proposed in the bulletin. Drop the ballot paper into the ballot box. You will find details in the video with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Pavel Latushka, Volha Kovalkova, Elena Zhivoglod, Pavel Liber and Pavel Marynich. What to do now? Share the video with your friends and family. Discuss, argue, and exchange views on this strategy. Because no strategy can be successful without the application of strength, energy and mind — and without faith in the victory of each of us. Every opinion is important and every experience is unique. And only by combining our forces we can get the result that we are striving for.

Lena Zhivoglod, the NAM coordinator, on the future of the referendum The main thing from the broadcast of "Euroradio": "There is already a common position on the referendum, it is the position of the three civil initiatives: *Honest People, Zubr, and Voice; as well as the political headquarters: Sviatlana Tsihanouskaya’s Office, the National Anti-Crisis Management, and the Coordination Council. I am eternally glad that we have a common and balanced position. "The referendum is a deception and a crime, that’s how this event should be treated. There are no illusions that Lukashenka is really going to carry out reforms. We propose to come to the polling stations and express our disagreement with the Lukashenka regime. We will definitely not offer to vote for any of the variants of the regime. We will still talk about the algorithm of actions: what to do with the ballot and what will happen next." "We must come to the polling stations and demonstrate our disagreement: with what is happening in the country, with the fact that Lukashenka’s regime has seized power by force. This is an opportunity for every Belarusian to express his attitude. "The year 2020 has caused a lot of trouble for the illegitimate government. The situation is developing more dynamically than it could. Lukashenka cannot forbid us to come to the polls. But he is afraid of the protest turnout, afraid that the Belarusians who do not agree with the regime will come." "We understand that the referendum will offer two options that are beneficial only to Lukashenka. It will be a manipulation and deception. We all, the Belarusans, must not let ourselves be deceived."

Belarusian authorities have no right to convert their SDRs into euros under the mechanism of voluntary conversion at any central bank of a European state or the European Central Bank EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell responded to the letter of the NAM on the situation with the allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to the Lukashenka regime by the IMF. Here is the most important part of the answer: We have received assurances that the EU will not allow the exchange of SDRs for the euro in any central bank of the European Union. The reason for blocking such an exchange is the fact that it would be a violation of the established ban on investment services to Lukashenko’s regime, regulated by the EU sanctions. But even more interesting is the reference to paragraph 16 of the European Parliament Resolution on Belarus, which urges "member states to coordinate their actions with international partners in multilateral organizations, such as the IMF, to limit the allocation of funds to the Lukashenko regime and freeze any cooperation with it. That is, in this matter, the recommendatory nature of the Resolution has become a direct guide to action. This means that there is reason to believe that other paragraphs of the Resolution can work according to the same principle. For example, point 1 — non-recognition of Lukashenka as the President. In the meantime, we continue working on the complete blocking of the SDR account of Belarus in the IMF for the regime. And we expect a similar EU approach from the U.S. Recall that Biden’s executive order of August 9 marked the financial sector of Belarus as one of the sectors against which U.S. sanctions can be imposed. We should also remind you that a package of secondary U.S. sanctions is expected to be adopted in December. If the future sanctions list contains the National Bank and the Ministry of Finance of Belarus, any attempt by a third party to exchange the Belarusian SDR for hard currency will be grounds for falling under the secondary sanctions. But let’s not think ahead.

Quotes from the report by the program director of the International Partnership for Human Rights The crimes of the Lukashenka regime have become obvious to the entire international community — and they no longer affect only citizens of Belarus. Bringing the perpetrators to justice is one of the priorities of our work. Simon Papuashvili, Program Director of the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), spoke about how the International Criminal Court (ICC) can help in this regard at the NAM-organized legal conference in Nuremberg. Below are key quotes from his report. "IPHR, Global Diligence, Truth Hounds and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee have asked the ICC prosecutor to investigate the Lukashenka regime’s crimes against humanity." "Belarus is not a member of the Council of Europe or any other mechanism of international justice. Nor is it a party to the ICC, and without a UN Security Council resolution, the ICC is only allowed to investigate and prosecute crimes committed on the territory of ICC member states or their nationals. But in September 2018, the ICC made a precedent — setting exception to this rule — on the situation in Myanmar. If a non-party state to the ICC forces its citizens to flee to the territory of a state party to the organization, it can treat such behavior as a crime against humanity. In the case of Belarus, thousands of civilians were forced to flee to Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Ukraine — countries under the jurisdiction of the ICC." "We fear further violence and bloodshed. The international community must do something to hold the regime accountable. With Russia on the UN Security Council, the only prospect left for international justice is the ICC. We ask for support for our efforts to have the ICC prosecutor investigate the case — that at the very least can help contain the escalation of violence. And support from ICC member states in the form of a referral under the Rome Statute would bring the situation to the forefront and give the ICC an additional incentive to act quickly and decisively."

A referendum in Belarus is scheduled for February 2022. But it is already clear that it will lead to neither real changes, nor to a "direct expression of the will of the citizens. The choice will be between Lukashenka’s system and Lukashenka’s system. Moreover, a referendum in Belarus is impossible now. There is no freedom of speech in the country, but there is terror. There are thousands of political prisoners in Belarus, the largest media outlets are blocked, and journalists are jailed or expelled from the country. The real question for the referendum is "Do you trust Lukashenka and his entourage to determine domestic and foreign policy in our country? Except that on the ballot, both answers will be "Yes." It is not a choice. But we cannot ignore the referendum either. Our silence and inaction is acquiescence to the policies of an illegitimate government. If we turn a blind eye to the referendum, we are playing along with Lukashenka. The only option is to go to the polls. We will make the whole world see that the Belarusians do not want to live under Lukashenka’s regime and still want change. We will not let the illegitimate power commit another crime. The democratic forces have prepared a clear plan of action for the referendum. And we will tell you about it soon — all together.

A national referendum is planned for February 2022. There is no exact date yet, but preparations are in full swing and with violations: the electoral commissions are being formed even before the referendum is announced. According to the *Honest People community, problems began here: people refuse to participate and they want to reduce the number of commission members. It is absolutely clear why people refuse: few want to participate in falsifications. Last year’s experience clearly showed what a "small evil" leads to. However, the situation can be used for the benefit of civil society; therefore we ask honest Belarusians to agree and join election commissions. And be sure to contact the *Honest People community and the Zubr initiative. Are you being asked to be a member of the electoral commission at a referendum? Say yes! They will find a loyal person to take your place, and it will be harder for the Belarusians to find out what is going on inside. Are people you know being asked to be a commissioner? Show them this post. Talk to friends and relatives who work for government agencies. They may be afraid to tell you that they received such an offer. After you give your consent, get in touch with the *Honest People community through account @contact2022. They guarantee anonymity, and no information will be published without your permission. And remember about safety. People are the country’s greatest asset.

The Head of the NAM Pavel Latushka spoke in detail about the instrument of secondary US sanctions, its impact on the banking system of the regime and the fascist economy of Lukashenka as a whole 1) What are secondary US sanctions, how they work and have they already been applied to Belarus. 2) Why do foreign banks close correspondent accounts for Belarusian state banks, what consequences this will lead to, and where does the secondary US sanctions have to do with it? 3) Why did the United States decide to use the secondary sanctions instrument and when is the package of "sanctions for violation of sanctions" expected to be adopted. 4) How the sanctions pressure will affect the income of the regime and how to suppress Lukashenka’s economic fascism. The text version is available here. We also recommend watching:

Recognition of the regime as terrorist and the Ryanair incident, an international tribunal and universal jurisdiction: our action to bring Lukashenka and his accomplices to justice The National Anti-Crisis Management is methodically working to ensure that the Lukashenka regime is not officially recognized internationally, and with it, is recognized as a terrorist organization. Earlier, we explained the difference between illegitimacy — a well-established characteristic of the Belarusian dictatorship — and non-recognition (in case you missed it, it’s easy to correct). Today, we want to talk in detail about the recognition of the dictator and his entourage as terrorists, as well as the prosecution of those responsible for crimes against the Belarusian people in the framework of an international tribunal and universal jurisdiction. What would giving the Belarusians the status of a terrorist regime do? How to prevent the illegitimate authorities from getting away with the situation around the Ryanair plane and the migration crisis? What should be done to initiate an international tribunal against Lukashenka and his accomplices? What is the point of working through universal jurisdiction?

Pavel Latushka on the meeting of Putin and Lukashenka and the integration of Belarus and Russia Firstly. We proceed from the fact that Lukashenka has lost his legitimacy since November 5, 2020, including the adoption of any international legal documents. In this regard, the agreements concluded by Lukashenka on 04.11.2021 with the Russian Federation are legally null and cannot be recognized. Secondly. The source of power in Belarus is only the Belarusian people, who have the right to determine their fate through direct participation in decision-making or through the formation of representative bodies of power. Since there are no legitimate authorities and administration in Belarus, the Belarusian people did not express their will to conclude such agreements. Thirdly. We proceed from the interest of the Belarusian society to maintain exclusively equal relations with all international partners. Fourthly. The Russian Federation is making a strategic mistake by deepening its cooperation with a person who illegally retains power in Belarus, which inevitably worsens the Belarusian society’s assessment of the actions of the Russian authorities to conclude these bilateral agreements. The main principle and unconditional priority for us is the preservation of the sovereignty and independence of Belarus on the basis of the exclusive right of Belarusians to decide their fate.

International Federation of Film Producers Associations FIAPF suspended the accreditation of the film festival "Listapad" due to the fact that "the accreditation of the Minsk festival casts a shadow on other festivals, to which we provide accreditation". The corresponding letters from the president of FIAPF Luis Albert Scalella were received by the Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management Pavel Latushka. This is the result of joint work of the NAM team and the Belarusian Rada of Culture.