On December 2, 2021, the United States, the EU, the UK, and Canada announced a new round of coordinated sanctions in response to their concerns regarding the Belarusian government’s continued undermining of democracy, its violations of human rights, and its alleged orchestration of irregular migration into the EU. The latest sanctions include blocking sanctions and asset freezes, as well as new restrictions on US persons dealing in Belarusian sovereign debt.

For more information on earlier US, UK, and Canadian sanctions related to Belarus, see our August 13, 2021, blog post and April 19, 2021, blog post.Continue Reading Coordinated Sanctions Further Align Transatlantic Policies on Belarus

On August 9, 2021, the United States, United Kingdom and Canada announced further coordinated sanctions to mark one year since the allegedly fraudulent 2020 Belarusian presidential election in response to the continued undermining of democracy and human rights violations by the Lukashenko regime.  The new sanctions follow the imposition by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and Canada, on June 21, 2021, of targeted financial sanctions against dozens of individuals and entities as well as EU sectoral-style sanctions against certain sectors of the Belarusian economy, as discussed in our June 28, 2021 blog post.
Continue Reading US, UK and Canada Announce Additional Sanctions on Belarus

On June 21, 2021, the United States, the EU, the UK, and Canada announced coordinated sanctions following the forced and unlawful landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk and the detention by Belarusian authorities of journalist Raman Pratasevich and Sofia Sapega, in May 2021. The sanctions include new EU sectoral-style sanctions against certain sectors of the Belarusian economy, as well as targeted financial sanctions against dozens of individuals and entities in connection with alleged human rights violations and the violent repression of civil society, democratic opposition, and journalists in Belarus.

The new sanctions follow the reactivation, on June 3, 2021, of longstanding sanctions against nine Belarussian companies and their subsidiaries by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), as discussed in our April 20, 2021 blog post.Continue Reading Belarus Faces New EU, US, UK, and Canadian Sanctions After Ryanair Flight Diverted