The call came as the organisation held its first event at its Information Point for Belarusians in Vilnius, Lithuania, yesterday, marking the World Day Against the Death Penalty, observed on 10 October.

Belarus is the only country in Europe that still carries out executions. The Council of Europe has repeatedly opposed capital punishment in all circumstances.

The Vilnius event brought together Council of Europe experts, diplomats and representatives of Belarusian civil society to discuss abolition. It forms part of the organisation’s work with Belarusian democratic forces and civil society, following the establishment of the Information Point in May 2026.

A new website exploring the history of the death penalty in Minsk was launched at the event. It offers a virtual tour of locations associated with capital punishment in the Belarusian capital during the 20th and 21st centuries.

Yuliya Ralko of the Belarusian National Youth Council (RADA) said: “The idea of this website came from the young participants of a workshop organised by the Council of Europe and RADA in May 2024 in Vilnius, as part of the Contact Group’s activities. We are very pleased to see this idea become a reality.”

The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers adopted a decision on the death penalty on 7 October, condemning Belarus’s use of capital offences added to its criminal code in 2022 and 2023 to impose death sentences. It called on the Belarusian authorities to suspend all executions pending abolition and to apply alternative punishments already available under domestic law.

The committee also welcomed a memorandum on abolishing the death penalty adopted by Belarusian democratic forces in June 2025.

In a joint statement ahead of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas reiterated their opposition to capital punishment in all cases and circumstances.