What Petras spoke about.

Mr President, Madam Commissioner, dear colleagues, there is no single article in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that the Lukashenko regime has not broken. And, again, my appreciation and solidarity go to the Belarusian people, civil society and the democratic opposition, who have endured and continue the heroic struggle for a future democratic Belarus. The Lukashenko regime is in full denial and self-solation, but courted by a neighbour in the east. After refusing cooperation with the European Union, Lukashenko is on his way to fulfil the following threats: to flood the European Union with migrants, drugs and even nuclear waste. For several months now Lithuania, Latvia and Poland have been under massive hybrid attack, as the Lukashenko regime instrumentalises irregular migrants in revenge for the EU sanctions. Dear colleagues, Lukashenko sees no boundaries. His rule and act on behalf of the Belarusian people have no legitimacy. Lukashenko is a former president of Belarus. He has no right to bargain with the sovereignty of Belarus. In addition to the brutal repression against the people of Belarus, Lukashenko commits acts of state terrorism, all of which fall within the definition of universal jurisdiction and require prompt decisions from the international community and the European Union in particular. I call on the European Union to come up with next, effective and regime’s behaviour—changing sanctions to stop Lukashenko’s crackdown on Belarusian people and its hybrid attacks on neighbouring EU Member States. Zhyve Belarus!

Madam President, Mr High Representative, dear colleagues, after 20 years of fighting international and domestic terrorist groups in Afghanistan, the immense efforts to build a state with education and healthcare to everyone were left with prevailing uncertainty and a lasting hope to sustain the achievements so cherished by the Afghan people. Complete withdrawal of NATO and partner countries’ forces, followed by the collapse of Afghan national forces, widespread demoralisation and paralysis of public institutions, left us observing a departing train. We are experiencing the worst-case scenario, which we strongly rejected just two months ago. A high price still to be paid, firstly, by the Afghan people and their vanished prospects of a better future. Despite all this, multiple voices advocating for a different future for Afghanistan remain. They speak as women, courageously protesting in different cities around the country, journalists continuing work despite arrests and violence, resistance fighters in the Panjshir Valley determined to sacrifice their lives. We have to admit that the peace talks only led towards institutionalisation and strengthening of the Taliban. It did not bring long-awaited stability and security for the Afghan people at large. Today, our strategy for Afghanistan is to protect Afghans and our joint achievements. We have to secure lives of Afghan change-makers and civil activists, and to save millions facing poverty and famine. We must demand that the Taliban ensure the basic rights, in particular of women and girls, and we need to build solidarity among the Member States to welcome the Afghan asylum seekers. Just like you, I am convinced that Afghanistan should not be led by radical mullahs but by educated, open-minded Afghans, who are oriented towards a common good.

Mr President, Madam Commissioner, colleagues, the city of Hong Kong, which once was the most free and admired economic centre in Asia, attracting professionals and investments from the European Union, is being turned into yet another authoritarian dominion of the Chinese Communist Party. A year ago, we warned for good reason, the Chinese Government against the national security law, which violates the autonomy of Hong Kong. Hong Kongers are losing their long-enjoyed civil and political rights. They are deprived of freedom of speech and assembly, and with the closure of Apple Daily, they no longer have any independent and reliable media. The Communist Party’s control over free elections and independent judiciary is also growing. The European Union must support pro-democracy activism in Hong Kong as we believe in human rights and democracy.

Madam President, in defence and protection of human rights worldwide, we must employ the full range of instruments to prevent and eradicate the causes of human rights violations. It is time to add corruption to the list of crimes sanctioned by the European Union’s Magnitsky Act. It is not right that the sanctions regime called after Sergei Magnitsky cannot be applied to Putin’s cronies who are misappropriating public funds and depriving the Russian people of quality state services and a dignified life. Corruption crimes constitute a significant part of human rights violations. It can be illustrated by the cases of collapsed school buildings or maternal deaths due to embezzled public funds. It is a far—reaching disease, from the Gupta family’s crimes in South Africa to high—ranking officials’ collaboration with drug cartels in Latin America, which can be contained only by showing that there will be dire consequences. It’s not a choice. It’s a must.