The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will establish an expert mission to examine the human rights situation in Belarus after a request by the United States and 37 other countries, the U.S. State Department said on March 23. "The expert mission will have a mandate to assess Belarus's adherence to its OSCE commitments and how the Lukashenka regime's actions may have adversely affected Belarus's civil society, press freedoms, the rule of law, and the ability of democratic processes and institutions to function," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said in a statement.
OSCE To Examine Human Rights Situation In Belarus
Belarus's authoritarian ruler, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, was declared the winner of an August 2020 presidential election despite allegations of widespread voter fraud.