The Viasna Human Rights Centre has published new details about pressure on Volha Brytsikava in Women’s Penal Colony No. 4 in Homiel. Following one dispute with the prison administration, the former trade union leader was given seven days in a punishment cell.

Ahead of the 358th Session of the International Labour Organization, which is due to begin in Geneva on 9 November, the ILO has published a report on Belarus.

Deputy Chair of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) Siarhei Antusevich took part in the Roll Call for Freedom ceremony, held on 30 October at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington to mark the International Day of Political Prisoners.

On 21 October, an off-site court hearing was held at the Minsk State College of Trade and Commerce in a civil case seeking reimbursement of state expenditure on the training of a young specialist.

In September 2026, following another round of talks in Minsk involving US special envoy John Cole, a group of 25 political prisoners were released. All of them were taken to Lithuania.

The Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) has joined a joint statement by a coalition of human rights organisations assessing the continuing political repression in Belarus.

A new report dated 14 September 2026 by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, Nils Muižnieks, gives particular attention to labour relations. The document focuses primarily on women’s rights and gender equality, but a significant part of it addresses employment, pay, workplace discrimination, the situation of independent trade unions and forced labour.

Belarusian political prisoner and activist of the independent REP trade union Vatslau Areshka has become completely blind. This was reported by a relative of the political prisoner who has been informed about his condition in the penal colony.

Siarhei Antusevich, Deputy Chair of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP), took part in the international conference Solidarity Without Borders — Historical Traditions and Contemporary Challenges, held on 30 September in the historic hall of the Gdańsk Shipyard.

Belarusian Interior Minister Ivan Kubrakou has said that workplaces should become one of the priority areas for the security forces’ “preventive” work. He made the statement on 23 September during Interior Ministry command-and-staff exercises in the Homiel region.

A member of the German Bundestag Helge Limburg, who has taken on a symbolic partnership with a Belarusian political prisoner and trade union activist Andrei Paheryla, has once again sent him a letter. In it, the MP wished Andrei a happy birthday and reminded him that he has not been forgotten in Germany.

German television has aired the documentary “Belarus – Geschäfte mit einer Diktatur?” (“Belarus – Doing Business with a Dictatorship?”), examining how European companies continue to do business with Belarus, directly or indirectly, despite the EU’s sanctions policy.

On 7 June, the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) received the George Meany–Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award. This award is one of the most prestigious international trade union honours.

During the 23rd Federal Congress of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) in Berlin, Aliaksandr Yarashuk, Chair of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, and Lizaveta Merliak, Executive Director of Salidarnast e.V., met with representatives of the Iranian Labour Confederation - Abroad (ILC).

From 10 to 13 May, Berlin is hosting the 23rd Ordinary Federal Congress of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) under the slogan “Together we are stronger: good jobs, a strong economy, social protection.” Among the invited guests are Aliaksandr Yarashuk, Chair of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP), and Lizaveta Merliak, Executive Director of Salidarnast e.V.

On 27 April 2026, Ales Bialiatski, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and head of the Viasna Human Rights Centre, met with Inga Ruginienė, Prime Minister of Lithuania. During the meeting, the two sides discussed a broad range of issues related to human rights, political persecution and support for Belarusian civil society.

On March 21, during a visit to Vienna, Aliaksandr Yarashuk, President of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP), met with Korinna Schumann, Austria’s Minister of Labour.

The Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) was among the organisations that signed a statement by a human rights coalition condemning the arbitrary invalidation of the passports of former political prisoners who were forcibly expelled from Belarus after their release.

On 18 March, the International Day of Political Prisoners (also observed as a Day of Support and Solidarity with Political Prisoners), Bremen will host a solidarity action to draw attention to people worldwide who have been deprived of their liberty for political reasons.

The “8+100” forum took place in Brussels, bringing together Belarusian democratic forces and European political parties. At the invitation of the organisers, representatives of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) were also present at the event.