(University of Oregon School of Law, 2022-05-04) Zhang, Xiaoyang
In 2020, Alexander Lukashenko was reelected as president of Belarus. Outcry by local protesters that the election was not a fair one has arguably been crushed by Belarus’s law enforcement agency. Lukashenko was, therefore, declared persona non grata in the international sphere, principally by the European Union (EU), three Baltic states, the United Kingdom (U.K.), and Canada, all of which have created their global human rights sanctions framework in the context of the United States-campaigned Magnitsky mechanism. Referencing the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as a noteworthy piece of public international law, this Article argues that the term persona non grata is incorrectly used to describe Lukashenko’s case. Sanctioning Lukashenko lacks a causal link with conventional diplomacy. Due process is the only effective means of preempting this case from coming under the spotlight of public interest and human rights debates that are affected by geopolitical considerations.
