The event was held to commemorate Human Rights Day, but also the 37th anniversary of the legendary “Mitterand Breakfast” with dissidents led by Václav Havel, which took place on December 9, 1988 in the then communist Czechoslovakia. It was a crucial symbolic gesture in support of civil society and those who advocate for fundamental freedoms in countries with totalitarian regimes.

The topic of the working breakfast was the human rights situation in Belarus and support for the Belarusian Democratic Forces. During the event, following guest speakers delivered their statements: Vitaliy Malchanau, Representative of the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Estonia and Latvia, Marko Koplimaa, former Estonian special representative at the Belarusian Democratic Forces in Vilnius, and Katrin Kivi, Ambassador-at-large of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Human Rights and Migration. Together with the ambassadors of Lithuania, France, Austria and the Head of the European Commission's representation in Tallinn, they discussed ways to further support the Belarusian democratic opposition in exile.

There are thousands of political prisoners in Belarus and thousands more have been forced to leave their country. Estonia, like Czechia, is very active in supporting the Belarusian democratic opposition. A concrete contribution is the existence of a permanent Estonian representation to the Belarusian Democratic Forces in Vilnius and the already traditional annual conference organized in support of the Belarusian opposition. Exiled opponents of the Lukashenko regime represent one of the best institutionalized exile groups, focusing on supporting dissidents, independent journalism, and a number of other activities, including the preparation of transformative democratic legislation for the future Belarus.