Lukashenko: UN turning into organisation that operates on the ‘whatever you want’ principle
The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has been reported today by Permanent Representative of Belarus to the UN Valentin Rybakov. The Head of State first of all asked what the UN is like today, what are its prospects in general and what should we do in it.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted, “Of course, we – as one of the UN founding countries – cannot look with calm at what is happening there. We discussed this issue with the President of Russia. As far as the UN Secretariat is concerned, it’s a working body that has already begun to work in terms of giving some preferences for one or two states, or the West, or the East. That is, the UN is turning into such an organisation that is operating on the ‘whatever you like’ principle and depends more on large states. This is not normal.”
The President drew attention to the pressure that large states are exerting on the UN, and cited the Russia-Africa Summit taking place these days in St. Petersburg as an example, “Terrible pressure from the Americans and Europeans is put [on African countries]. The result is clear. It is not normal. The question arises: what to do? I would like to hear your point of view. As far as our representation is concerned, I’d like to know whether it is formally present there and what it can do. So that we understand how to act. For example, if the Western states refused to actually liaise with us, well, today we are transferring diplomats to those areas where we need to work, where we need to strengthen the overall situation. Maybe, we should do the same to the UN and treat it the way we treat Western states?”
Valentin Rybakov, in turn, noted that the UN is not just some kind of building. It consists of 193 countries, “Belarus, as one of the UN founders, is actively working in it. In fact, criticism of the UN began from the moment of its creation. There’re grounds to criticise it, as there’re reasons to criticise the UN Secretariat. But we do not work primarily with international officials. We work with the states that are represented in this organisation.”
Co-operation with the UN is the most important vector of Belarus’ foreign policy. Our country has become one of the founding countries of the organisation and has taken an active position in it from the very first days of its membership. During the period of its independence, Belarus has made a range of important proposals on forming a partnership to combat human trafficking, recognising the diversity of ways of progressive development, supporting traditional family values, banning new types of weapons of mass destruction, creating a digital neighbourhood belt, etc. The initiative of the Belarusian leader on the need to start a broader international dialogue to restore confidence and strengthen security in the spirit of San Francisco, with which the Head of State addressed the leaders of countries and governments in May 2022, is being promoted.
Belarus actively speaks at the UN rostrum against unilateral coercive measures, being a member of the Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter.
Moreover, Minsk has created a national architecture for the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is positioned by the UN as a unique platform for working at the national level to promote the SDGs. An important stage in the further advancement of national efforts in sustainable development will be Belarus’ participation at the level of the national co-ordinator in the SDG Summit, which will be held on September 18th-19th this year at the UN headquarters.
