YouSaid · the spoken record

Vladimir Makei

lines on the record: 134
first: 2012-09-24
most recent: 2022-09-24
sittings or episodes: 8
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Accordingly, Belarus advocates and supports pragmatic initiatives within the UN in order to fully realize the potential of the Organization to maintain international peace and security. This year once again, in the General Assembly and the First Committee, we will propose a draft resolution on banning new weapons of mass destruction, which traditionally enjoys the universal support of virtually every Member States of the Organization. We call on all States to co-sponsor and support the draft resolution. In referring once again to the anniversary of the end of the Second World War, I would like to stress our deep conviction as one of the countries that suffered the greatest losses in it.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Dag Hammarskjold, who died on a crisis management mission in a hotspot, believed that only mutually respectful dialogue and honest negotiations among parties to a potential conflict in its early stages could prevent a war from igniting. This is what the world lacks now. We have forgotten what dialogue is, and, even if we do remember, we have forgotten how to use it. I must note that for several years Belarus has been actively calling for the resumption of a broad dialogue on international security, aimed at overcoming the current contradictions in relations among States. Such dialogue would enable a return to building a just and effective global order based on multilateralism.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“In that regard, during the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations (UN) the end of the Second World War, as a founding member of the United Nations, the Republic of Belarus appeals to Member States, particularly the members of the Security Council, to take special responsibility for the Organization’s operations and the implementation of its tasks. In this context, I would also like to recall one of the outstanding historical figures of the United Nations — Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Secretary- General Dag Hammarskjold, whose 115th birthday was commemorated this year. He is considered one of the inspirations and tireless promoters of the concept of preventive diplomacy.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“There will be many more assessments and conclusions, but today we can already say with certainty that the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, on the one hand, revealed the urgent need for a “strong” State and, on the other, clearly showed how interconnected the world is. No country can make real progress in addressing a global issue if others are left behind or on the sidelines. Together we must turn the crisis into an opportunity to improve the world. We must learn to work together. The pandemic has temporarily overshadowed other world problems and conflicts, including those in the area of security, which, unfortunately, are not decreasing.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Unfortunately, it has not been without exploitation, whereby some countries have begun to accuse others of allegedly doing the wrong thing in the fight against the pandemic. That is for the simple reason that the “international community” has not developed a common approach. It is therefore probably not about the pandemic but about something else. In the current situation, the specific national context became the determining factor in the fight against the coronavirus. In Belarus, we chose our own approach. It was based on two components to optimally preserve the viability of the State, primarily its economy, and ensure the maximum protection of the population. Our approach, as the situation in Belarus has shown, paid off. And the situation concerning the spread of the coronavirus disease in the world today fully confirms this.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“The logic that it is easier to cope with the challenge going it alone has obviously prevailed. Virtually everybody returned in droves to their apartments in their countries of origin, closed their borders and stopped contacts with the outside world! In responding to the challenge, Belarus did not follow what it considered to be a dubious path. We did not close down or isolate ourselves. We immediately asked ourselves the question: why have we been promoting globalization and opening ourselves up to one another for the past decades? We initially believed and continue to believe in the success of collective efforts. We relied and continue to rely on the potential of the “international community.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Mr. President, Ladies and gentlemen, For good reason, this is the first time that the high week of the General Assembly’s commemorative session is being held in such an unusual format. Naturally, no speaker can ignore the topic of the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has affected us all. Moreover, the problem will remain with us, at least for the near future. Leading experts and analysts are actively talking about its global consequences and impact on world politics and economy. Many assessments speak of “paradigm shifts” and “tectonic changes”. Perhaps. Time will tell. Unfortunately, the pandemic has made it clear that the “international community” that we all talk about so often has, in fact, failed to live up to our expectations at the peak of the crisis.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We will be able to cross that symbolic boundary if we can succeed in finding the right answers to our existing and emerging challenges on the politics, economy and technology fronts. To that end, it is more crucial than ever that we restore confidence in relations between States at the global and regional levels. We must learn once again how to be good neighbours and solve problems together in our home, our planet. Belarus is ready to continue to contribute in that regard, in every format and on various platforms, including in Minsk. The important thing is that we work to make our world a calmer, fairer and cleaner place and to give our peoples hope for peace and prosperity.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The Climate Action Summit, which was recently held at the United Nations Headquarters, offers hope for consolidating the international community’s efforts and implementing meaningful initiatives to reduce emissions. As a responsible participant in the collective efforts to combat climate change, Belarus intends to make an unconditional commitment to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by a minimum of 35 per cent of its 1990 levels by 2030 and will exclusively use its own resources to do so. Launching an incentivizing mechanism for the transfer of advanced knowledge and technologies to developing countries, along with climate investments, would be a powerful driver for the transition to a low-carbon economy. Today, on the eve of its anniversary, the United Nations and the whole world are facing their next important frontier.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Progress in that direction, along with Belarus’s proposal for a comprehensive dialogue on security, could be an important contribution to overcoming our geopolitical uncertainty. I would like to focus on one more important topic. Against the backdrop of the world’s ever-increasing population and the resulting growth in the exploitation of the Earth’s limited resources, we can see that the problem of climate change is becoming more acute. We are probably very close to a point of no return if we do not take decisive action. The efforts of the international community to reduce emissions are so far clearly lagging behind the devastating processes of climate change.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“That will not only help the countries that our partners in the Eurasian bloc to synchronize watches and share their experiences on issues related to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, it will also enable the Eurasian Economic Union region to speak with its own unique voice in the global debates on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, raise common issues and help to highlight our States’ diversity. As a matter of principle, Belarus believes that regional economic organizations must be actively involved as effectively as possible in efforts to implement the SDGs, in order to help coordinate the economic policies of regional blocs’ member States. That can create a multiplier effect for national economies, which are the backbone of the entire system of regional and global sustainability.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We firmly believe that regional processes must cooperate effectively with one another. Belarus is an actively participant in various regional integration blocs. Moreover, for a number of years we have consistently worked to establish partnerships and cooperation among integrating alliances. In Minsk in 2020, as President of the Eurasian Economic Union, Belarus plans to host its first forum on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Commission.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The language of unilateral coercive measures, which has no place in the United Nations, remains a reality in relations with a number of countries, including freedom-loving Cuba. All of that leads to another acute problem, which is the inequitable nature of economic globalization. In the opinion of many, it has not turned out to be the rising tide that lifts all boats. What actually happens is that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The potential for cooperation between regional economic blocs is not being fulfilled. That issue deserves special attention. Some analysts predict that the future global order will be a world built around regions rather than major Powers. Indeed, life has shown us that wherever regional integration is successful, the chances of political fragmentation diminish.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The global economy has also been affected by the turbulence in today’s world, becoming increasingly feverish as the scope of digital trade and financial flows grows ever greater. Economic cooperation at the regional level is growing and people’s welfare is improving in many parts of the world. Significant regional integration initiatives are being implemented. There are also many problems in this area, however. Political differences between countries are taking the form of protectionism and sanctions. Speculation in financial markets continues. Artificial barriers have been created to prevent a number of countries from joining the World Trade Organization. The world’s leading economies are engaged in a full-scale trade war, which only makes it harder to solve problems and increases the risk of real war.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Digital neutrality would imply that countries would undertake no actions in cyberspace that would be detrimental to other States’ security. Such agreements could ultimately lay the groundwork for developing international rules for responsible conduct in cyberspace. Through these agreements, as President Lukashenko put it, waves of digital security could be launched, strengthening ties between countries and enhancing the effectiveness of concerted action against terrorist threats in cyberspace. Belarus is ready to develop cooperation and strengthen ties in the area of international information security with every country in the world, and especially its neighbours.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“That all speaks to the scale of the threats in that area, and also to how crucial it is that we expand inter-State digital cooperation and improve mutual trust in the information arena. Speaking in Minsk at the Conference of Counter-Terrorism Agencies, President Lukashenko proposed the establishment of a linked digital neighbourhood based on concluding bilateral and multilateral agreements for ensuring international information security. The key elements in the agreements could be the notions of digital sovereignty and neutrality, as well as the non-interference of countries in one another’s information resources. Digital sovereignty should guarantee a State’s ability to control its information space, prevent and block cyberattacks, and reliably protect its critical digital infrastructure.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Belarus firmly condemns such acts, regardless of their perpetrators. The great Albert Einstein once said, very appositely, that “technological progress is ... like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal.” The fact is, we are at the beginning of a long-term global process that people are already calling a technological arms race. The danger is that forces of evil are just as likely to exploit that race as forces of good, and it is our job to do everything possible to ensure that evil has no chance whatever to dominate. In the current context of tensions and growing competition between countries, cyberspace is increasingly becoming an arena of confrontation. We are constantly hearing about destructive hacker attacks.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“But as a Latin saying has it, viam supervadet vadens — that is, to get to the end of the road, one has to keep walking — because, after all, there was a time when treaties banning chemical and biological weapons or reducing nuclear and conventional arsenals also seemed an impossible dream. Every year we hear, including from this rostrum, more and more about the growing role of technology in the modern world. On the one hand, new technologies are emerging that open up unprecedented opportunities for progress in many areas of human life. On the other, there is the risk that technologies and resources could be used for criminal purposes. The recent drone attacks on infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, which only further destabilize the situation in the Middle East and in the Gulf region in particular, are a clear example of that.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We propose starting work on preparing a draft declaration as soon as possible and call on all States on both sides of the Atlantic that care about the fate of humankind to support us in that initiative. The United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe could be suitable platforms for that work. In our view, a key element of the declaration would be clear and firm commitments on the part of States to refraining from producing or deploying intermediate- and short-range missiles on their territory. We realize that implementing this initiative will require political will and a difficult negotiation process.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“At the High-level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States, held on 3 September in Minsk with the theme “Countering terrorism through innovative approaches and the use of new and emerging technologies”, President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus declared that Belarus, as a full- fledged signatory to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, has not withdrawn from it and does not intend to produce or deploy such missiles unless its security threatened. President Lukashenko has called for an initiative to develop a declaration on the part of responsible countries on the non-deployment of intermediate- and short-range missiles in Europe.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“In August, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, one of the pillars of the modern disarmament architecture and a symbol of the end of the Cold War, ceased to function, creating a real danger that the types of missiles it covered, with a flying time of a few minutes, could be deployed in various regions of the world, including Europe. That will inevitably lead to a further increase in tensions and a new spiral of political and military confrontation, making the risk of a nuclear apocalypse more likely. That is why we support immediate concerted action to preserve the Treaty’s achievements in our shared home, the European continent.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“In the past few years, Belarus has been taking concrete steps by actively insisting on the importance of avoiding confrontation and resuming a broad dialogue on key issues of international security. That dialogue would enable all of us, and especially the great Powers, to agree on a path for maintaining peace and finding a concerted response to the ever-growing number of global challenges. The events of recent months have affirmed the rightness of the approach of States such as Belarus that have consistently supported launching a new negotiation process similar to the Helsinki process of the mid-1970s, aimed at stabilizing international relations, strengthening international dialogue and improving predictability.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“I think many will agree that this is not the way that the international community would like to celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations next year. The anniversary summit should give us a powerful incentive to find those answers and above all should help to enhance the role of the United Nations in strengthening peace and security, restoring dialogue and trust and, most importantly, preventing the threat of conflict on a global scale. Belarus urges the world leaders who will gather in this Hall next year to dedicate the meeting to those issues. If the anniversary summit becomes just another protocol event, all of us — the Organization and all its members — will lose. The dreadful spectre of a third world war could become a reality.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Cases involving the implementation of measures that undermine the norms and principles of international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, are increasing and doing serious damage to the multilateral approach. Dozens of local conflicts are tearing the world apart, and many of them have the potential to ignite a new world war. We believe that both ongoing and frozen conflicts should be resolved through dialogue based solely on the fundamental principles of international law, including respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States and for refraining from the use or threat of use of force. We now find ourselves in a situation of dangerous and conflicting realities. It is quite clear that we must find answers to our common challenges before those realities have catastrophic consequences.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The key elements in that approach are ensuring that all States Members of the United Nations, without exception, participate in implementing the measures that we agree to, that all the available political, economic and intellectual resources are mobilized and that given its universal composition and mandate, the United Nations fulfils its role as a leader in uniting and coordinating international efforts. Unfortunately, we are dealing increasingly with the fact that the multilateral mechanisms of the United Nations are either not working or have stalled, becoming hostage to biased approaches, mutual recriminations or excessive ambitions.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We are actively seeking joint solutions to the many challenges facing the international community, such as terrorism, transnational crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking and illegal migration. At the same time, numerous new and emerging risks await the development of adequate and above all timely responses. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the capacities of individual or even groups of States are no longer sufficient to resolve these problems and save the world from disasters, whether military, economic or climatic. Belarus is a State that believes that all of those global challenges require effective joint solutions on a similarly global scale.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
““Never forget” is a summons that has remained one of the most important watchwords of the international community since 1945. There is no question that the memory of the tens of millions of victims of the Second World War, the atrocities committed by the Nazis and their criminal policies of genocide enabled us to agree on a new world order that is still helping us to avoid another world war whose consequences would be disastrous for the entire planet. And yet today, unfortunately, we are closer than ever to crossing that dangerous line. There can be no doubt that issues related to peace and security, sustainable development and climate change are some of the most pressing currently on humankind’s agenda and it is they that are being discussed most actively in international forums.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“I would like to conclude with a fitting quotation from Martin Luther King, Jr., who once said, “Over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: ‘Too late’.” We can still act to make sure that it will not be too late.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Do we really need another major war or global calamity for our currently rudderless world to achieve some order? I am sure that none of us wants any such scenario. Belarus has proposed ways to address our fundamental global problems. We fully realize how audacious and unrealistic the idea of forging a renewed architecture for Eurasian-Atlantic cooperation and security may appear to many at this stage. We are willing to admit that our initial ideas about the outlines and, perhaps, the content of this process may be far from perfect. And it is possible that not everyone is ready to embrace Belarus’s notion of the importance of closer cooperation among regional integration processes. However, what we do firmly believe is that it is high time that we all came together to act urgently for the sake of peace and prosperity.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“How often, during our official meetings and informal consultations, do inconsistent arguments and unanswered questions hang in the air without a response, or simply without being heard? That is why we are absolutely certain that real reform of the United Nations will come only when together we decide to create the necessary conditions — both in terms of organization and setting goals — to use the United Nations as a practical tool for finding ways to resolve contradictions and disputes among Member States without violence or war. We want both the Secretary-General and Member States to attend to this message. History has shown that every world order or system of international relations is always born out of the intolerable agony brought on by a major war or watershed event.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“No ideal composition of the Security Council or perfectly optimized General Assembly agenda will mean anything to the world beyond the East River unless Member States demonstrate a willingness to look for ways to better understand one another and agree more often. Only in the most minimal way does our routine work in the General Assembly, agreeing on the texts of multiple lengthy resolutions, represent dialogue and an effort to understand our opponents. Our various thematic side events provide a platform for dozens of speakers to present their views, and yet they very rarely try to find an answer to the question of what we must do to better understand one another.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“However, the most important part of reform of the United Nations system is not about reviewing the interactions and alignment of its individual bodies or optimizing its personnel and funding. Its most serious, meaningful and far- reaching reform can and must occur in our relationship to the Organization. Today the General Assembly constitutes a unique deliberative forum that is essential to our recognition of both the fragility and the diversity of our world. We, the Member States, need to regain our sense of ownership of our Organization, which has been somewhat lost. The United Nations is not made up just of its Secretariat and its field missions, programmes and funds. First and foremost, it is about its Member States and their will or lack of it, about dialogue and cooperation or alienation.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The new Secretary-General has launched a comprehensive process for reform of the United Nations, and we welcome this undertaking on the whole. We would particularly like to highlight the relevance and importance of his initiatives where the maintenance of international peace and security and the fight against terrorism are concerned. We realize that the degree of success of this transformation will to a large extent determine the role and place of the Organization in the world for many years to come, and we believe that success will come if we all uphold three major principles. First, reform must be transparent, logical and result-oriented. Secondly, it should not lead to more red tape or a greater burden on Member States. Thirdly, reform should be inclusive. Every Member State’s voice must be heard.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“In particular, the question is about how the United Nations fits into a world that is increasingly dominated by various closed clubs and informal entities. We believe that, as it has always done, the United Nations must work to strengthen the system of inter-State relations. It is at the United Nations that its Members can successfully resolve their differences, forge mutually acceptable solutions and tackle transboundary threats. For its part, the United Nations should serve as a unifying force for the international relations system as a whole. In other words, the entire complex network of new dimensions in those relations — closed clubs, informal entities, alliances and others — should be anchored in the United Nations. If that is done, the system we have can function in a coherent, concerted and effective manner.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The Republic of Belarus both participates in and supports that initiative. In our view, “integrating integrations” and One Belt, One Road can help us shift the global economy from a path of divergence to one of convergence. Globalization must become more fair. How can the United Nations help to address the challenges posed by political fragmentation and uneven economic globalization? One of its primary tasks in the previous century was to prevent the great Powers from waging wars among themselves. It succeeded in that task, providing a forum where opposing parties could work towards a positive end. The result was that a third World War did not happen. Today the realities are different, and they require us to reconsider the Organization’s role and place in our world.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“In the past few years, Belarus has been vigorously advocating for cooperation and interconnectivity among regional processes, an approach we call “integrating integrations”. It is based on the assumption that, in terms of structural functionality, today’s world is made up of regions as well as countries. We firmly believe that cooperation among regional integration processes is as essential to their functioning as it is to that of States. And where creative new ideas are concerned, we would like to single out the One Belt, One Road initiative promoted by the People’s Republic of China, which represents a new type of economic multilateralism, one that seeks to bring benefits not only to its individual participants but to the global economy as a whole and is a true win-win approach.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Much has been said in recent years, including from this rostrum, about the economic reasons for this situation, but to put it bluntly, the global economy has not been run according to a win-win formula. It is designed to suit the interests not of ordinary people but of corporate capital. As a result, economic globalization has not been that rising tide that lifts all boats. Nevertheless, there are are some grounds for optimism. We base that on two factors — regional integration and new creative ideas in the global economy. Regional integration is a key feature of today’s world. Where it is successful, it leaves less room for political fragmentation. Belarus has been actively involved in a number of integration processes in its region. This year, for example, we hold the chairmanship of the Central European Initiative.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Some may consider this unrealistic in today’s world, but three years ago the President of the Republic of Belarus’s proposal to send peacekeepers to Ukraine was greeted in exactly the same way, and yet now that idea has been revived and is being actively discussed in the United Nations. Growing globalization, the second of the two trends under discussion, has undoubtedly contributed to progress and economic development worldwide, but it too has its downside. The fact is that the majority of the world’s population has not been able to enjoy its benefits, especially in the past few decades, and as a consequence, we have been unable to eliminate poverty and inequality has steadily risen.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“For its part, the Republic of Belarus is ready to provide the forum for such a dialogue. We are willing to carry out that task with the same responsibility that we have shown over the past few years in the efforts to settle the crisis in Ukraine. Minsk is prepared to be the bridge that can connect the issues of the past with those yet to come. We believe that the agreements that could result from such a dialogue would, in essence, put an end to that last major war. They could subsequently be implemented through the active engagement of the United Nations, and with that, stop the growing political fragmentation in the world in its tracks.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“What seemed obvious and legitimate to some was incomprehensible and illegitimate for others. Basically, all the problems that have accumulated since the early 1990s are the legacy of our inability to bring an end the Cold War once and for all. But it is never too late to do the right thing. Last year, the President of Belarus came up with the idea of launching a new negotiating process similar to the Helsinki process of the 1970s, while, needless to say, keeping in mind the problems and threats that are relevant to us today. We believe that the possibility of expanding and reconsidering that format is worth discussing. We propose that the key global players, particularly China, Russia, the United States of America and the States of the European Union, engage in a dialogue on a strategic vision for new and constructive relations.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The past few decades have been marked by two contradictory trends — increasing political fragmentation and increasing economic globalization. The first of those is associated with the global political instability that has resulted from wars, conflicts, terrorism, xenophobia and other factors and that is giving rise to a feeling of mounting chaos and despair. Why are we in this predicament? Because we did not truly put an end to our last momentous conflict, the Cold War. It did not end with a peace treaty, as had always been the case with previous major wars. As a result, we were left without the generally accepted frameworks that could have guided our subsequent behaviour. The various Powers formed differing interpretations of this state of geopolitical uncertainty and acted accordingly.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“As we look to the future, we would all be well advised to take to heart the words of the great internationalist who lived during the First World War, American President Woodrow Wilson, who said: “The interests of all nations are our own also. We are partners with the rest. What affects mankind is inevitably our affair.””
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“First, we need to look for practical solutions to numerous situations where certain United Nations principles contradict each other. Secondly, there is the problem of negative consequences arising from purportedly benign international activities that are often undertaken under a United Nations mandate. Far too often, those activities seek to advance someone’s political goals, and the sponsors care little for the consequences, including chaos, lawlessness and refugee flows. Iraqi Kurdistan, for instance, stands as a typical example of such egotistical policy when it comes to the issue of refugees. We hope that the issue will be tackled ahead of the next United Nations global summit.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We are convinced that those factors make us a fully responsible stakeholder in the implementation of the future global development agenda. The United Nations should play a special role in implementing the agenda. It is this universal forum where Governments and their partners seek to implement it. We are convinced that the Organization will be able to cope with the task at hand if it successfully adjusts to the constantly emerging realities of life. The issue of the reform and revitalization of the United Nations is as acute as ever, not just in its traditional institutional dimension but also in conceptual terms. As far as the latter is concerned, we believe it necessary to give a serious thought to two problems.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Only such a State can achieve the long-term complex goals arising from the post-2015 United Nations development agenda. A powerful State often frightens people on the grounds that it may potentially abuse its power and harm the people. But let us take us a look at the other side of that coin. How do people feel when they do not have a powerful State, when there is no one to protect them from resulting chaos, lawlessness and excess? I believe that both the people of Belarus and their neighbours can soberly assess arguments like these and draw the right conclusions. It is no wonder, then, that the world community selects stable and internally coherent States like Belarus to serve as a stage for addressing acute international crises. The people of Belarus very much value stability and successful development.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“In the light of the significant and recognized advances we have made at the national level, we propose for the consideration of our partners specific, effective, long- term solutions to those vital issues at the global level. We need to be thinking right now about how we will implement the future agenda. We are certain that it should be carried out through the tool of thematic global partnerships. In this day and age of multiple actors and multiple threats, only effective partnerships among States, international organizations, civil society and the private sector can deliver success in addressing global problems. The State must, of course, remain the central pillar among all other partners. Moreover, what is needed is a powerful and responsible State.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Rising inequality in the world is the biggest scourge. We face a paradox. Having recently made significant progress in strengthening various forms of equality, such as gender, race and ethnic equality, we are seeing a stubborn rise in economic inequality. The international community must do whatever it takes to reverse that trend. Otherwise, we will not eradicate poverty. Climate change is another major challenge. It is inextricably linked to such issues as energy consumption, food security and water resources. We need to fully reflect this complex issue in the future agenda. To be sure, many other sectors must also be represented in this comprehensive document. In that context, Belarus attaches particular importance to the struggle against human trafficking and the strengthening of the institution of the traditional family.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Let us be realistic and acknowledge that we will never solve the world’s problems all at once. Our collective goal must therefore be to reduce the extent of the threat they pose to society through our constant, unswerving attention. It is precisely that attitude that must underpin our collective effort aimed at developing the post-2015 United Nations development agenda. That agenda should be both comprehensive and realistic. Its main goal should be to make globalization more even and equitable than it has been up to now. When people in different countries take to the streets to protest against globalization, they are not calling for a return to parochial nationalism. Rather, they seek a strengthened globalization; they want to make it sustainable and they want it to result in a win-win situation.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Indeed, on the one hand, one or even several countries can easily paralyse the international community in its activities; on the other, no State or group of States, however powerful, can alter the status quo without cooperating with the rest of the world. That is the paradox of globalization. We have become too intertwined and too interdependent. Sadly, the same holds true for global challenges — they too have become intertwined. It is impossible in today’s world to succeed in one area without making headway in others. There is, for instance, no simple solution to the threat of human trafficking unless we effectively tackle the problem of poverty. In short, strategies and policies to counter all contemporary threats will be effective only if they are comprehensive in scope and focus.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The reason why the world is developing is because it is diverse. It is diversity itself that gives rise to healthy competition and creativity, which, in turn, drive human progress. Do we need uniformity and the ensuing trivial, soulless world? Of course we do not. In that regard, I appeal to those who persist in compelling others to do something that they find alien and unpleasant to give up their meaningless and futile policy. It is a road to nowhere. Their efforts only divide us. We have too many problems on our plate that require us to be united. Today, two approaches determine international relations: the ability to effect change and the ability to stand in its way.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)