Belarus' FM presented plan on how UN can be strengthened

The United Nations should be the voice of states and should not be blurred by various non-state structures. After all, it is the member states that make decisions in the organisation that affect the fate of all people on the planet, and they are fully responsible for their implementation. In his speech at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov voiced Belarus’ proposal to strengthen the UN foundations.

Photo: video screenshot

Point One

The UN must free itself from the dictates of certain states that demonstrate permissiveness and exclusivity.

“The UN means all of us. The staff of the Secretariat should remember that, by becoming the UN employees, they start working in the interests of the entire organisation, and not just to please the countries of their citizenship. Therefore, they should be objective, impartial and independent," Mr. Ryzhenkov stressed.

Point Two

The UN should work in support of regional processes, since regionalism is a key reality of today.

“We are witnessing the constant strengthening of regional integration processes in various parts of the world. Associations of the countries of the Global Majority are gaining momentum in their activities: these are BRICS, SCO, CIS, EAEU, African Union, ASEAN, and many others. The UN needs to ‘integrate’ into these processes, contributing to their development and interaction,” Belarus’ Foreign Minister said.

Point Three

Last year, Western countries staged a dirty campaign to prevent Belarus from being elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

In this regard, Mr. Ryzhenkov recalled, “They were so afraid of our honest voice in this body. However, even outside the Council, we will speak out directly and openly on the entire spectrum of world problems. Moreover, we will continue to insist on a fair reform of the Security Council, because the voice of the countries of the Global Majority in the Council is our voice as well. Therefore, we believe that the urgent need of the day is the reform of the UN Security Council at the expense of large developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. These countries are at the forefront of major global problems. They know better than others how to resolve wars and conflicts in the developing world. Moreover, their weight in world affairs is much greater today than it was 80 years ago.”

Point Four

The UN should say its principled word on the unacceptability of unilateral measures.

The diplomat explained, “We have the right to expect serious and objective assessments from the organisation on the negative impact of sanctions on the processes of sustainable development, which we all care about so much. Moreover, we consider it necessary to put the work in the UN on countering illegal sanctions on a systematic basis. All such cases should be given a principled objective assessment.”

Point Five

It is necessary to use the UN as a platform for effectively addressing the ever-increasing transnational threats.

“Belarus has always been committed to a collective approach to solving common global problems – such as migration, pandemics, natural disasters, human trafficking, famine, and many others. There is a timer outside this hall, which accurately counts the money spent on weapons in real time. The figure reaches trillions of Dollars, but we are talking only of the sum that the UN knows. Let the countries of the ‘golden billion’ direct these funds not to unleash and fuel new wars and conflicts, but to solve vital human problems. In this case, many global issues will be immediately settled. The UN would receive much-needed resources for development, and the world would finally see the desire of those who call themselves hegemons to be responsible for solving, rather than creating, global problems," Belarus’ Foreign Minister stated.