Third day of the visit of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus A.Dapkiunas to the UN Headquarters

04-04-2019

On April 3, 2019 during his visit to the UN Headquarters in New York, the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Belarus, Andrei Dapkiunas, took part in a side-event entitled “Policy Options for Low Fertility and Aging: Choices and Prosperity” organized by Belarus together with Bulgaria, Tunisia, Japan, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

The Deputy Head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry briefed participants on the main directions of the national demographic policy on solving key demographic challenges such as population aging and low fertility.

The Deputy Minister drew attention to the tremendous efforts that are being made in the country to support families with children and stimulate fertility. A.Dapkiunas stressed that the President of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, pays special attention to this topic, noting that by a decision of the Head of State a process of adjusting the state demographic policy until 2020 was initiated with a focus on supporting families with children.

The Deputy Minister noted that today every seventh Belarusian is over 65 years old. A.Dapkiunas informed that in order to timely adapt to this demographic phenomena in Belarus an Active Longevity Strategy is being developed. The Strategy is designed to improve the quality of life of older people and also to allow them to be effectively involved in society.

On the margins of the 52nd session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development (CPD), the Deputy Minister also met with the Director of the UNFPA Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Alanna Armitage.

On the same day, Deputy Minister took part in a thematic event dedicated to the World Autism Awareness Day, organized at the UN Headquarters on initiative of Belarus, Bangladesh, India, Italy, Qatar, Oman, Republic of Korea, and U.S. in cooperation with international non-governmental organization «Autism Speaks».

The event was attended by the Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, Maria Spatolisano, representatives of World Health Organization, UNICEF, as well as specialized NGOs.

In his speech, the Deputy Minister noted the urgency of the problem of autism in the world. A.Dapkiunas stressed the need for targeted and comprehensive support for families raising children with autism as a key element in building a truly inclusive society.

Deputy Minister noted the necessity to strengthen partnerships with specialized NGOs assisting in adaptation and integration of children with autism into society as an important aspect of work. In this context, A.Dapkiunas drew the attention of the participants of the event to the joint project of the Belarusian organization “Children. Autism. Parents” and “Aleksandra Gerasimenya’s Swimming Club”, focused on the creation of inclusive groups for teaching kids with autism to swim. The Belarusian diplomat called on interested parties to support this project.

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