Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus A.Dapkiunas participates in the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva

27-02-2019

On February 26, 2019 the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Andrei Dapkiunas, addressed the opening of the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The Deputy Minister pointed out alarming trends in international relations, which increasingly limit the ability of states to ensure everyone’s right to life and the right to a decent life. According to Belarus, these include trade, information and hybrid wars, armed conflicts and terrorism.

In the light of these challenges, A.Dapkiunas focused the attention of the Council on the relevance of the initiative of the President of the Republic of Belarus to launch a new comprehensive global security dialogue.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs noted with regret that the Human Rights Council in fact mirrors the trends of degradation of the international law system and serves as a platform for unwinding new crises and legitimizing violent actions against sovereign states.

In this regard, the head of the Belarusian delegation stated the need to reorganize the Council so that it could keep up with the demands of the time, including protecting social and economic rights and assisting states to achieve sustainable development goals.

Background Information: The Human Rights Council (HRC) is an intergovernmental body in the UN system, which responsible for the promotion of universal respect for and protection of all human rights throughout the world and for dealing with situations of violation of human rights. The main session of the HRC in its format and coverage of issues considered in terms of human rights is comparable to the session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Belarus is an observer in the HRC.

The high-level segment of the 40th session of the HRC is attended by presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers and their deputies from 100 states as well as the heads of international organizations, including the UN Secretary General.

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