PRIORITIES OF BELARUS AT THE 72ND SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
31.07.2017 г.
At the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly the delegation of Belarus will promote the following priorities.
As the President of Belarus has stated on a number of occasions, Belarus sees the need to launch a new global peace-making process, similar to the Helsinki process undertaken in the 1970s, with the view to arriving at arrangements for building a fairer and better world order. Belarus stands ready to host relevant high-level and expert negotiations.
In the context of the Agenda 2030 Belarus will continue to implement the SDGs and to facilitate their realization across the region and around the world. As part of these efforts, Belarus considers the possibility of hosting a regional forum of National SDGs Coordination Leaders in order to deliberate and promote new ideas and initiatives on better coordination of SDGs’ implementation
Belarus will attach particular significance to the need to strengthen cooperation of the UN development system with middle-income countries (MICs). In this regard Belarus sees the value in developing a comprehensive UN system-wide long-term strategy aimed at facilitating sustainable development cooperation and coordinated support towards MICs as well as a more adequate and refined classification for this category of countries, going beyond the per capita income criteria. Belarus will actively work with interested partners to reflect these proposals in the resolution “Development cooperation with middle-income countries”.
Belarus will actively participate in repositioning the UN development system towards greater transparency, accountability, and full compliance with national needs and priorities of recipient countries.
Belarus will highlight and advocate wider acknowledgement of strong relationship and interdependence between sustainable development, peace, security and disarmament.
Belarus will continue to give priority attention to the issue of fighting human trafficking in its various forms and manifestations, including in the context of the UN General Assembly high-level meeting on the implementation of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons (September 27-28, 2017).
Belarus will advocate greater attention to some particularly acute emerging threats and challenges posed to sustainable development. In this regard Belarus will look forward to engaging with all interested parties on the following two phenomena:
m cyber crime and information threats;
m artificial intelligence.
Belarus will promote the idea of providing proper support and protection to language professionals working in the high-risk settings.
Belarus will continue to advocate a pattern whereby human rights issues in each and every country should be addressed by facilitating genuine and constructive dialogue and giving due attention to national priorities and capacity-building needs of Member States.
Belarus will vehemently oppose all country-specific human rights resolutions in the Third Committee, because, in our strong belief, such tools serve to politicize rather than protect and promote human rights.
Together with partners, Belarus will continue promoting the Group of Friends mentality and mode of action, with a special focus on the work of the following groups:
m Group of Friends United against Human Trafficking;
m Group of Friends of the Family;
m Like-Minded Countries Supporters of Middle Income Countries;
m Group of Friends of Sustainable Industrial Development.
On the margins of the forthcoming General Assembly session Belarus in partnership with interested countries will consider holding the following side-events:
m thematic panel discussion on fighting human trafficking for the purpose of child pornography;
m thematic panel discussion dedicated to protection of language professionals working in the high-risk settings;
m thematic event on various aspects of landmines destruction and interconnection between disarmament and development.
Belarus will sponsor the following UN General Assembly draft resolutions and will work with all Member States for their adoption by consensus. Belarus invites all interested countries to co-sponsor them:
m “Prohibition of the development and manufacture of new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons: report of the Conference on Disarmament” (First Committee);
m “Improving the coordination of efforts to combat trafficking in persons”. (Third Committee).
