MINSK, 27 September (BelTA) - The West should be a leader in the process of change, not a source of threats and losses, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxim Ryzhenkov said as he addressed the plenary meeting of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on 27 September, BelTA has learned.
The minister noted that a quarter of a century has already passed since some of the greatest hopes and promises in UN history were voiced from the rostrum of the General Assembly.
“Yes, a full 25 years now separate us from the memorable Millennium Summit, where the Millennium Development Goals were adopted. Back then, it seemed that with the dawn of the new millennium, we were entering a new era—a benevolent globalization and universal prosperity. And where do we find ourselves a quarter of a century later? On one hand, we have become even more interconnected and interdependent. This is thanks to technological development, which constantly reshapes the concepts of time and space. But on the other hand, multiple fault lines have emerged, completely negating all the positive aspects,” Maxim Ryzhenkov noted.
He cited a number of telling figures. In 2000, there were approximately 50 million forcibly displaced people worldwide; today, that number has exceeded 120 million. Over a billion people on the planet live in multidimensional poverty. Conflicts in Ukraine, Palestine, and Syria. Post-war trauma in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and several other countries, which prevents the peoples of these nations from firmly embarking on a path to recovery.
“Large-scale military actions against sovereign countries are outside any legal framework. Trillions of dollars spent on reckless militarization. This is what we have achieved over these 25 years, instead of the hopes we had. Just consider the six and a half decades of economic blockade against Cuba, which has now been completely unjustly designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. In the same vein goes the narrative about an alleged narcotics threat from Venezuela, which is entirely unfounded and unacceptable. Is this the outcome the UN has been striving for over the past 25 years?” the minister emphasized.
The minister noted that a quarter of a century has already passed since some of the greatest hopes and promises in UN history were voiced from the rostrum of the General Assembly.
“Yes, a full 25 years now separate us from the memorable Millennium Summit, where the Millennium Development Goals were adopted. Back then, it seemed that with the dawn of the new millennium, we were entering a new era—a benevolent globalization and universal prosperity. And where do we find ourselves a quarter of a century later? On one hand, we have become even more interconnected and interdependent. This is thanks to technological development, which constantly reshapes the concepts of time and space. But on the other hand, multiple fault lines have emerged, completely negating all the positive aspects,” Maxim Ryzhenkov noted.
He cited a number of telling figures. In 2000, there were approximately 50 million forcibly displaced people worldwide; today, that number has exceeded 120 million. Over a billion people on the planet live in multidimensional poverty. Conflicts in Ukraine, Palestine, and Syria. Post-war trauma in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and several other countries, which prevents the peoples of these nations from firmly embarking on a path to recovery.
“Large-scale military actions against sovereign countries are outside any legal framework. Trillions of dollars spent on reckless militarization. This is what we have achieved over these 25 years, instead of the hopes we had. Just consider the six and a half decades of economic blockade against Cuba, which has now been completely unjustly designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. In the same vein goes the narrative about an alleged narcotics threat from Venezuela, which is entirely unfounded and unacceptable. Is this the outcome the UN has been striving for over the past 25 years?” the minister emphasized.
The head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry then questioned why these expectations and hopes from the beginning of the millennium had not been fulfilled. In this regard, he noted that the words spoken by the Belarusian president at that memorable Millennium Summit had proven prophetic: “For many centuries, a small group of states decided the destinies of the world, viewing other nations and peoples as a disenfranchised mass.”
“The past quarter of a century has shown that many in the West have been unable to abandon their centuries-old mentality. Consequently, the West has become not a leader in the process of change, but a source of threats and losses. Certain Western elites, accustomed to living for centuries at the expense of others, still exhibit a modernized, yet colonial, inertia of thinking. It is unsurprising that even today, they continue to display the arrogance and power towards developing countries that was characteristic of colonial times,” the minister said.
Therefore, he pointed out, over the past quarter-century, the West has not engaged in collective efforts to address development issues but has instead pursued the imposition of “democracy” and the “weaponization” of the economy. This policy has spawned numerous wars, chaos, millions of refugees, created barriers in international trade, undermined global food security, and entrenched poverty, hunger, and inequality.
“The international organizations, primarily the UN and the World Trade Organization, have been sidelined. This is precisely why, as a response to these negative trends, the idea of regionalization is gaining popularity, and cooperation mechanisms not associated with Western countries such as BRICS, the SCO, ASEAN, the CIS, the EAEU, the Arab League, and the African Union are growing and strengthening. These structures reflect the interests of the Global Majority, operating on the principles of mutual respect, equality, and consensus, rather than domination and plunder. They essentially shape a fair multipolar economic architecture for development. It is entirely logical that the timely initiative from Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding global governance has emerged, and Belarus fully supports it,” the Belarusian top diplomat concluded.
“The past quarter of a century has shown that many in the West have been unable to abandon their centuries-old mentality. Consequently, the West has become not a leader in the process of change, but a source of threats and losses. Certain Western elites, accustomed to living for centuries at the expense of others, still exhibit a modernized, yet colonial, inertia of thinking. It is unsurprising that even today, they continue to display the arrogance and power towards developing countries that was characteristic of colonial times,” the minister said.
Therefore, he pointed out, over the past quarter-century, the West has not engaged in collective efforts to address development issues but has instead pursued the imposition of “democracy” and the “weaponization” of the economy. This policy has spawned numerous wars, chaos, millions of refugees, created barriers in international trade, undermined global food security, and entrenched poverty, hunger, and inequality.
“The international organizations, primarily the UN and the World Trade Organization, have been sidelined. This is precisely why, as a response to these negative trends, the idea of regionalization is gaining popularity, and cooperation mechanisms not associated with Western countries such as BRICS, the SCO, ASEAN, the CIS, the EAEU, the Arab League, and the African Union are growing and strengthening. These structures reflect the interests of the Global Majority, operating on the principles of mutual respect, equality, and consensus, rather than domination and plunder. They essentially shape a fair multipolar economic architecture for development. It is entirely logical that the timely initiative from Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding global governance has emerged, and Belarus fully supports it,” the Belarusian top diplomat concluded.
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