MINSKб 20 September (BelTA) - Belarus is interested in cooperating with the UN Human Rights Council, but on the basis of an equal and mutually respectful dialogue, Permanent Representative of Belarus to the UN Office in Geneva Larisa Belskaya said during a discussion at the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council on 19 September, BelTA learned.
First of all, Larisa Belskaya pointed out that Belarus does not recognize all country-specific mandates established in the Human Rights Council at the initiative of a group of countries with regard to Belarus.
"Neither the so-called group of experts nor the special rapporteur can be considered as mechanisms of international human rights cooperation, the development of which the Council should be engaged in. The purpose of these entities is the methodical discrediting of my country to justify and legitimize the policy of political pressure and economic sanctions that the European Union and a number of other countries are pursuing against Belarus, in line with their geopolitical objectives," the diplomat emphasized.
According to her, the documents fabricated by the group, the so-called reports, are an irresponsible compilation of fabrications and manipulations of facts, commissioned and biased assessments that require exorbitant expenses to produce and disseminate.
"These mechanisms do not represent the voice of the Belarusian people, but rather serve as the voice of those countries that annually fund this spectacle at the Council and pay for so-called investigations. The methods of pressure and sanctions that a group of Western countries has been attempting to apply against Belarus for 30 years are not working. I call upon the initiators of the country-specific mandate for human rights in Belarus at the UNHRC to stop adding fuel to the fire of confrontation and fruitless polemics, which annually consumes UN resources and the resources of your countries, instead of directing them toward addressing the real problems of people in need," Larisa Belskaya stated.
She emphasized that for the people of Belarus, sovereignty and independence hold absolute value. "We insist on our right, protected by the UN Charter, to independently determine the development path of the Belarusian state and shape its foreign and domestic policies. Belarus has been and remains a responsible member of the international community. We are interested in engaging in interstate dialogue and dialogue with human rights organizations. We are capable of handling justified criticism in a constructive way and working towards the maximum realization of international human rights standards within universally agreed approaches, rather than arbitrary interpretations of a 'rules-based order'," the Belarusian diplomat stated.
“Despite the persistent imbalances in the UNHRC's work favoring non-consensual country-specific mechanisms, we believe that the HRC has a constructive potential, and member states are interested in cooperating on the basis of equal and mutually respectful dialogue - without politicization, without attempts to impose a single narrow template on all countries that disregards national contexts. Any other approach undermines multilateralism and will expand the practice of non-cooperation by governments with the mechanisms that are inherently politically motivated, designed for pressure, and essentially parasitic on human rights," the diplomat said.
Larisa Belskaya noted that for several years now, the majority of non-Western countries have refrained from participating in this kind of session. In other words, the monologue by the group and its founders demonstrates the futility of such a format for the Human Rights Council.
First of all, Larisa Belskaya pointed out that Belarus does not recognize all country-specific mandates established in the Human Rights Council at the initiative of a group of countries with regard to Belarus.
"Neither the so-called group of experts nor the special rapporteur can be considered as mechanisms of international human rights cooperation, the development of which the Council should be engaged in. The purpose of these entities is the methodical discrediting of my country to justify and legitimize the policy of political pressure and economic sanctions that the European Union and a number of other countries are pursuing against Belarus, in line with their geopolitical objectives," the diplomat emphasized.
According to her, the documents fabricated by the group, the so-called reports, are an irresponsible compilation of fabrications and manipulations of facts, commissioned and biased assessments that require exorbitant expenses to produce and disseminate.
"These mechanisms do not represent the voice of the Belarusian people, but rather serve as the voice of those countries that annually fund this spectacle at the Council and pay for so-called investigations. The methods of pressure and sanctions that a group of Western countries has been attempting to apply against Belarus for 30 years are not working. I call upon the initiators of the country-specific mandate for human rights in Belarus at the UNHRC to stop adding fuel to the fire of confrontation and fruitless polemics, which annually consumes UN resources and the resources of your countries, instead of directing them toward addressing the real problems of people in need," Larisa Belskaya stated.
She emphasized that for the people of Belarus, sovereignty and independence hold absolute value. "We insist on our right, protected by the UN Charter, to independently determine the development path of the Belarusian state and shape its foreign and domestic policies. Belarus has been and remains a responsible member of the international community. We are interested in engaging in interstate dialogue and dialogue with human rights organizations. We are capable of handling justified criticism in a constructive way and working towards the maximum realization of international human rights standards within universally agreed approaches, rather than arbitrary interpretations of a 'rules-based order'," the Belarusian diplomat stated.
“Despite the persistent imbalances in the UNHRC's work favoring non-consensual country-specific mechanisms, we believe that the HRC has a constructive potential, and member states are interested in cooperating on the basis of equal and mutually respectful dialogue - without politicization, without attempts to impose a single narrow template on all countries that disregards national contexts. Any other approach undermines multilateralism and will expand the practice of non-cooperation by governments with the mechanisms that are inherently politically motivated, designed for pressure, and essentially parasitic on human rights," the diplomat said.
Larisa Belskaya noted that for several years now, the majority of non-Western countries have refrained from participating in this kind of session. In other words, the monologue by the group and its founders demonstrates the futility of such a format for the Human Rights Council.
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