MINSK, 7 September (BelTA) - The steps of Western countries to destabilize the situation in Belarus by imposing new economic sanctions undermine the foundations of international law, Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova said as she addressed the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament “Parliamentary leadership for more effective multilateralism that delivers peace and sustainable development for the people and planet”, BelTA learned from the press service of the Council of the Republic.
“Amid the pandemic, the rules of the game on the world political arena are being sharply and harshly changed, the architecture of international security established after World War II is being destroyed. The basic geopolitical agreements are not implemented, and the policy of force and aggression is increasingly dominating in international affairs. We experienced it in full force after the presidential election in 2020. Today Belarus has to withstand the blatant economic and political pressure and purposeful interference in internal affairs. It is obvious that not everybody in the world is satisfied with stability and peace in Belarus, with the peace-loving foreign policy of our state, with the status of the European security donor and the negotiation venue, including the Normandy Four. The actions of Western countries, aimed primarily at destabilizing the situation in Belarus by imposing new economic sanctions, undermine the foundations of international law and threaten international peace and sustainable development not only of Belarus, but also of the region as a whole,” the speaker said.
Natalya Kochanova stated that Belarusian MPs repeatedly addressed their Western counterparts to call on their governments to observe the international law with regard to Belarus. In July 2020, senators and deputies of all levels – 18,000 people - appealed to the international community to oppose the unreasonable, counterproductive and discriminatory policy against the Belarusian state and its people, to show solidarity with us in defending the right to a peaceful life, to return to a responsible and fruitful cooperation for the benefit of all countries.
“Belarus calls to search for ways to ease geopolitical tensions and strengthen international security. In this regard, I would like to draw the attention of all conference participants to the initiative put forward by the Belarusian head of state on the need to launch a global dialogue on security. A number of high-level international events have been held in Minsk to promote this initiative. The fight against international terrorism, including in cyberspace, is a priority in the context of countering new challenges,” the chairperson of the Council of the Republic said.
The internet is the most important element of modern life. Its rapid development opens up ample opportunities for progress. At the same time, the technology is also used for criminal purposes - in information and hybrid wars, disinformation campaigns and hate speech. The Republic of Belarus fully experienced this during last year's presidential election and the coup attempt. However, we survived thanks to the political will and courage of the Belarusian president, the consolidation of a significant part of the Belarusian society around him and sovereignty."
According to Natalya Kochanova, there is an urgent need to develop, under the auspices of the United Nations, coordinated international approaches to regulating the internet. MPs and the Inter-Parliamentary Union should have their say on this issue.
"In this context, I would like to draw attention to another international initiative of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko - ‘a belt of digital good-neighborliness'. I urge my colleagues to join it by signing agreements on international information security based on respect for digital sovereignty and neutrality, non-interference of countries in each other's information resources. Development of a clear international legal framework in the field of information security will contribute, among other things, to the efforts to counter disinformation and hate speech on the internet and real life. Such innovations have already been incorporated in the Belarusian national legislation. We have outlined measures to protect the national media space, drawn up a list of types of information, the dissemination of which is prohibited, improved the approaches to state registration and re-registration of mass media outlets," the speaker said.
She also noted that the pandemic and the fight against new challenges and threats should not disrupt work towards the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.In 2020 Belarus improved its standing in the global Sustainable Development Goals Index (SDG Index). The country moved from the 23rd position to the 18th one among 166 countries.
"Sustainable recovery from the pandemic will largely depend on international cooperation and solidarity, and, above all, on a fair, open and transparent world trading system without economic sanctions, pressure and interference in internal affairs," Natalya Kochanova summed up.
The Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament “Parliamentary leadership for more effective multilateralism that delivers peace and sustainable development for the people and planet” is running in Vienna on 7-8 September under the aegis of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the United Nations and the Austrian Parliament.
The Speakers of Parliament will focus on priorities that require urgent international parliamentary action including the global response to the pandemic and the post-COVID recovery, the climate emergency, countering misinformation, youth participation in politics and gender equality.
