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10 November 2021, 16:21

Lavrov: UN is yet to respond to information about financing of Belarus' opposition

MINSK, 10 November (BelTA) –The UN is yet to respond to the information that one of its structures in Belarus financed the Belarusian opposition using the funds allocated by Russia and other states to support vulnerable population groups, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov said at a joint press conference following the annual meeting of the Russian-Belarusian ministerial collegium in Moscow on 10 November, BelTA has learned.

"This story actually bothers us a lot. It's outrageous. I hope that in the future the UN Secretary-General will read the papers given to him for signature," Sergey Lavrov said.

"We are talking about the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which implements human rights projects in various countries," the Russian minister explained. “Such projects are run in Belarus using voluntary contributions of the UN member states, including those of the Russian Federation. In the course of communication with UN representatives in Minsk, it turned out rather unexpectedly that the funds that were meant for seminars and conferences on human rights were given to lawyers who defended persons accused of participating in illegal rallies and protests. Obviously, Russia's voluntary contributions were not meant for this.”

Sergey Lavrov said that Russia demanded explanations from the UN structures, but has not received them yet. “The misinterpretation of this entire unsightly story in the report of the Secretary-General who turned everything upside down is absolutely outrageous. They are trying to sweep it under the carpet. One of these days we expect the Secretariat, the Secretary-General to respond to this ugly situation,” the Russian foreign minister said.

“This is yet another example of the West seeking to literally privatize secretariats of international organizations. This is a gross violation of the rules that are prescribed for international officials, for the Secretary-General, for his staff in the UN Charter and in the relevant documents,” Sergey Lavrov added.

According to Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei, Belarus has communicated this information in the form of an official document of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly. “I have sent letters to numerous colleagues from other states. It is absolutely unacceptable when the secretariat of the organization that is supposed to advocate peace and stability engages in subversive activities in its member states. This is an incident that goes beyond the UN Charter. It should be adequately assessed,” Vladimir Makei stressed.

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