MINSK, 21 October (BelTA) - Belarus fully supports Russia's initiative to launch the UN Charter Is Our Rules campaign, Permanent Representative of Belarus to the OSCE Andrei Dapkiunas said when speaking at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council dedicated to the UN Charter Is Our Rules agenda BelTA has learned.
"Raising the issue of the enduring importance of the UN Charter ahead of the UN Day is timely and appropriate," Andrei Dapkiunas said. "The UN Charter is also important for our organization, not least because of the long-overdue need to give the OSCE a full legal status."
"We believe that the signing of the UN Charter became possible thanks to the sincere faith of the UN founding states, among which Belarus had the honor to be, in the possibility of building a system of peaceful, stable and fair international relations," he continued. “According to the authors of the document, the fundamental principles laid down in the UN Charter were to have had the applied value and to have been the cornerstone of international cooperation. These principles were supposed to be not just a beautiful declaration, but a practical guide to action, which no one could challenge. "
Andrei Dapkiunas noted with regret that the modern world is moving further away from the bright expectations of the delegates of the San Francisco Conference. "And, perhaps, that is why we should seriously think not so much about memorable dates and historical documents, but about practical ways to achieve peace, strengthen security, build trust and cooperation. Ways to revive the basic principles on which the UN Charter is based," the permanent representative said.
He noted that during the war Belarus paid a huge price for the lessons that were reflected in the UN Charter. Therefore, careful attitude and respect for these principles is of paramount importance for Belarus.
"Today, the world is increasingly facing a trend of unilateral and arbitrary actions that run grossly contrary to the universal principles of international law. Belarus is also facing attempts on the part of a number of states, who are convinced of the infallibility of their picture of the world, to speak not from the standpoint of international law and trust, but from a position of force and coercion," the diplomat said.
According to him, unilateral coercive measures that used contrary to the UN Charter are detrimental to the sustainable development of states that are directly affected by such sanctions but also to a wide range of partner states united by cooperative economic ties. These measures pose a direct and clear threat to the sovereignty and security of independent states and corrode regional security.
"The bitter irony is that the most illegal sanctions hit the innocent, the least protected groups of the population. Belarus has consistently opposed the practice of using unilateral coercive measures as an instrument of foreign policy. We demand their unconditional eradication in full compliance with the principles of international law," Andrei Dapkiunas said.
"That was why we readily supported the initiative put forward this summer to set up the Group of Friends for the Defense of the UN Charter. The founders of this informal association of UN member states include Belarus, Russia and a large group of like-minded states. The goals of the Group of Friends are to oppose unilateral coercive measures, to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the participating states in accordance with the principles of international law, to promote joint initiatives aimed at protecting and strengthening the authority of the UN Charter provisions," he said.
Replacing a clear and transparent system based on the primacy of the UN Charter and universally recognized international law with private views of individual states or groups of states of new "rules" of international interaction convenient only for a narrow circle of selected ones is destructive. This is obvious for Belarus.
In this context, Belarus fully supports Russia's initiative to launch the UN Charter Is Our Rules campaign aimed at ensuring a balance of interests of states exclusively on the basis of international law.
Belarus is ready for an open, equal and mutually respectful dialogue with all countries on the basis of these principles.
