Opinion: Humanitarian issues should not be politicized
Valery Belsky. An archive photo
MINSK, 18 April (BelTA) – The Council for Sustainable Development held a meeting dedicated to International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day in Minsk on 17 April, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On 8 December 2016 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution initiated by Belarus designating 26 April as International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day.
The event was presided by Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus, National Coordinator for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals Valery Belsky. The meeting was attended by representatives of international organizations and UN offices in Belarus, MPs, public associations, and SDG Youth Ambassadors.
In his welcoming speech, Valery Belsky noted that this tragic day left a strong imprint in the history of contemporary Belarus. According to the national coordinator, post-Chernobyl recovery became a priority task for Belarus that sees itself as a welfare state. Valery Belsky thanked international organizations for their help in overcoming long-term consequences of the disaster and emphasized the inadmissibility of politicizing this humanitarian issue amidst the ongoing negative developments in international politics.
During the meeting, representatives of public administration bodies, scientific organizations and public associations of Belarus, as well as international organizations spoke about measures to mitigate the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, and discussed their further plans in the field of post-Chernobyl recovery.
