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OHCHR urged to stop serving 'big politics', to turn attention to needs of ordinary Belarusians
Yuri Ambrazevich. File photo
MINSK, 13 June (BelTA) –The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights needs to stop serving "big politics" and to turn their attention to specific needs of ordinary Belarusians, Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yuri Ambrazevich said as he met with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on the sidelines of the 111th session of the International Labor Conference in Geneva, BelTA learned from the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The parties had a critical dialogue. "During the conversation, the Belarusian diplomat expressed deep concern over politicization and double standards in human rights, the use of the UN system and human rights topic in the UN for selective accusations of individual countries, contrary to the UN principles on sovereign equality of states and non-interference in internal affairs. He pointed out the lack of uniform objective standards in human rights," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
In support of this position, Yuri Ambrazevich handed over to the High Commissioner an advance copy of the Belarusian MFA report on human rights violations in certain countries. The report, according to the deputy minister, fully illustrates that against the background of situation in most countries, including those that use criticism of Belarus to put external pressure on the country's political leadership, the human rights situation in Belarus does not merit today’s UN close attention.
The deputy minister also expressed disappointment with the role and activities that the OHCHR and the High Commissioner are forced to perform instead of uniting efforts, promoting cooperation among states and providing assistance to states - the main tasks for which the UN was created.
"The Belarusian diplomat stressed that the Belarusian government is committed to cooperation with the UN, including OHCHR, on issues of practical benefit to the people and the state, with an aim of contributing to national efforts to improve legislation and law enforcement practice," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Yuri Ambrazevich believes that within the framework of the OHCHR mandate there is potential for cooperation in terms of Belarus’ national action plan to improve the situation of children and to protect their rights for 2022-2026, the action plan to the law on the rights of persons with disabilities and their social rehabilitation, and the national plan for gender equality for 2021-2025. During the meeting Yuri Ambrazevich stressed that, as opposed to the cooperation with the OHCHR, the cooperation of the Belarusian government with a number of other UN structures is meaningful and effective. He called on the OHCHR to stop serving "big politics", to turn attention to specific needs of ordinary Belarusian people and to contribute to the sustainable development of the country in accordance with the tasks defined by the national government, rather than by foreign political forces.
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