Opinions & Interviews

Belarus calls on international community to use modern means to protect family values

Photo courtesy of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

MINSK, 13 February (BelTA) – During his visit to New York, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Andrei Dapkiunas took part in the thematic event “The Importance of Family Stability to Social Protection and Achieving Sustainable Development” organized at the UN headquarters at the initiative of Belarus together with the Group of Friends of the Family and the coalition of non-governmental organizations Civil Society for the Family, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the event, the deputy foreign minister of Belarus made a statement on behalf of the Group of Friends of the Family, in which he noted that a strong family is a pillar of social stability, cultural identity and morality of any society. Andrei Dapkiunas stressed that successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development would depend on policies and programmes that support the family as a basic unit of society.

He urged to pay special attention to modern ways and means to protect family values, marriage, motherhood and fatherhood, like sharing best practices and solutions that can help strengthen the institution of the family in today's world. The Belarusian diplomat suggested holding an international event on family in the buildup to the 25th anniversary of the International Year of the Family to be marked in 2019.

The event was attended by well-known American analysts who deal with family policy issues, and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives Michele Bachmann.

The Group of Friends of the Family, co-coordinated by Belarus, was established in 2015. It includes 25 countries from all parts of the world. The Group of Friends of the Family defends the interests of the traditional family and traditional family values in accordance with the definition of the family in internationally recognized documents.

The Civil Society for the Family represents 180 international NGOs that promote the traditional family. This coalition was institutionalized at a special high-level meeting held on the occasion of the International Day of Families at the UN headquarters by the Group of Friends of the Family on 16 May 2016. This association is coordinated by an organizational committee of 12 international NGOs, including a core partner of the Group of Friends, an international organization C-FAM based in the United States.

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