Opinions & Interviews

"Belarus has been consistent in its initiatives to promote peace and maintain stability in interstate relations. Belarus shows its willingness to provide any kind of assistance to the peaceful settlement of conflicts and humanitarian problems,” he said. Oleg Slizhevsky expressed regret that despite the understanding of the value of human life and importance of maintaining peace and stability armed conflicts do not stop. And it is primarily civilians who suffer from these conflicts.

Talking to reporters, Oleg Slizhevsky noted: "The international humanitarian law have been written in blood. Of course, when speaking about the problems of IHL, we discuss the armed conflicts that have taken place in the past and those that are taking place at the present stage. "Now the IHL is already well developed, but it is often that the parties to a conflict do not respect it.

The minister stressed that this is not the first seminar on this issue in Minsk, and it is very important. According to Oleg Slizhevsky, Belarus and the Regional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Russia, Belarus and Moldova have developed a very close relationship. It is in many ways thanks to this fact that Belarus has hosted such events. "One of the symbols of active work on implementation of the international humanitarian law in Belarus is the history of our country. As you know, due to its geographical position Belarus has been the scene of fierce military campaigns. Minsk, for example, was virtually completely destroyed during the Second World War. The population in some regions in the country has not reached the pre-war level,” Oleg Slizhevsky said

The Fifth Regional Seminar on Implementation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is underway in Minsk on 18-20 March. It has been organized by the Justice Ministry and the International Red Cross Committee. Partaking in the seminar are representatives of the ministries of justice, foreign affairs, defense and culture of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine as well as experts of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the OSCE and the CSTO. Specialists are discussing modern trends in the implementation of the International Humanitarian Law, restraint of its violation and mechanisms of its observance.