Distinguished
Presidents of the Millennium Assembly,
Distinguished Mr.
Secretary-General,
Distinguished
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Almighty
has endowed states and peoples, just like individuals. with equal rights to freedom,
peace, security and decent life.
Yet for many
centuries a small group of states ruled the destinies of the world regarding other nations
and peoples as a mass deprived of any rights.
The great
achievement of the United Nations system, as I see it, is that the division of peoples
into subjects and objects of international law has been eliminated. Nowadays every nation,
regardless of its size and resources, has an opportunity to participate on equal basis in
solving topical problems facing the world community.
The
Belarusian people have made more than a weighty contribution to the establishment of this
Just system. And we cannot put up with attempts to dictate to us how we should live and
who we should make friends with.
Having
sacrificed the lives of one third of its citizens to the cause of victory in the war
against fascism Belarus is capable of determining its own destiny.
Having fully
experienced the horrors of devastating wars Belarus cannot watch idly the attempts to
break the stability of the establishing world order, to disrupt geopolitical equilibrium
in the world and bring back the times when the states were divided into first and
second-rate countries.
The proposals
of the United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan, which are aimed at increasing the
Organisation's efficiency, evoke our profound interest.
In
implementing these proposals it is important, as we say, not to throw out the baby with
bathwater. The alms and principles of the United Nations Charter should be preserved. Only
under this condition can we ensure that the Organisation's activity yields practical
results and that it is capable of effectively responding to the global challenges of our
time.
I think everybody will agree that with all
diversity of challenges facing the United Nations the main task of the Organisation is to
ensure international peace and security.
For the time
being, unfortunately, the United Nations do not fully stand up to the task of preventing
aggression and military conflicts. The cases of bypassing the UN Security Council when
deciding on the use of military force have not solved any of the existing problems but
only aggravated them.
Belarus
proceeds from an assumption that military force cannot be a legitimate instrument of
foreign policy in the 21st century.
The intention
to make the world a safer place was the main motive behind our decision to renounce the
status of a nuclear state.
I do not
understand those state leaders who speak so persistently of the threat of nuclear
proliferation but at the same time do not want to take on responsibility for making
Central and Eastern Europe free of nuclear weapons, as proposed by Belarus.
I avail
myself of this opportunity to draw the attention of the world leaders present here today
to the problem of environmental security and responsibility of large and small nations for
the protection of the environment.
Many in the world
have already started to forget the greatest man-made disaster of the passing century - the
Chernobyl disaster - whose main victim is Belarus. The moral duty of the United Nations is
to mobilise world resources for dealing with the consequences of the Chernobyl and other
ecological disasters. Without realising our joint responsibility for the preservation of
the common human environment all discussions of a fair distribution of the benefits and
the disadvantages of globalisation will remain Just shallow talk.
Human rights
and democracy are the central issues of the Millennium Summit. I believe that nobody in
this audience questions the significance of these values and high standards that are
outlined in the UN documents.
The problem is that human rights and democracy
ever more often are used by some states as a pretext for punishing the objectionable
countries and nations.
Lately the
efforts have been made to create a sort of a club of the chosen, which excludes the
majority of the world nations. This arrogant attempt to divide the peoples into 'teachers'
and 'pupils'can do no good for the real encouragement of democracy and human rights.
In conclusion
I would like to draw your attention to the necessity of deferential treatment of the
unique nature, existing way of life and historical destiny of every nation.
For the time
being, unfortunately, we are facing more frequent attempts in international relations of
the bigger powers to treat all alike and reject any national and regional specifics which
do not fall into the customary framework of the 'Western way of life'.
I doubt
whether the overwhelming majority of the United Nations would agree with this arrogance.
Belarus is in
the mainstream of democratic development. But in promoting democracy we rely on our own
way of life and national spiritual traditions which have been maturing for ages.
It is because
of this that we manage to combine development, democracy and stability. There are no and
there have never been any religious or ethnic conflicts in our country. Our borders are
the borders of peace and cooperation. We are open to friendship and cooperation with all
those who respectfully treat our country and the people.
Addressing
the United Nations from this high rostrum I declare that in the new millennium my country
will remain your reliable partner in promoting the cause of peace and security on the
planet.
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