MFA: Belarus Calls on EU to Return to Dialogue and Lift All Illegal Restrictions

The 50th session of the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group on human rights is taking place in Switzerland. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Igor Sekreta delivered a report on behalf of Belarus. He outlined Belarus's significant achievements in a wide range of areas, from political transformation and economic development to reducing child and maternal mortality.

The deputy minister also highlighted factors that hinder the country's further development.

Igor Sekreta, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus:

"These figures could have been even higher if not for the unilateral coercive measures arbitrarily imposed by a number of Western countries against Belarus. The sanctions pressure policy promoted by these countries violates the economic and social rights not only of Belarusian citizens but also of citizens of many other countries. For example, the ban on the use of Belarusian airspace makes civil aviation unsafe and calls into question the European Union's Green Deal. The West has closed most (and in some places, all, such as Lithuania) land border crossings. As a result of Belarus's Western neighbors' abuse of their geographical position, humanitarian and economic losses are evident. Belarus has managed to reorient its economy and build a system that provides our citizens with a decent standard of living. At the same time, we call on the EU to return to dialogue and lift all illegal restrictions, as such actions have no place in the modern civilized world."

Belarus insists that use of such instrument as sanctions is illegal under international law, harms everyone. In Belarus's case, this amounts to an artificial severing of economic and political ties; moreover, even basic transport links between eastern and western Europe have been disrupted.