Minister Thórdís Gylfadóttir,
Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis,
Minister Miroslav Wlachovsky,
Mr. Tobias Lindner,
Mr. Enrique Mora,
Dear friends,
First, let me thank all of your countries present in this room for being here and standing with Belarusians.
Today, Belarus passes through a humanitarian, political and security crisis. And there is no better place to talk about it than here at the UNGA High level week.
It’s the second year in a row that the EU delegation is hosting the debate on Belarus. I wish to thank our dear hosts, and Germany, Iceland and Lithuania for supporting this initiative.
Today, our independence is in danger. Our country is being taken away from Belarusians. And we need the support of the world to defend and preserve it, just like Ukrainians do in their courageous fight against Russian aggression.
Make no mistake about it – Russia is waging a quiet aggression against Belarus by using a corrupt, dependent, illegitimate Lukashenka as a conduit of its interests. To secure his personal power, Lukashenka is giving up to the Kremlin the sovereignty, independence and national identity of Belarus – ultimate values for every nation.
For decades, Russia was absorbing Belarus in slow motion. But when Lukashenka was defeated in the 2020 elections and lost all legitimacy, the Kremlin decided to tighten its control over Belarus.
Russia is de facto colonizing Belarus. It is dismantling Belarusian statehood, overtaking governance controls and destroying our national identity. Russia is using Belarus in its confrontation with our European neighbors.
I want to make one thing clear. Russia is not doing it alone. It is Lukashenka who enables the Kremlin’s criminal activities. He is responsible for this.
Since the rigged elections in 2020, the regime has become a material threat to international peace and security. The regime’s many actions in violation of international law include:
- an act of air piracy directed at the Ryanair flight,
- a migration crisis on the EU borders,
- enabling the Russian aggression against Ukraine and becoming a co-aggressor,
- deploying nuclear weapons and using threatening rhetoric,
- hosting the Wagner Group mercenaries implicated in war crimes.
- abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children to Belarus.
But it all started with massive, systematic human rights violations. According to the UN High Commission on Human Rights, their scale and brutality can be described as crimes against humanity.
This crisis in Belarus goes beyond regional security, affecting international law and the UN Charter, food security, energy prices, as well as arms control and non-proliferation regimes.
For too long, the regime enjoyed impunity and did not face any substantial reaction from the world. It has to end now.
We must use available tools and mechanisms to hold the regime accountable and preserve Belarusian independence. The Kremlin aims to absorb Belarus and they pursue this goal by plowing through the national interests of our country, international norms and concerns of the international community.
As President Zelenski said before the UN General Assembly – Russia has almost swallowed Belarus.
Now is the time for a strategy to preserve the independence of Belarus. And the response of the world needs to be determined and resolute.
First, Russia must be called out on what it does in Belarus. The world needs to recognize that Russia’s actions undermine the sovereignty of Belarus. Political and practical measures such as sanctions against Russia should follow.
Second, states and international organizations need to recognize the right of the Belarusian people to make their own geopolitical choice. Last month, Belarusian political forces adopted a decision to pursue EU perspective – as part of the European family it would only be natural for Belarus.
This decision is pragmatic – the EU is a safe environment for Belarus to preserve its independence and develop its national identity. But more than this, it is based on Belarus' aspirations for democratic values and principles which the EU is built on.
Third, we need support in institutionalizing our relations with key powers. This work has advanced on many levels. The Contact group on relations with democratic Belarus operates in the Council of Europe. The EU has launched a Consultative group, and later this year we are preparing to launch a strategic dialogue with the US.
We pursue observer status in parliamentary assemblies and relevant international organizations. Our work here at UNGA is also of unique importance – we have taken away the monopoly from the regime to represent Belarus in the UN.
Fourth, we should deprive Lukashenka of legitimacy, both domestically and on the international fora. Since 2020, Lukashenka is not recognized as a legitimate ruler of Belarus. However the agreements he signs with Russia, even the most fateful ones, are not disputed by the international community.
A regular response is “we cannot interfere in the bilateral relations of two states”. However, relations between Belarus and Russia now are anything but normal, with a recognized serial aggressor exploiting its investment to take control of Belarus.
Fifth, we need to strengthen the agency of the Belarusian people. It is important to remember: the more the world recognizes and supports Belarusian democratic forces, the more pressure we put on the illegitimate regime. Our legitimacy and support by the majority of Belarusians is our peaceful weapon. The West should strengthen it by giving Belarusian democratic forces all the support needed to win, not just to survive.
Now, the regime is launching repressions against Belarusians living abroad. They stopped issuing or renewing passports in consulates forcing people to return to Belarus for this service – which is plain dangerous. In response, we are introducing the national passport of Belarus and will be asking for its formal recognition. Besides, we will be working with national governments to simplify legalization procedures. We hope you will support our efforts.
On this matter, we would welcome a more practical role of the International Organization for Migration who could assess the situation and develop recommendations for governments on how to uphold the rights of Belarusians.
In general, when it comes to the UN agencies, we still need to see a more pronounced implementation of their mandates in Belarus – UNHCR, UNESCO, UNICEF, World Health Organization have been quiet on the crisis in Belarus. This creates a perception exploited by the regime’s propaganda that the UN is on its side.
Next, Belarusians must participate in the conversation about their country’s future. This strengthens the agency of the Belarusian people and helps develop balanced solutions. For example, the peace deal to end the war against Ukraine must include the demand that Russian forces leave Belarus entirely and a new security arrangement that accounts for Belarus interests.
Only the participation of Belarusian democratic forces in these talks would ensure our voices are heard and that the decisions are legitimate.
The Belarusian perspective also needs to be factored in on such important issues as the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in our country. Putin and Lukashenka don’t care about making Belarus a target of possible retaliation. For us, Belarusian people, it is completely unacceptable. And this opinion must be heard as well.
Finally, we have to make accountability mechanisms work. Lukashenka and his cronies must be brought to account for the crimes against humanity in Belarus and for their role in the war against Ukraine. We urge states to take a more active stance on using international accountability mechanisms, such as ICJ, ICC and Universal jurisdiction.
This week, Switzerland is holding a historic trial under universal jurisdiction against a former Belarusian law enforcement officer involved in Lukashenka's killing of political leaders in 1999. If the world had acted then, maybe we could've stopped today's major crimes. But we now have a chance to prevent new crimes by the regime.
Dear friends,
Today is a decisive moment: is Belarus going to be a free European country, or is it going to fall victim to Russian neocolonialism? Belarusians are determined to prevail and to preserve their nation.
Independence and national identity are the main treasures of every nation. They make us who we are in the family of nations. We call on other states to help us defend our right to a better future in an independent country. Because this is what families do – help each other.
Thank you,
Zhyve Belarus!
