Belarus foreign minister says sanctions hurt development goals

May 23, BPN. Belarusian Foreign Minister Siarhiej Alejnik has told the outgoing UN resident coordinator in Belarus that sanctions threaten the world’s progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Alejnik told Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki that Belarus intends to keep implementing the 2030 Agenda despite “negative trends” that endanger the SDGs of many nations, including “sanctions and unilateral coercive measures,” the foreign office reported.

The 2030 Agenda is a plan that the United Nations and its member countries have agreed to follow to make the world a better place for everyone.

The United States and its allies have imposed sanctions on Belarus because they do not agree with how the government there treats its people and its neighbors.

Pro-government media reported earlier this month that UN Secretary-General António Guterres invited Belarusian ruler Alaksandr Łukašenka to the SDG summit in New York. Łukašenka has not confirmed his attendance, but said that Belarus would be represented “at a worthy level.”

The office of Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja, a Belarusian opposition leader, has presented an alternative report on Belarus’ SDG implementation to UN diplomats in July 2022. The report pointed out that human rights violations were the main obstacle to development in Belarus.