MINSK, 23 February (BelTA) – A session of the UN Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations started at the UN headquarters in New York on 22 February. A Belarusian delegation led by Deputy State Secretary of the Security Council Stanislav Zas takes part in the session, BelTA learnt from the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. Speaking at the session, Stanislav Zas pointed out that although Belarus is actively involved in a variety of the UN activities and is a security donor in the Eurasian region, for some objective reasons it only dispatched civil specialists to take part in the UN field missions. The Belarusian representative reminded that in the time when the international community is desperate to settle the disputes that erupt all over the world, Belarus responded to the call of the UN Secretary General and decided to gradually join the UN peacekeeping operations. Belarus recognizes the UN primary responsibility for maintaining peace and security and condemns any actions in defiance of the resolutions of the UN Security Council, Stanislav Zas said. Peacekeeping efforts should be undertaken upon the consent of the host government, they should be based on impartiality and nonuse of force (except for self-defense), sovereign equality, political independence, territorial integrity of states and non-interference in their domestic affairs. The Deputy State Secretary of the Security Council expressed hope for the development of the fruitful cooperation and the further constructive dialogue to raise the efficiency of peacekeeping efforts in cooperation with the UN Secretariat, the UN Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations and the UN Peacebuilding Commission. Stanislav Zas met with Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy and Under-Secretary-General for Field Support Susana Malcorra to confirm Belarus’ determination to take part in peacekeeping operations. The Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations of the United Nations was established by General Assembly Resolution in 1965. As of 1 September 2009, the Committee was composed of 143 Member States, 14 states and international organizations participated as observers. Belarus joined the Committee in February 1997. БЕЛТА
Written by belta.by
