Deputy Minister Andrei Dapkiunas participates in the meeting of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Chernobyl
11.04.2018On April 11, 2018, at the UNDP Headquarters in New York, Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus Andrei Dapkiunas took part in the meeting of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Chernobyl.
IATF on Chernobyl coordinates activities of the United Nations agencies, other international organisations and interested countries on international cooperation on Chernobyl. The Task Force is chaired by Achim Steiner, Administrator of the UN Development Programme. Its members are more than ten international organisations, including UNDP, IAEA, WHO, UNEP, FAO, World Bank. The three most Chernobyl-affected countries, Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, are permanent participants of IATF.
The event organized by UNDP at the initiative of Belarus is aimed to review the implementation of the UN General Assembly resolution “Persistent legacy of the Chernobyl disaster”, prepared by the delegation of Belarus and adopted in December 2016. The participants of the meeting reviewed results of international Chernobyl cooperation over the past year and discussed proposals for further cooperation in this area in accordance with the Chernobyl resolution.
During the meeting, Deputy Minister A. Dapkiunas noted the need to ensure sustainable development in the affected regions and presented Belarusian proposals on advancing international cooperation on Chernobyl with the participation of the UN system and interested states. The Belarusian diplomat mentioned IAEA as the only international organization that currently maintains Chernobyl-related projects for Belarus and urged WHO, FAO and UNICEF to engage more actively in project activities in this field.
The Deputy Minister informed participants about measures taken by the Belarusian side for social and economic development of the affected regions, noting the unique experience accumulated by Belarus in this field and the readiness to share its experience.
