Deputy Minister Valentin Rybakov participates in the meeting of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Chernobyl
04.04.2017On April 3, 2017, at the UNDP headquarters in New York Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus Mr Valentin Rybakov took part in the meeting of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Chernobyl (IATF).
IATF on Chernobyl coordinates activities of the United Nations agencies, other international organisations and interested countries related to international Chernobyl cooperation. The Task Force is chaired by Administrator of the UN Development Programme Helen Clark. It is comprised of over 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 the group.
The event organized by UNDP at the initiative of Belarus is aimed to launch implementation of the UN General Assembly resolution “Persistent legacy of the Chernobyl disaster”, which was prepared by the delegation of Belarus and adopted in December 2016. The participants of the meeting reviewed the main achievements of the international cooperation on Chernobyl within the UN over the past year and discussed proposals for organizing multilateral cooperation in this area in accordance with the new Chernobyl resolution. Agenda of the event is available by link.
During the meeting, Deputy Minister V. Rybakov noted the need to ensure sustainable development in the affected regions through partnership, innovation and investment and presented proposals of Belarus on advancing international cooperation on Chernobyl with the participation of the UN system organizations and interested states. Full statement could be found by link.
The Belarusian diplomat also informed about the events that Belarus is organizing on the occasion of the International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day, which is observed for the first time in 2017.
