Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs V. Rybakov participates in the Thematic Session on combating drivers of migration
22.05.2017During his visit to New York, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Valentin Rybakov took part in the Second Informal Thematic Session “Addressing drivers of migration, including adverse effects of climate change, natural disasters and human-made crisis, through protection and assistance, sustainable development, poverty eradication, conflict prevention and resolution“, which is being held at the United Nations headquarters these days.
During the discussion V. Rybakov drew attention of the participants to man-made disasters, which have a special place among many other factors forcing people to migrate. As Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs noted, the danger of man-made disasters is that affected areas become uninhabitable.
V. Rybakov noted that Belarus has been facing the problem of so-called “ecological migration”, when due to the Chernobyl disaster more than 135 thousand people were displaced from the affected areas.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus informed the participants about national efforts to overcome and minimize the consequences of the Chernobyl accident, which made it possible not only to prevent large-scale migration from the country, but also to stabilize the internal migration flows in Belarus.
Belarusian diplomat noted that in order to avoid uncontrolled migration it is necessary to ensure prompt and coordinated efforts of the international community to prevent man-made crises and to minimize or eliminate its consequences.
