10 September 2024
On September 10, 2024, thematic meeting of the Council for Sustainable Development was held in Minsk, dedicated to the Summit of the Future on September 22–23, 2024 in New York.
150 people took part in the event (37% women) – members of the Council for Sustainable Development, parliamentarians, representatives of government bodies, public organizations, businesses, diplomatic corps, and UN agencies in the Republic of Belarus.
During the meeting, were discussed Belarus’ participation in the Summit of the Future in the context of national interests, as well as the role of Belarusian youth in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and youth perspective on the Summit of the Future.
The National Coordinator for Achieving the SDGs, Deputy Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Sergei Khomenko addressed the participants of the meeting of the Council for Sustainable Development with a welcoming speech. He noted the importance of holding the meeting of the Council for Sustainable Development on the eve of the Summit of the Future – one of the key international events on sustainable development.The National Coordinator accentuated that the government of Belarus takes a responsible approach to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and is the main driver of this work. This is confirmed by international ratings. Thus, according to the UN Development Programme’s reports on human development, Belarus has maintained its position as a country with the highest level of development for a long time. In addition, Belarus ranks 30th in the Global SDG Achievement Ranking in 2024.Sergei Khomenko also noted that all of Belarus’ achievements in the field of sustainable development are presented in the Final Document of the Second National Forum on Sustainable Development, which was recently published as an official document of the UN General Assembly.At the same time, according to the National Coordinator: “Without removing the key barriers, which are military conflicts and illegal sanctions, moving forward becomes increasingly difficult every day”. Sergei Khomenko quoted the statement of the President of the Republic of Belarus: “By ending wars and conflicts, the international community will have sufficient resources to cope with climate change and other global challenges”.
The UN Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Belarus Rasul Bagirov noted in his welcoming speech that Belarus pays particular attention to the Sustainable Development Goals.“The SDGs are an integral part of the country’s development and are reflected both in program documents and in everyday life”, – reported the UN Resident Coordinator.He also emphasized that the Summit of the Future provides an opportunity not only to check the course of the development, but also to reconfigure it, restarting cooperation taking into account the needs of the 21st century. “The Pact for the Future, in turn, must consolidate and reflect our common aspirations and concrete actions in such areas as international peace and security, digital cooperation, youth and future generations, and the transformation of global governance.” – said Rasul Bagirov.In his speech, he also accentuated the need to strengthen connections between generations and include youth in decision-making process and expressed his confidence that together we can create a brighter future for ourselves and for future generations.
The final stage of preparation for the Summit of the Future is underway in New York. The United Nations has convened this unique Summit because of a stark fact: global problems are moving faster than the institutions designed to solve them.
The Deputy Director of the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies Vitaly Punchenko stated: “The world needs an influx of fresh young forces with a broad outlook and scope, capable of non-trivial approaches to solve the pressing problems of our time. The creation of conditions for the full development of the younger generation has become one of the most important factors in the sustainable development of both the national and global order”.
The Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies has been developing a youth analytical movement since 2022. Young Belarusian analysts highlight the following trends that could form the basis of a global agenda for the development of priority areas of human development, consolidation of efforts of all countries, and on which today should be paid attention both in the world and in Belarus:
The Deputy Minister of Health – Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Republic of Belarus, Member of the Council for Sustainable Development Svetlana Nechay noted the importance of public health and healthcare issues for the Republic of Belarus.
“One of the main challenges for the Republic of Belarus in the context of globalization of dangers with unpredictable consequences is the increase in non-communicable diseases that causes additional economic losses due to the resulting disability, medical costs and excess mortality of the population, especially in the working age group, – reported Svetlana Nechay. – Non-communicable diseases cause more than 80% of deaths in our country. At the same time, premature mortality among men is three times higher than among women”.
The implemented national policy is aimed at strengthening the high positions of the Republic of Belarus in the most important world rankings of human development and ensuring a decent standard and quality of life for the population. Particular attention is paid to the formation of public health in urbanized living environments. State preventive project “Healthy Cities and Towns” is being implemented in the country. It covers 354 settlements of Belarus.
Another challenge that has a significant impact on efforts of the Sustainable Development Goals achievement is sanctions. In the context of globalization, sanctions necessitate a review and adaptation of mechanisms, require careful analysis and a balanced approach in order to minimize their negative consequences and create a more sustainable system.
The Director of the State Scientific Institution “Economy Research Institute of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Belarus” Natalia Berchenko noted: “Despite all the limitations, our republic demonstrates its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals in the National Sustainable Development Strategy for the period up to 2040. New aspects related to technological development and independence were included in the priorities of long-term development, but, at the same time, resource efficiency, focus on people and the balance of interests of business and the state are preserved. The Republic of Belarus sees its long-term development in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals”.
Natalia Berchenko also added that the experience of the Republic of Belarus demonstrates that station restrictions must be considered comprehensively and their impact on all aspects of society’s development must be taken into account, then they will have a positive effect in terms of mobilizing the potential of the national economy and mobilizing human potential.
At the same time, in the context of sanctions pressure, social guarantees of the state become especially important: ensuring a high standard of living, social well-being, and providing access to basic services. Effective social support measures can mitigate the negative impact of economic hardship, strengthen the social structure and contribute to the sustainable development of society.
“In the context of sanctions pressure, the implementation of social policy is, of course, a priority for our state. … This is a sensitive area, because there is a person at the head. The implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in the social sphere is primarily aimed at supporting people and fulfilling obligations to them on time and in full”, – noted the Head of the Department of Integrated Analysis of the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus Olga Chemerko.
Thus, in the Republic of Belarus, a state policy is being implemented to increase the level of income of the population, promote employment and provide social guarantees to the most vulnerable groups of the population, a barrier-free environment is being formed, import substitution of rehabilitation equipment is being developed, social support for the elderly and people with disabilities is being maintained and provided.
It is worth noting that all global challenges that each individual state and society faces have a significant impact on international relations, including youth relations. Youth relations are an important foundation for creating a more sustainable world, helping to broaden horizons and raising a responsible and informed generation.
In the system of international youth relations, the role of the institute of SDG Youth Ambassadors cannot be underestimated, as it has enormous potential for creating a new generation of leaders prepared for global challenges and opportunities.
“SDG Youth Ambassador is a student who develops their own concept of action to implement the selected Sustainable Development Goal, – SDG 17 Youth Ambassador of the 4th convocation, student of the law faculty of the Belarusian State University Yegor Yavorets noted. – The main slogan of the Ambassadors is: “Together for a sustainable future”.
SDG Youth Ambassadors are active internationally. As noted by Yegor Yarovets: “Only in the summer of 2024, Youth Ambassadors and their alternates became participants of the Summit of Unlimited Possibilities in Uzbekistan, Non-Aligned Movement Youth Forum on Climate Change in Azerbaijan, Capacity-building Program in preparation for COP29 among national youth organizations of the Non-Aligned Movement, Baikal Youth Forum, All-Russian Youth Educational Forum Territory of Meaning , Allied Leadership Schools, Summer School for Young Analysts”.
In the framework of the preparation for the Summit of the Future, a survey of young people was conducted in Belarus to determine their vision of the future and a Sustainable Future World Cafe to analyze its results was organized with the participation of SDG Youth Ambassadors. The survey and the meeting results will serve as the basis for the Republic of Belarus’ proposals on the content of the Pact for the Future dedicated to youth, which will be adopted at the Summit of the Future.
In September 2021, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres presented The United Nations Common Agenda (Our Common Agenda) as a reminder of the need to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and give further impetus to the implementation of commitments.
In addition to this report, in 2023, the UN Secretary-General presented 11 Concept Notes with concrete proposals to respond to current and future challenges. Notes were aimed at starting a discussion and ensuring the involvement of all layers of government bodies and organizations, civil society and other stakeholders at various stages of the process of preparation for the Summit of the Future.
“Having studied the proposals of the UN Secretary-General on the transformation of Our Common Agenda, comparing them with the interests of Belarusian youth, and checking the state of Belarusian legislation, we developed a comprehensive plan and a Roadmap of initiatives to promote the opinion of Belarusian youth in the UN, – SDG 17 Youth Ambassador of the 3rd convocation, Сhief Specialist of the Media Sector of the Main Department of Ideological Work and Youth Affairs of the Minsk City Executive Committee Stefania-Vitaliya Vinnichek reported. – If we talk about the proposals of the UN Secretary-General and their localization in our country, then we have identified 8 proposals for ourselves and, accordingly, 10 recommendations from the Belarusian side”.
Thus, the youth of Belarus see the following proposals as the most promising:
Stefania-Vitalia Vinnichek also added that a multi-level system of youth policy was created in Belarus to support and disseminate the initiative of opinion leaders. System of youth organizations, Institute of SDG Youth Ambassadors, Council of Working Youth, and such projects as “Memory Train” and “Super Pro” are being implemented.
At the conclusion of the meeting of the Council for Sustainable Development, the National Coordinator for the Achieving the SDGs informed that the key elements of the discussions of the meeting will be summarized and used in preparing the positions of the national delegation at the Summit of the Future. He also noted that the Belarusian delegation will raise the issue of the negative impact of sanctions on the process of sustainable development in the world at the Summit of the Future.
Sergei Khomenko concluded the meeting with a quote from the message of the President of the Republic of Belarus to the UN Secretary-General: “The upcoming Summit of the Future will not solve all the problems in politics. At the same time, we see its value in something else – it is an additional chance for all countries to agree on joint action that is needed today to solve existing problems. Through such an event, we can strengthen mutual trust and respect, a willingness to talk and work together in the future to solve more significant problems of global politics. In this case, the Summit of the Future will truly live up to the expectations of the participating countries, including Belarus, and will become a turning point on the path to a better world”.
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