The theme of the session as a diagnosis Let us begin with the theme of the current debate — “Restoring trust, steering transformation: an Organization working for all.” It is an interesting theme and allows for a substantive discussion.
Indeed, trust among States today is at its lowest point since the Cold War. The necessary transformations are stalling. More and more voices are saying that the United Nations is not working for all and is not capable of steering change. In large part, this is because we, the Member States, have become mired in endless discussions but have still not given the Organization a real opportunity to act. That is precisely why the theme of this session today sounds like a sentence on our collective indecisiveness and at the same time like a diagnosis requiring urgent treatment.
We are surrounded by a systemic crisis in international relations. We see it everywhere: the air is filled with anxiety. From Europe to the Middle East, from Asia to Africa and Latin America.
The world is being overwhelmed by wars and conflicts. They take lives, separate families, turn flourishing cities into ruins, and generate ever new waves of mass forced migration. Global supply chains are being disrupted. The energy crisis is intertwined with the food crisis. All this hits the most vulnerable segments of the population particularly hard.
An even more alarming signal is the collapse of the system of strategic stability. For the first time since the 1970s, there are no longer any legally binding limits on strategic arms between the largest nuclear Powers. No treaties, no verification mechanisms, no predictability. Humanity is once again balancing on the edge of existence, which we had hoped to leave forever in the last century.
How did we reach such a point? And this is not a coincidence of circumstances. It is the natural result of actions by certain States aimed at deliberately undermining the system of international relations. So that the world would develop not according to the laws of peaceful coexistence, but according to the principle of the right of force and political egoism. If we truly want to restore trust, we must not hide behind diplomatic courtesies, but honestly name the causes of the crisis.
Part 2. The root of mistrust: hegemony instead of law In 1945, in San Francisco, at the founding conference of the United Nations, United States President Harry Truman spoke words that today sound like a prophecy: “Power as we are, we must deny ourselves the license to do always as we please.”
If all those whose power is great had acted in this way, we would have avoided many wars and conflicts. Unfortunately, the aspiration to live at the expense of others has remained the main narrative of the collective West’s development.
During the Cold War, the balance of power was ensured by a system of checks and balances between two opposing political systems. But since the 1990s, when that equilibrium collapsed, the policy of unlimited superiority began to grow rapidly.
And over the past three decades this policy has reached its apogee: Western countries have in effect trampled on international law and begun forcing everyone to act on the basis of so-called “rules”, destroying countries they disliked and suppressing peoples that would not submit. These rules are like road signs in a city that they themselves designed. For themselves, a green light always. For everyone else, strict restrictions.
But the matter is not one of metaphors. The matter is facts known to everyone. Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, Palestine — this is far from the full geography of the countries that were or remain in the focus of Western interest. And now add to this unfair global trade, where the rules are written to suit the interests of transnational corporations. Also add illegal unilateral sanctions that are suffocating entire peoples.
And the unlawful actions of the Western members of the Security Council have further contributed to the destruction of security and stability in international relations — and the trend is only intensifying. And where has the United Nations been all this time? The Organization has practically not participated in conflict settlement.
Its role has most often been reduced to expressions of concern and appeals addressed to those who have already suffered.
A particularly disturbing role today is being played by the leadership of the European Union, which, through an unrestrained desire to preserve its slipping hegemony, is trying to obstruct global stability and the maintenance of peace. And in pursuing this goal it is ready to sacrifice the well-being of its citizens.
And do the peoples of Europe really crave some kind of revenge against Russia, especially at the price of their own impoverishment? Do they really want to be cannon fodder in a war that European Union politicians are allegedly preparing for by 2030? Of course not. And we know this. But in Brussels someone very much wants to play at soldiers and secure his grandeur in history. This has happened before — and more than once. And how it ended — we know.
Sensible politicians in Europe today are an endangered species. And those who still dare to speak the truth are quickly taken out of the game. The examples are well known. The script is well rehearsed: manipulation of public consciousness, bribery, unfounded persecution, actions threatening life.
Many in the West are clinging with their last strength to their domination. For they are already beginning to be called to account for the centuries-long plunder of colonies, for the destruction of the cultures, traditions and identities of subjugated peoples, for the slave trade that took millions of lives.
This is the context in which the resolution adopted by the General Assembly in March of this year declaring the trade in enslaved Africans and the racial enslavement of Africans to be a crime against humanity was framed.
Belarus supported this resolution without hesitation. And this is not simply a diplomatic gesture — it is the voice of a country that itself passed through a similar hell in history. We know what genocide is — one third of our population during the war was cold-bloodedly killed and tortured by “civilized” Europeans united by Hitler 85 years ago. Now their descendants tell us that they have nothing to do with it and their grandfathers had nothing to do with it. But it was not the Führer who set fire to a village house with Belarusian children, old people and women inside. We know what the plundering of cultural heritage is — our wealth, resources and works of art were taken to the West. Young people were forcibly deported into slavery to the same place — to Europe. And today, having come under unprecedented sanctions, we have once again felt what it means to be a target.
Therefore, we support with particular feeling those who demand historical justice, including on the subject of reparations raised by the African Union. But reparations are not not only finances. It is also respect for memory. It is the return to peoples of their own history. How many more names remain on the map of the world that have erased the memory of millennia? A simple example: the great waterfall that the peoples of Zimbabwe for centuries called Mosi-oa-Tunya — “the smoke that thunders.” The colonizers “discovered” it and named it in honor of their queen, who in Africa had never even been. Is this not theft of identity?
The Western elites do not like the new multipolar world, in which their voice ceases to be decisive. But instead of adapting to positive changes, they continue to sow chaos and instrumentalize instability. For us in Belarus this is seen most vividly in the example of Ukraine. Does the West strive for peace there? Its goal is to inflict a civilizational defeat on Russia. To weaken, humiliate, break it and continue living at the expense of Russian resources. But not at the cost of the lives of its own citizens, but of ordinary Ukrainians. Such a war is advantageous. It makes it possible to create an image of the enemy, to mobilize one’s own population under the pretext of a collective threat, to write off economic failures, to justify militarization and to enrich oneself. That is why a conflict is needed — managed, frozen, eternal.
But if the West wants to take a worthy place in the emerging multipolar system, it needs to change. To understand that the future of our Planet lies in cooperation, not in confrontation. Yes, it will have to move over on the global “bench” of international relations — and very seriously. It will need to abandon the policy of neocolonialism, to forget about the self-isolation to which the EU is condemning itself by creating a new iron curtain on the border with Belarus and Russia. Political, economic and humanitarian. But in essence — with the whole space of great Eurasia, which lies beyond us.
Part 3. The United Nations: transformation or decline About the United Nations. Is our Organization keeping pace with the times?
No, it does not correspond to the realities of today, it does not keep up with changes, it is not reforming. Criticism of the United Nations is growing with each passing year — fair criticism. The very fact of the emergence outside the system of new international global initiatives, for example President Trump’s Peace Council or the International Organization for Cooperation in the Field of Artificial Intelligence, is confirmation that the United Nations does not see new trends either.
Therefore, today new formats of interaction are gaining strength — BRICS, the SCO, regional economic and political unions. But we in Belarus see in them not competitors of the United Nations, but catalysts of its inevitable reform. We have a recipe for how to return the United Nations to its purpose. It is very simple.
Individual countries of the world must stop using the Organization for their selfish purposes, must think about the fate of our planet as a whole. Only then will the theme of the current session cease to be a romantic wish and become a real programme of action.
Concrete structural steps are also necessary.
First. Reform of the United Nations Security Council. This body cannot remain in a form appropriate to the era of the mid-twentieth century.
The Council must be strengthened through the expansion of the category of permanent members at the expense of countries of the South, which today play an ever-increasing role in world affairs. The voice of the Global Majority must sound loudly and weightily in the Security Council.
Second. Restoring respect for international law and the Charter of the United Nations. Precisely law, not the “rules-based order.” The Charter of the United Nations has been and remains the only universal document that recognizes the sovereign equality of all States. We call on all countries to return to the letter and spirit of the Charter. Sanctions circumventing the United Nations are illegal and must be condemned!
Third. Reform of the specialized agencies of the United Nations, above all, the international financial institutions.
The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the International Finance Corporation, and the World Trade Organization must become fair, transparent, accountable, focused on their mandates. The quota of votes in the financial institutions must reflect the demographic and economic realities of the twenty-first century, and not the post-war balance of power. The use of these organizations for political purposes must be stopped at the root.
This also applies to the International Labour Organization. It would seem that its mission is to promote social dialogue. However, today the ILO, in the best traditions of the Communist International, is trying to cultivate revolutionary forces out of trade unions. Not to protect workers’ rights, but so that, at the behest of certain countries, they destabilize the situation in States pursuing an independent policy. There are more than enough examples.
And most importantly, with every new crisis ordinary people throughout the world ask the question: why is the United Nations not working to establish peace? People are not interested in the United Nations’ institutional limitations; they want to see activity and results. There are none. Therefore it is not surprising that many identify the Organization with its secretariat, where representatives of Western countries dominate. As in Brussels, this is a world of cozy offices, sky-high salaries and a life far removed from the concerns of those who need help in various corners of our Planet. The paradox is also that many officials are often farther from conflict zones than any volunteer on the front line. This is not a reproach to the secretariat. This is a reproach to us — the Member States, which allowed this to become the norm.
Part 4. Belarus at the present stage The Republic of Belarus is a founding country of the United Nations. We stood at the origins of this Organization in 1945. It pains us to watch the ongoing weakening of the United Nations. Therefore, we criticize the Organization constructively, wishing it recovery and the acquisition of a second wind. We are convinced that the United Nations must remain the main universal forum for resolving common challenges.
In these most difficult geopolitical realities Belarus is trying to make its contribution to the creation of a new world.
First — food security. We are developing successfully and making a significant contribution to ensuring global food security. Thus, Belarus remains a reliable supplier of fertilizers and high-quality foodstuffs — meat, dairy products, grain — for the countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. We do this despite the logistical barriers, financial restrictions and transport blockade erected by the European Union. We prove that the economy should serve life, not political ambitions.
Second — the peace role. Belarus has always been and remains a country of peace. We have proved our ability to act as a reliable negotiating platform. We are ready to continue to do everything possible to achieve peace in Ukraine as soon as possible. But let us be frank: any sustainable peace in this country is impossible without eliminating the root causes that for years were ignored. This also includes plans to bring Ukraine into NATO in defiance of all security realities. This also includes the failure to implement the Minsk agreements, which were the only legitimate path to peace. Let me remind you that the implementation of these agreements was sabotaged by the West in order to buy time and give Ukraine the opportunity to rearm and, with renewed strength, seek revenge against Russia, as some Western politicians have recently admitted. The endless pumping of weapons into Ukraine leads only to the destruction of Ukraine itself and its people. We call for the earliest possible start of real negotiations that will lead to lasting peace. We are not only calling for this, but also acting.
Third, the Eurasian security architecture. Our special priority is ensuring Eurasian security. Since 2023, we have been successfully holding in our capital an international conference on this topic, where experts from different parts of Eurasia, and beyond, discuss ways to solve the problems of our continent. We are successfully promoting the idea of drafting a Eurasian Charter of Diversity and Multipolarity in the Twenty-First Century.
This initiative is connected with an attempt to create a new architecture of equal and indivisible security on our vast continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. An architecture intended to replace the bankrupt Euro-Atlantic system. In addition, the Charter should nurture the positive processes of regional cooperation that are already taking place in Eurasia within the framework of the SCO, the EAEU, the CIS, and other associations. We invite all interested parties to participate in the negotiation process.
Finally, our openness to dialogue. We are ready for cooperation with all interested countries. We also leave an open window for those Western politicians who are truly ready for an equal dialogue. But there are things that are unacceptable to us: pressure, diktat, ultimatums and illegal sanctions. We will not speak the language of force.
The language of mutual respect is our path.
Part 5. The global majority as the architect of the future Mr. President, The unipolar world is sinking. The elites of the West, accustomed to domination, are trying to keep it afloat, but in their futile efforts they are only sowing chaos. We spoke about this alarming trend last year as well, calling for action. But we see that nothing is changing and things are only getting worse.
Belarus and the countries of the global majority do not wish to sink with the wreckage of the old ship. We choose a different path. We are building a multipolar and just world of equal States in the interests of our peoples.
And we have no other path! For the future belongs to those who build it, not those who destroy it!
Thank you for your attention.