Opposition politician urges UN to disinvite Łukašenka from 2023 SDG Summit

May 12, BPN. Belarus’ leading opposition politician has urged the UN to withdraw the invitation from Alaksandr Łukašenka to the 2023 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit.

“5K political prisoners in Belarus and 0.5 million forced migrants from Belarus, aren’t they enough?” Pavieł Łatuška of the National Anti-Crisis Management (NAM) tweeted.

“As Belarusian I demand to retract your statement that UN intends to invite Łukašenka, who usurped power in Belarus,” he said in an appeal to Gwi Yeop Son, representing the UN Development Cooperation Office.

The summit is scheduled to take place in New York in September.

Łatuška also accused Łukašenka of committing war crimes by illegally transferring Ukrainian children to Russia.

The news of a possible SDC Summit invitation to Belarus’ authoritarian ruler surfaced on May 11 in the Belarusian state-run media following Gwi Yeop Son’s visit to Minsk where she reportedly praised Belarus’ experience in achieving the SDGs.

The UN invitation to Łukašenka contains requests from the UN secretary general to accelerate the achievement of SDGs and involve civil society and the private sector along with the government, according to Gwi Yeop Son.

In July 2022, Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja presented an alternative report on Belarus’ SDGs at the UN office in New York.

Systematic and unprecedented human rights abuse prevents Belarus from achieving SDGs, she stressed. Belarusian authorities keep using the UN to boast of the successful implementation of SDGs and complain about sanctions, her report noted.

Cichanoŭskaja urged the UN to stop providing funds to the Belarusian authorities, citing Minsk’s failure to comply with international human rights obligations.