Events

14 Dec 2020

Belarus hails UNESCO’s efforts to mitigate COVID-19 impact

MINSK, 14 December (BelTA) – A Belarusian delegation took part in the 210th session of the UNESCO Executive Board, the first part of which took place online on 2-10 December, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Embassy in France.

The Belarusian delegation was led by Belarus' Permanent Representative to UNESCO Igor Fisenko. Belarus was elected member of the UNESCO Executive Board for 2017-2021.

The 210th session focused on addressing the challenges in education, science, and culture related to the COVID-19 pandemic. As he addressed the session, Igor Fisenko welcomed measures taken by UNESCO to assist its member states in handling the crisis caused by the pandemic.

The Belarusian delegation also called on all the member states to avoid politicization of UNESCO’s activities and to focus on facilitating the development of science, education, and culture worldwide, which is in keeping with the mandate and spirit of UNESCO.

Chairperson of the UNESCO Executive Board Agapito Mba Mokuy supported Belarus’ stance. He pointed out that in the time when more than 150 million school students around the world cannot attend schools it is unacceptable to use UNESCO to defend political ambitions of some countries.

The second part of the session is scheduled for 20-27 January 2021. If the epidemiological situation allows, it will be held offline, because its agenda includes matters that require in-person attendance of the delegates, including voting.