SDGs in Belarus: focus on youth

The United Nations in Belarus

SDGs in Belarus: focus on youth
Photo: © UN in Belarus

The UN Country Team includes 7 resident UN Agencies that have permanent representative offices in Belarus: International Organization for Migration (IOM); Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS); UN Development Programme (UNDP); United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); and World Health Organization (WHO).

The extended UN family also includes the international financial institutions working in Belarus such as:

  • World Bank (WB);
  • International Monetary Fund (IMF);
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC).

A number of non-resident UN Agencies also actively support development in Belarus by collaborating closely with governmental and non-government organisations and participating in joint UN projects and activities in Belarus. These entities include:

  • International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
  • International Trade Centre (ITC)
  • International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
  • Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
  • United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
  • United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT)
  • United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
  • United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
  • United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
  • United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)
  • United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
  • United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
  • World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) have their National Correspondents in the country.

The UN Office in Belarus was opened in 1992. The UN mandate in Belarus was delineated by an Agreement between the Government of Belarus and the UN, signed on 15 May 1992, which calls upon the UN “to support and supplement the national efforts at solving the most important problems of its economic development and to promote social progress and better standards of life”.

Milestones

1

Between 1995 and 2018, the country’s Human Development Index value increased by 24.5 percent and ranked it into the very high human development category (50th out of 189 countries and territories).

2

In pursuance of its commitment to Agenda 2030, Belarus established a comprehensive national machinery to support the achievement of the SDGs. The country has engaged in multiple national and international forums to advance the concept of sustainable development and set up a statistical SDGs reporting platform to track the progress.

3

Belarus indicated in its first Voluntary National Report on SDGs in 2017 that it will focus on the goals and objectives of Agenda 2030 related to food safety and sustainable agriculture, health and education, gender equality, employment and demographics, as well as to sustainable infrastructure establishment, stimulation of sustainable industrialization and innovation.

4

In 2019, the UN in Belarus started preparation of the next UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2021-2025, the most important instrument for planning and implementing UN development activities in the country, in support of the SDGs.

5

The UNCT formulated the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2021-2025 in consultation with a wide range of national partners simultaneously contributing to the development of the state programmes, national strategies, concepts and plans.

6

The draft National Sustainable Development Strategy 2035, which should enter into force in 2020, was developed with expert support of the UN entities in Belarus. The draft National Strategy confirms that it is necessary to pair national goals with the 17 SDGs, and will also be adapted to the long-term development conditions of Belarus.

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The Sustainable Development Goals in Belarus

The Sustainable Development Goals are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the earth’s environment and climate, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity. These are the goals the UN is working on in Belarus: