Minsk Says UNESCO Unwilling To Assess Environmental Impact Of Poland's Border Fence

MINSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th May, 2023) The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is not ready to support the Belarusian initiative to send an observation mission to assess environment threats created by the Polish fence on the state border between the countries, the Belarusian Embassy in France said on Wednesday.

In 2021, Poland started the construction of a fence on the border with Belarus amid a migration crisis. Minsk argues the fence blocks movement of bison and other inhabitants of the Bialowieza Forest and divides the relict area into Polish and Belarusian parts, which undermines the local ecosystem. Minsk has repeatedly urged UNESCO to assess the situation and deliver its verdict.

"Belarus once again raised the issue of the preservation of the Bialowieza Forest UNESCO World Heritage site, which is negatively affected by the fence built by Poland on the border with Belarus.

The organization stated it is not ready to support the initiative of Belarus to send an expert mission to the Bialowieza Forest to assess the existing threats," the embassy said in a statement.

Besides, Minsk supported a series of educational initiatives proposed by Russia and Uzbekistan, as well as Mexico's proposal to declare 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, the statement said.

Additionally, Belarus expressed regret over the fact that the country is affected by unlawful political and economic sanctions, as well as other discrimination measures, including in sports, the statement read.