⚡️ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus have published their third Joint Report on the human rights situation in selected countries. 👉 Read the Report in full From the address to readers by Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Dmitry Lyubinsky and Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus Igor Sekreta: The universal nature of human rights means that people of any nationality, race, sex, age and state of health have the right to a dignified life regardless of what they believe in, whom they love, or any other characteristics. The universality of human rights also means that they must be respected across the globe, in every country, without manipulations based on double standards. One cannot pretend that problems do not exist, or hush them up, while at the same time interfering in the internal affairs of sovereign states in an attempt to impose the notorious “rules-based order” – rules that run counter to the norms and principles of international law enshrined in universally recognised international documents. This is precisely the approach we call on our colleagues from the countries covered in this report to follow. *** The third joint report by Foreign Ministries of Russia and Belarus on the human rights situation in selected countries, presented to experts and the public, is a clear example of close intergovernmental cooperation in the field of human rights and demonstrates the proximity of our countries’ positions on this important issue. The document is aimed at drawing attention to the challenges and threats facing today’s international community in the field of human rights. Above all, when describing the list of problems in the promotion and protection of human rights compiled in the report, one cannot fail to note the unchanged essence of these problems – namely, the so-called double standards that still persist and are even worsening in assessments of various human rights situations and phenomena. This approach is regularly used by the “collective West” to fuel confrontation, pressure sovereign states and interfere in their internal affairs, as shown in the relevant country sections of the report. Through their increasingly brazen approaches to interpreting human rights, Western countries completely negate their own rhetoric about the universality of these rights. Another feature of the current situation is the scaling back of social obligations and the militarisation of entire sectors of the economy – all under the pretext of the notorious external threat. Such “narratives”, as they are now commonly called, are widespread in the Baltic states, Poland, Ukraine and Moldova, whose economies are rapidly degrading. Germany, France, Britain and a number of other countries of the “Old and New World” are following the same path. *** ❗️Another matter of grave concern is the resurgence of racism and racial discrimination. We have repeatedly stated at international human rights forums and in thematic reports that racist ideas and “values” are being openly promoted in a number of countries, while national radicals are being glorified. Such approaches are destroying the principles and manifestations of humanism in international politics, erasing established notions of normality and permissibility, and effectively laying the groundwork for a new public morality based on inequality, discrimination and the possibility of eliminating those deemed undesirable. The numerous examples from the present and the past compiled in the report convincingly confirm the importance – indeed, the imperative – of consolidating the efforts of the entire constructively minded international community to successfully counter existing and emerging challenges and mitigate their negative consequences. #HumanRights