The significance of the word “Chornobyl” is recognized across every continent. This large-scale catastrophe left a radioactive trace in nearly all countries of the Northern Hemisphere. For Belarus, the consequences were particularly tragic due to the long-term contamination of a quarter of its territory and authoritarian policies that devalue human life and health.
The accident affected almost every Belarusian family. Chornobyl resettlers, who became a symbol of environmental displacement in the 20th century, remain deeply associated with the Belarusian identity.
Forty years later, the consequences have not disappeared. However, as time passes, firsthand testimonies are fading, and new narratives seek to diminish them. The burden of this impact still rests heavily on the affected lands and families.
Armed conflicts—in particular, the Russian aggression against Ukraine and attacks on nuclear facilities—have demonstrated the vulnerability and underestimated dangers of nuclear power plants. The deployment of Russian nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory increases the risk of nuclear escalation and their potential use in local conflicts. According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the world today is closer to the threat of nuclear conflict than at any point during the Cold War. At the same time, governments attempt to convince us of the safety of supposedly «new» nuclear technologies and the deterrent potential of nuclear weapons.
Chornobyl, as both a historical fact and an ongoing catastrophe, is losing its perceived urgency against the backdrop of new wars. However, the scale and millennial duration of the consequences of the Chornobyl disaster surpass most social upheavals and wars, with the possible exception of a global nuclear conflict.
This is why today we speak about Chornobyl—and more. We emphasize the growing risk of new radiation catastrophes of a similar scale and call on the international community, governments, and citizens to do everything possible to prevent them, including the following:
- Stop the spread of myths regarding nuclear energy as «safe» and «climate-friendly,» and nuclear weapons as an «effective deterrent.» Reliable information is the only foundation for effective decision-making.
- Rehabilitate Chornobyl’s memory, giving it due recognition beyond this single day. Society requires continuous information about the catastrophe—its past, present, and future—since its consequences will remain dangerous for an unforeseeably long time.
- Rethink policies regarding the consequences of Chornobyl. Recognize that only joint, consistent, and adequate actions based on scientific data can reduce risks for present and future generations.
- Exclude nuclear energy from green agendas and environmental plans, even in the short term, to allow for the implementation of truly sustainable steps.
- Take urgent measures to protect operating nuclear power plants in risk zones from military attacks. If protection is impossible, they must be shut down.
- Develop and implement sustainable, non-nuclear energy strategies based on decentralization and renewable sources.
- Make every possible effort to reduce the risk of nuclear escalation, including taking solidarity-based and decisive actions to protect the peoples of Belarus and the world from nuclear war.
On this day, we draw attention to Belarus, whose citizens suffer not only from the Chornobyl legacy but are also held hostage by the Аstravets Nuclear Power Plant.
We call on the authorities of the country to:
- Restore citizens’ right to information regarding environmental contamination. Adopt legislative measures for this purpose, including a return to the UNECE Aarhus Convention.
- Ensure this right by providing full and up-to-date information on the consequences of the Chornobyl disaster; to this end, resume monitoring, research, and cooperation with independent and international experts.
- Cease the resettlement and economic use of contaminated territories; restore the social protection for liquidators and affected persons that was abolished between 2010 and 2025.
- Disclose all information regarding the Astravets Nuclear Power Plant, including all technical incidents, and conduct public radiation monitoring in accordance with European standards.
- Implement all recommendations from international organizations regarding the Astravets Nuclear Power Plant, including opening the facility for independent monitoring.
- Restore Belarus’s nuclear-free, neutral status.
We call on the international community to:
- Develop and apply international mechanisms of accountability—particularly regarding the Russian Federation—for concealing information about radiation accidents and for acts of aggression against radiation-hazardous facilities.
- Create a publicly accessible, independent international radiological registry that includes primary contamination data.
- Classify the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus as a violation of the principles of collective security.
- Prohibit trade in nuclear materials and technologies with aggressor states (specifically the Russian Federation).
Today, both the «peaceful» and the military atom threaten the planet’s ecosystems—we have no right to undermine life on Earth. Forty years after Chornobyl, we recognize our responsibility to present and future generations: only reliable information, openness, and democratic principles will allow us to adequately assess the consequences of the catastrophe and take the necessary measures to overcome them.
The resolution was adopted by: Green Network, NGO Ecohome, Green Belarus, Belarusian Green Party, Belarusian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum,The Belarusian Christian Democracy, Solidarity Movement «Together», “Dapamoga”, the Country for Life Party
