On December 11, 2025, the National Library of the Republic of Belarus in Minsk hosted the III International Scientific and Practical Conference dedicated to the 77th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The event was attended by representatives of government agencies, traditional religions and public institutions, scientists, historians and experts from near and far abroad from Bulgaria, Georgia, Italy, Poland, Russia and the USA.
The Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Zaslavl, was invited to participate in the conference. In his speech, Metropolitan Veniamin noted that in order to prevent the tragedy of genocide from happening again, humanity needs to reflect on the lessons of history and draw deep conclusions. The Archpastor stressed the importance of not only identifying the social, economic, political and ideological causes of crimes against humanity, but also pointed out the need to give a spiritual understanding to this phenomenon.
Turning to history, the Patriarchal Exarch stated: "Genocide was not an exclusive phenomenon of the previous century. It can be said that already in the most ancient written sources recorded attempts by peoples to destroy their rivals and at their expense to establish themselves in the space of history. To see an enemy in a representative of other nations is a common occurrence in the centuries—old ancient human history."
"But two thousand years ago, on the ancient Palestinian land, which saw terrible acts of mutual destruction, a religion arose that brought to the world a completely new perspective on the relationship between people and nations. It was Christianity that first introduced the concepts of equality of all people before God and thus the common destiny of all peoples of the world. All nations are branches of the same humanity, and its fate can be understood in terms of God's plan for man," continued Metropolitan Veniamin.
The Patriarchal exarch noted: "There have also been unpleasant pages in the history of Christian states, especially during periods of weakening faith and religious crises, but Evangelical principles have been profound deterrents to human cruelty. And it was thanks to Christianity that the idea of the value of man and any ethnic group became more and more deeply established in people's minds, and relations between peoples and states gradually improved."
"The tragedy of the 20th century was largely due to the refusal to follow Christian values. Moreover, it is precisely because of this refusal that genocide has acquired the most cynical forms in the history of mankind. For centuries, the genocide has left a trail of torment for thousands and millions of victims in human history. And today we still see the facts of genocide and calls for it in the world. The mass killings of Christians in the Middle East, calls for a ban on the canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine, persecution for using their native language, and other examples all show that humanity has not sufficiently learned the lessons of the 20th century," the hierarch emphasized.
In conclusion, Metropolitan Veniamin expressed the hope that in the 21st century humanity will be able to find enough prudence to unite in the fight against this phenomenon: "The responsibility of world powers for collective security, transparently operating and effective international norms, readiness to prosecute criminals involved in genocide, regardless of their political weight and the benefits of cooperation with They are what can really reduce the likelihood of a repeat of mass killings of people on our planet. Only by making diverse efforts together will countries around the world be able to find a path to peace and stability."