On 31 March, President signed a Decree on the accession of the Republic of Belarus to the Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes adopted in London on 17 June 1999.

The Ministry of Healthcare and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus have been delegated the responsibility for honouring the commitments undertaken by Belarus with regard to this Protocol.

The Protocol aims at protecting man’s health and ensuring man’s wellbeing through rational use of water resources, enhancing the quality and safety of drinking water, fighting diseases caused by the use of poor-quality drinking water.

To fulfil the Protocol, a national plan will be designed containing national and local targets. National and local supervision and early warning systems will be created or improved within the framework of the Protocol; comprehensive plans will be developed as to how to act in emergency situations to respond promptly to outbreaks of water-related diseases.

The accession to the Protocol will allow the Republic of Belarus to have an access to international technical and financial assistance so as to improve its systems of monitoring of and response to emergency situations caused by contamination of water.