An experiment at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 26, 1986 led to a man-made disaster unprecedented in the history of humankind. Chernobyl hit Belarus most painfully. Due to the meteorological conditions, 23% of the country's territory, 3,600 settlements with a population of 2.3 million were exposed to radioactive contamination by cesium-137.

In the first post-accident years, both the USSR and the BSSR authorities made decisions on the issues related to the damage control and recovery. And after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Belarus had to deal with the whole set of Chernobyl problems. The laws "On the social protection of the citizens affected by the Chernobyl disaster" and "On the legal regime of the territories exposed to radioactive contamination as a result of the Chernobyl disaster" were adopted in 1991. The concepts of a national radiation environmental disaster, a territory of radioactive contamination, an exclusion zone, limited economic use, etc were legislatively defined.

In 1998, the Law of the Republic of Belarus on “Radiation Safety of the Population” was adopted. It specified radiation safety systems in the country and the transition process to the principles that complied with international standards and recommendations. The document expires soon due to the adoption of the Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 198-W dated 18.06.2019 "On Radiation Safety."

The scale of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster is disproportionate to the economic capabilities of one state and even of a group of states. That is why it is so important to establish long-term international cooperation with the UN. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution titled "Strengthening of International Cooperation and Coordination of Efforts to Study, Mitigate and Minimize the Consequences of the Chernobyl Disaster" at the 68th session in December 2013.

The document acknowledges the efforts undertaken by the authorities of the affected states to mitigate and minimize the consequences of the disaster and calls to all the UN organizations concerned to support these efforts, including by providing necessary resources for Chernobyl-related socio-economic and health and environmental programmes.

The exhibition will appeal to researchers, students and graduate students, professors of law and history, government officials, and those interested in environmental law.

The exposition includes about 60 documents among which are books, periodicals and abstracts of dissertations in Russian and English.

The exhibition includes the following thematic sections:

·        International Cooperation of the Republic of Belarus in the field of Prevention and Control of Emergencies
·        State Policy of the Republic of Belarus in the Field of the Mitigation of the Consequences of the Chernobyl Accident
·        Social and Legal Protection of the Citizens of the Republic of Belarus affected by the Chernobyl Disaster
·        Legal Mechanisms for Environmental Protection and Environmental Safety in the Republic of Belarus

· Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus

· The UN Activities in Overcoming the Consequences

The opening hours of the exhibition correspond to the library’s opening hours.

Admission is by a library card or by the Social and Cultural Center ticket.

For more info: (8 017) 293 27 28.

Official Documents Service Department