MINSK, 17 January (BelTA) – The EU will provide Belarus with financial assistance to set up detention centers for illegal migrants, BelTA learned from the website of the Belarusian Interior Ministry.
The European Commission has decided on the allocation of €7 million on the international technical assistance project to help Belarus address issues related to the increasing inflow of illegal migrants. “The project will focus on setting up illegal migrant holding facilities. It should be noted that these centers will be only for illegal migrants detained inside the country. Syrians or other refugees from the EU will not be hold there,” the Interior Ministry stressed.
Illegal migrants will be held in special facilities for the time needed to complete necessary personal identification and deportation procedures. At present, the Interior Ministry and the State Border Committee do not have facilities designated for these people.
A working group has been set up on the project. The group has comprised experts from the Interior Ministry, the State Border Committee and the IOM Office in Belarus. Apart from setting up centers, money will also be used to assist voluntary returning of foreigners home, and also to address other matters.
Funds will be allocated as part of the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) on the grounds of the corresponding agreement that should be signed between the Interior Ministry, the European Commission and the IOM Office in Belarus. The draft agreement has already been submitted to the Belarusian side.
International technical assistance to the project will be provided by the European Union through the IOM Office in Belarus. Among the partners of the Interior Ministry will be the State Border Committee, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UNHCR Office in Belarus and also Belarusian public associations engaged in assisting the most vulnerable migrants.
