MINSK, 3 December (BelTA) – Over 1,100 Ukrainians from the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone have received additional protection in Belarus, head of the Department of Citizenship and Migration at the Interior Ministry of Belarus Alexei Begun told media during the regional seminar on 3 December, BelTA informs.
“Over 1,100 citizens of Ukraine from the ATO zone got additional protection in Belarus. I would like to mention that Belarus uses the migration flow division principle. A part of Ukrainians get permits for labor activities. Others apply for temporary residence or claim citizenship,” said Alexei Begun.
Before 2013 the number of applications from foreign refugee seekers was relatively low, about 160 a year. “However, in 2014 due to the military conflict in Ukraine we faced a massive inflow of Ukrainians, especially from its south-eastern regions. The competent bodies of Belarus received applications for the refugee status and additional protection. As for today we have considered more than 1,300 applications of the kind,” the head of the department added.
According to Alexei Begun, some Ukrainians are denied the refugee status and additional protection in Belarus due to their criminal record. “We mainly deny the refugee status and additional protection to draft age people who come to Belarus to avoid military service,” he said.
The regional forum on asylum policy has gathered experts from Belgium, Germany, Latvia, Poland and Romania as well as representatives of the EU, the United Nations Office of the Higher Commissioner for Refugees and the competent bodies of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The forum has been organized to study the best international practices in forced migration, enhance the quality of training and taking decisions on granting the refugee status, and improve the professional level of the personnel of the interior bodies in the issues of the relevant national and international legislation.
