BREST, 30 June (BelTA) - Only 1% of the internally displaced persons from Ukraine in Belarus applied to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for subsidiary protection, UNHCR Representative in Belarus Jean-Yves Bouchardy said when visiting the Refugee Counseling Service in Brest, BelTA has learned.
Since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine in 2014 about 160,000 people came to Belarus. Since then around 1,600 people or 1% have applied to the UNHCR Office for subsidiary protection,” he informed.
“A small part of the citizens of Ukraine seek the refugee status and subsidiary protection in Belarus. We know that some are returning home. Although I wouldn't say that there are many of them. Most people stay here. I would like to mention that the Belarusians displayed a lot of sympathy towards the people displaced from Ukraine,” Jean-Yves Bouchardy said.
In general he described the situation with displaced persons in Belarus as fairly calm. In terms of the number of applications to the UNHCR Office, citizens of Ukraine are first and followed by citizens of Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen. Now a family of from Afghanistan of 8 people are formalizing their legal status in Brest Oblast.
Jean-Yves Bouchardy said that Belarus is preparing a new edition of the law governing displaced persons. The UNHCR Office took an active part in its preparation. Recently the amendments have been approved by the House of Representatives of the National Assembly. Soon, the draft law will be submitted to the head of state. It is planned that the new law will be applicable starting July 2017. According to Jean-Yves Bouchardy, the document envisages positive changes in terms of the rights and responsibilities of refugees.
When visiting the Refugee Counseling Service in Brest, the UNHCR Representative met with people from Ukraine, answered their questions, and listened to their concerns and requests, which were mainly related to employment. During the two-day visit to Brest Jean-Yves Bouchardy will also visit a temporary refugee center, the Brest Oblast Office of Citizenship and Migration of the Interior Ministry, the regional organization of the Belarusian Red Cross Society, the regional Union of Employers.
