MINSK, 22 March (BelTA) – A preliminary discussion of parliaments' role in local and regional development in countries with a high level of international migration was held on the sidelines of the 144th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Chairman of the Standing Commission on International Affairs of the House of Representatives Andrei Savinykh told BelTA.
This debate kick-started the work on an IPU resolution that will also address issues of human trafficking and violations of migrant rights.
Andrei Savinykh informed the participants of the meeting about Belarus' efforts to mitigate the migrant crisis that unfolded in the summer of 2021.
“Belarus got on the radar of migrant smugglers after the EU refused to cooperate with our country under the readmission agreement that regulated the handling of illegal migrants,” the parliamentarian noted. Andrei Savinykh noted that military operations in the Middle East and North Africa were among the factors that led to the surge in migrant flows.
The 144th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union is taking place in Nusa Dua, Bali, the Republic of Indonesia.
