Rendering help to everyone - Belarus and UN discuss issue of refugees from Ukraine

5 октября 2022
Amendments to the presidential decree "On Residence of Citizens of Ukraine" allowed more than 3,000 applications for temporary residence permits and more than 1,700 for permanent residence permits to be processed in an expedited manner. And more than 1,800 Ukrainians have applied for refugee status or subsidiary protection. These figures were announced today at a meeting of the coordinating forum for humanitarian assistance to refugees from Ukraine. Thus, stakeholders are preparing to launch an online platform. There will be a list of organizations that provide assistance to those coming from the neighboring country. The start of the project is planned for November.

Alexei Begun, Head of the Department of Citizenship and Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus:

The problematic issues faced by the domestic bodies of state administration in dealing with citizens arriving from the territory of Ukraine were resolved by a presidential decree signed on September 17. The document regulates all the issues of humanitarian, medical and other assistance to the citizens of Ukraine, who are in a difficult life situation and stay in the territory of Belarus. And the Ministry of Internal Affairs within its competence issues permanent or temporary residence permits, registers them, as well as issues permits for the right to work. In addition, on behalf of the President we promptly consider applications from Ukrainians for citizenship.

And today, during the meeting of representatives of state institutions, international and nongovernmental structures regulated the mechanism of assistance. It excludes all the bureaucratic delays. And here it is important to understand that it is not only financial issues; it provides help to Ukrainians who find themselves in difficult life situations.

Mulusew Mamo, representative of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Belarus:

“The main thing is to understand the needs of people, find resources and organize their delivery. The main task is not only humanitarian protection of refugees. He also emphasized the importance of providing them legal assistance, so that they would be in the country legally when they arrive.”