Belarus

As of 30 June 2021, there are 294 people with refugee status living in Belarus, coming mostly from Afghanistan, Georgia and Syria. Belarus is also hosting 2624 people with complementary protection, predominantly from Ukraine, Syria and Yemen, and 6103 stateless persons, whose top three countries of former habitual residence are the Russian Federation, Latvia and Kazakhstan.

In the first half of 2020, 209 people applied for asylum in Belarus, the majority of which were submitted by people from Ukraine, Iraq, DR Congo and Turkey.

UNHCR has been operating in Belarus since 1995, providing assistance to people fleeing conflict and persecution in Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Georgia, Iraq and other countries.

The role of UNHCR in Belarus is to advise and support the government and to build the capacity of national partners to address the refugee and statelessness situation. The activities are targeted, among other things at improving asylum space in the region, promoting tolerance to facilitate integration and advocating the country’s accession to the UN statelessness convention. The office also strives to develop durable solutions for forcibly displaced persons with a focus on education and employment.