Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus S.Aleinik meets UNHCR Regional Representative for Central Europe

On September 22, 2021, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Sergei Aleinik met with Regional Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for Central Europe Roland Schilling.

R.Schilling is on visit to Belarus from 21 to 24 September 2021 to discuss the further interaction between Belarus and UNHCR in connection with the decision taken earlier by UNHCR to complete the functioning of its Office in Belarus.

Background Information. The decision to close the UNHCR Office in Belarus from January 2022 is part of the overall plan to reorganize the UNHCR's activities. Under this plan Belarus, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic will be under the responsibility of the UNHCR Subregional Office in Budapest. The reorganization decision was taken in 2020, taking into account the successful functioning of the Belarusian asylum system as well as the UNHCR financial situation.

During the meeting, the parties confirmed their mutual interest in maintaining a high level of cooperation between Belarus and UNHCR and discussed the practical aspects of the future representation of the Organization in the country.

The interlocutors also exchanged views on approaches to solving issues caused by the intensification of migration processes in the world. The Deputy Minister informed on the position of Belarus regarding the situation with refugees on the Belarusian border with neighboring western countries. R.Shilling thanked Belarus for interacting with the UNHCR Office in Belarus and providing UNHCR and non-governmental organizations with humanitarian access to refugees on the Belarusian-Polish section of the border.

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