The answer of the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus A.Glaz to the question of the BelTA agency about the visit to Belarus of the Special Rapporteur on the UN Human Rights Council on the issue of the rights of migrants

BelTA: Felipe González Morales, Special Rapporteur on the UN Human Rights Council on the rights of migrants, has arrived in Belarus. Tell us how the visit is going, what is planned by the program of work?

A.Glaz: Yes, you know, FG Morales earlier sent a request to the Republic of Belarus to make this visit in connection with the situation with migrants on the border between Belarus and Poland.

Belarus, in the spirit of goodwill and cooperation with the competent international structures, reiterated to the Special Rapporteur its readiness to receive him on a visit and to facilitate his familiarization with the situation of migrants in Belarus.

Mr. Morales and his team successfully entered Belarus on July 16 and settled in Grodno, where today, July 18, they began their active work within the framework of the visit.

The Belarusian side suggested that the Special Rapporteur hold a series of events to obtain comprehensive information on the competence of his mandate.

Meetings are planned in the Grodno Regional Executive Committee and communication with the Belarusian Red Cross in Grodno, which directly works with migrants. We believe that the Special Rapporteur would be interested in visiting places in the border region where there were events with a large group of people who tried to seek asylum in Poland and encountered cruel and unjustified resistance from our neighbor.

We are ready, in the same open manner in which Belarus dealt with the situation with migrants in the fall of 2021, to provide the Special Rapporteur with access to information of interest to him.

On July 19 in Minsk, state bodies (Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Border Committee, Investigative Committee, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection) inform Mr. Morales about the approaches of the Belarusian state to migration issues and about the measures that have been taken to support refugees and migrants who have come to our territory in search of a peaceful and better life.

In Minsk, the Special Rapporteur will also meet with Belarusian public associations, international organizations present in Belarus, refugees and migrants.

On July 20, a meeting will be held at the Foreign Ministry, during which Mr. Morales will share his impressions and recommendations following the results of the events held in Belarus.

We look forward to the objective approach of the Special Rapporteur. The status of an independent international expert and the humanitarian mandate that Mr. Morales performs allow us to expect constructive and realistic assessments and recommendations from him, which we will be ready to study, analyze and subsequently decide on their possible use in order to improve the national system. Accordingly, this will be the main practical result of the visit.

We plan to announce the opinion of the Belarusian side on the results of the visit after the meeting with FG Morales on July 20.

Members of the press will have the opportunity to speak with him following his visits to two countries, Belarus and Poland, at an online press conference on July 28, 2022 at 12.00 Geneva time.

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