All projects are implemented through national partners and are targeted at improving the lives of UNHCR people of concern, their integration into the Belarusian society and creating sustainable livelihoods for them.

Protection assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers in Belarus

The Refugee Counseling Service provides free of charge legal counseling, assistance with registration, managing emergency situations in individual cases, as well as the intervention with the authorities on the issues related to refugee status determination and border / protection monitoring.

Social and medical assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers in Belarus  

The Belarusian Red Cross Society provides social counselling, food packages, hygienic kits, as well as administers provision of UNHCR emergency and monthly financial assistance to asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons. The BRC also assists asylum-seekers and refugees with obtaining access to primary and secondary medical care, employment and vocational training opportunities. The project offers the Russian language training programmes as well.

Integration and adaptation of refugee children and adolescents  

Center for Children and Adolescents “Evrika” carries out cultural, educational and recreational activities aimed at integration of refugee and asylum-seeker children; provides psychological assistance to children and their parents, especially mothers, as well as arranges temporary off-school employment for young people.

Protection assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers in Belarus

The Refugee Counseling Service provides free of charge legal counseling, assistance with registration, managing emergency situations in individual cases, as well as the intervention with the authorities on the issues related to refugee status determination and border / protection monitoring.

Helping Belarus address the phenomenon of increasing numbers of irregular migrants (IMBEL project)

In 2018-2022, Belarus with the support of the EU, IOM, UNHCR and other project stakeholders will develop and implement an encompassing migration policy in compliance with the international standards.

By the end of the project, Belarus will have a comprehensive irregular migration management system, contemporary migrant accommodation infrastructure and effective establishment of assisted and voluntary return and reintegration system that would altogether operate with respect for gender dimension and migrants’ rights.

To build capacities of specialists in the field of irregular migrationб including dealing with its people of concern, UNHCR together with its partners the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus and Belarusian Young Women Christian Association carry out training activities for  specialists at Ministry of Internal Affairs and State Border Committee of Belarus.

Asylum Systems Quality Initiative in Eastern Europe and South Caucasus (QIEE)  

Combining the expertise of 6 countries, QIEE project, launched in 2013, aims at promoting the protection of refugees and asylum-seekers in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine by providing capacity building opportunities for state asylum officials, judges, border guards and legal practitioners both at the country and regional levels. The project is focused on development and improvement of the asylum domain in three interrelated key thematic areas: quality assurance, capacity building and country of origin information in Russian language.

Mitigation of the risks of sexual and gender-based violence among and towards vulnerable refugees / asylum-seekers / forced migrants

In 2019 with the financial support of the U.S. Embassy in Belarus, a crisis room for the most vulnerable categories of UNHCR people of concern was opened in Hrodna on the basis of the Hrodna branch of Belarusian Red Cross Society. This is the first crisis room with a special focus on prevention of sexual and gender-based violence among / towards UNHCR persons of concern in Belarus and the first example of successful cooperation between UNHCR, Belarusian Red Cross Society and the U.S. Embassy in Belarus.

Monitoring of the situation with admission of foreigners to the territory of the EU at Belarus-Poland border (“Brest-Terespol” border crossing point)

UNHCR is aware of the situation of non-admission of foreigners, mostly citizens of the Russian Federation from Chechen Republic, to the EU at Belarus-Poland border in “Brest-Terespol” border-crossing point since 2013. Together with the Refugee Counselling Service UNHCR regularly monitors the situation in order to interview the people and find out the reasons of their flight from their countries of origin; provide counselling on the possibility to seek asylum in Belarus and assistance with asylum applications; and gather information on the number of people trying to be admitted to the EU, those managing to enter Poland and quantity of returned back to Belarus after non-admission.