Problems of Belarusians in Ukraine Discussed at the Ostroh Forum in Kyiv

The main problem for Belarusians in Ukraine is discrimination, concluded participants of the Forum of Ostroh Princes during a discussion titled "Belarusians in Ukraine: Allies, Foreigners, or a Community Without Defined Status?" in Kyiv on September 18. They discussed measures being taken to rectify the situation and why Ukraine needs Belarusians in general, writes Belsat.

The discussion was attended by Volodymyr Yavorsky, Program Director of the Centre for Civil Liberties; Maryia Animiya, representative of the "Bysol" foundation, activist, and volunteer; Barys Zakharau, director of the charitable foundation "Lyudyna i Pravo" (Human and Law); and Aryna Korshunava, co-founder of the public initiative "Deya.Kyiv" and volunteer. Oleksiy Honcharenko, Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and Chairman of the Black Sea Security Forum, joined online.

What problems do Belarusians face most often?

According to those present at the discussion, foreigners in Ukraine generally face discrimination, particularly concerning legalization and obtaining various documents.

The "Bysol" representative noted that most Belarusians who are not fighting turn to the organization precisely with the problem of legalization. She drew attention to Resolution No. 141 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, according to which foreigners had to update their temporary residence permits by August 4. This can only be done with a passport, but for some Belarusians, the validity period of their document has expired. Thus, these people are considered undocumented.

"So what should they do? If they return to Belarus, we all know what will happen. Should they remain undocumented here without work, without a bank account, without the possibility of going abroad somewhere? This is a big problem. This is the most frequent question we are asked. We have no answer to it. So we are waiting for some draft laws to come into effect, for something new to be adopted, but this does not protect people right now," emphasized Maryia Animiya.

In second place is the problem with bank accounts – after the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the country's National Bank prohibited banks from serving Belarusians and Russians.

"You don't have the opportunity to open an account, earn money, work, invest money in the Ukrainian economy, which would be very good. People constantly ask: maybe something has changed, maybe something has opened, but no. So this is the top of all questions that come to our foundation. I am not talking about military personnel now, because there are their own nuances there," said Maryia Animiya.

Good changes might be adopted for military personnel

Volodymyr Yavorsky spoke about the details of Ukrainian draft law No. 15585 "On Amending Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Clarification of the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons Participating in the Defense of the Territorial Integrity and Inviolability of Ukraine."

"Besides the Centre for Civil Liberties, I also represent the public organization 'Lanka,' which deals with the rehabilitation of military personnel and veterans. And it was precisely in this organization that the idea of creating this draft law arose quite a long time ago, because we encountered many cases of discrimination," said Yavorsky.

According to him, the draft law proposes a number of things for military personnel and their families. Among them is the reduction of terms for legalization in Ukraine. Also, for the first time in Ukraine, the concept of a travel document for foreigners is being created. This would help those who do not have a valid passport.

"Now we require that there simply be a register, an extract from the register, as a single document needed to obtain legalization itself," said Yavorsky. "In principle, we would like much more. And between the first and second readings in parliament, if they happen, we can try to insert even more good provisions there."

However, the draft law does not resolve issues with bank accounts. According to Yavorsky, this is generally illegal:

"These measures introduced by the National Bank can only be applied to citizens of an aggressor state. Belarus has never been legally recognized as an aggressor state."

Even regarding Russians, such a measure is not justified, he believes, and individual checks should be carried out to determine if a person can open an account.

Overall, in his opinion, Ukraine lacks a systemic policy regarding foreigners.

"Lawlessness that leads to such terrible cases as with Vasil Verameichyk"

Barys Zakharau notes that there are many problems related to discrimination specifically based on citizenship. This applies to both Belarusians and Russians.

"There cannot be discrimination based on citizenship; there can be citizens of an aggressor state who fight for Ukraine, support Ukraine. Therefore, there must be an exclusively individual approach.

From a security perspective, of course, as Mr. Volodymyr said, if there are grounds for a check, the check must be conducted. But all these things must happen absolutely transparently and in accordance with the legislation, which we effectively lack in this regard. We simply have lawlessness that leads to such terrible cases as with Vasil Verameichyk (a former fighter of the Kalinouski Regiment, who is now imprisoned in Belarus)," Zakharau emphasized.

He noted that Belarusians living in Ukraine are mostly either those who fight for Ukraine or those who oppose the Minsk authorities and also support Ukraine.

"We should simply tell them 'for our freedom and yours' and give them the opportunity to integrate into Ukrainian society to defend against aggression together with us, and then change the regime in Belarus itself," Barys Zakharau added.

Aryna Korshunava, who has volunteered in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale aggression, thanked everyone working to improve conditions for Belarusians in Ukraine:

"An existential crisis, perhaps, has come upon some after the previous speeches, but I, living here and seeing positive changes, thank you."

She noted that Ukraine needs people, and through her acquaintances, she sees that there are those who are thinking about coming to Ukraine and doing something for its benefit.

"I understand that these are isolated stories, but nevertheless. Perhaps, after such attention to the forum this year, we can hope that political will will be directed this way, and the procedure for Belarusians to enter here will be simplified, and perhaps something will change with accounts, because without accounts, as the girls said, it is very often difficult to invest in the economy, and why are we here if not for the economy and some reconstruction?" Aryna Korshunava concluded.

• 2
• 0
• 1
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0