On 12 November, the Ministers of the Interior of Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland sent an official letter to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Doctors Without Borders, calling for support for humanitarian issues on the border with Belarus.
“Latvia is ready to defend the European Union’s external border if the mass flow of migration is directed towards Latvia. This is the duty of both our national security and our membership of the European Union. However, it is already clear that this will not be possible without other European Union countries and “It is absolutely unacceptable that the Lukashenko regime is using live people in this hybrid operation,” said Interior Minister Maria Golubeva.
In the letter, the states condemn the instrumentalization of migration and the exploitation of people by the Belarusian authorities for political reasons. The deterioration of the weather at the beginning of the winter season poses a major risk to human life. Wherever possible, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have provided immediate humanitarian and medical assistance to those in need.
In order to avoid tragedies and humanitarian crises on Belarusian territory, the letter calls on the Belarusian authorities and other parties to contact them to arrange humanitarian and medical assistance for the people they have arrived on their territory. It is essential that both international and non-governmental organizations help migrants return to their countries of origin, provide the necessary assistance and play an active role in preventing the flow of illegal migration across the European Union’s eastern border.
A copy of the letter has also been received by Ilva Juhansone, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs.
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