Report on the situation of Belarusian Conscientious Objectors and draft evaders in Lithuania

(17.08.2023) By International Centre for civil initiatives “Our House” (Nash Dom), Belarus & Lithuania, with the support of International Fellowship of Reconciliation – Austria, European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, Federation for Social Defence, Germany, Connection e.V., War Resisters’ International, The International Peace Bureau (IPB), Vilnius, 17 August 2023

Summary: The mass pushbacks of non-European migrants at the Belarusian border since 2021 exemplify a broader erosion of asylum rights, refoulement prohibition, and rule of law principles in Lithuania post-2022. Following the 2020 crackdown, Belarusians entered Lithuania on humanitarian visas for safety. After Russia’s Ukraine invasion, Lithuania’s treatment of Belarusian exiles changed. They shifted from perceived regime opponents to security threats.

In early 2023, around 48,804 Belarusians sought refuge in Lithuania due to 2020 protests and war, with about 55,000 residing there by July 2023. Over 1,165 Belarusians were labeled “national security threats” in six months, often based on past army service or attendance at a cadet academy, lacking specific accusations.

Read the full report here: https://news.house/60784

Keywords:    ⇒ Belarus   ⇒ English Material   ⇒ Lithuania