Migrants stopped on border will be given humanitarian aid, Lithuanian Interior Ministry says


Lithuania has decided to give migrants stopped on the border with Belarus humanitarian aid, says Delfi.lt.

The decision was taken after the Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė and Minister of Social Security and Labor Monika Navickienė had met with representatives of government agencies and non-governmental organizations. By the end of the year, Lithuania plans to prepare 5 thousand such packages from the available resources and to organize the necessary public procurement.

The Interior Ministry of Lithuania says that even before this decision, the staff at the border, if necessary, gave the migrants, who they stopped at the border food, water, providing them with the essential medical care. Still, now the humanitarian assistance will be systematic and well organized.

“We cannot allow illegal migrants to flood into our country, so we will continue to use U-turn tactics. However, as much as possible, we must present assistance to people who have been driven into this ungrateful situation by the Belarusian regime,” Agne Bilataite notes. “We very much count on the help and the active actions of NGOs operating in Belarus, so that they take care of the migrants in their country, who have become the weapons of the regime.”

The humanitarian package will include dry rations, water, and basic necessities.

Lithuania also proposes to establish an Agency for Migration and Asylum, which will deal with all processes related to refugees and asylum seekers.

Since the beginning of August, more than 5 thousand migrants have not been allowed into Lithuania from Belarus. 156 people have been let into the country for humanitarian reasons. The Department of Migration has already reviewed more than half of the asylum applications – out of 3,148 applications 1,853 have been reviewed. Asylum has been granted to six refugees.

belsat.eu

 

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