Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 9 April (BelTA) – The Belarusian migration legislation is aimed at efficient social integration and adaptation of migrants, Belarus’ Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Dapkiunas said while speaking at the general debate on Sustainable Cities, Human Mobility and International Migration at the 51^st session of the UN Commission on Population and Development on 9 April, BelTA has learned.

“Human migration presents one of today’s greatest modern development challenges. The issues of overcoming negative consequences of migration, including a high level of illegal migration, illegal employment, human trafficking, and negative influence on the family remain to be of immediate interest. The international community faces a difficult task of transforming this complex problem into windows of opportunities for governments and ordinary people, citizens and migrants. The need to develop mobility programs at the national, regional and international levels to promote safe and organized migration is one of the key recommendations of the national consultations that were held in Minsk in 2017 to discuss the development of a global treaty on migration. The Belarusian migration legislation is aimed at effective social integration and adaptation of migrants,” the deputy minister said.

In his words, the tendency of the people’s outflow from rural areas to cities is typical for Belarus, too. The state’s town-planning policy for 2016-2020 is aimed at stimulating the development of small and medium-sized towns and cities and the regulation of internal migration. The Belarusian government is implementing the project of “agro-towns” with modernized infrastructure and a high level of public services. This year, Belarus has launched a pilot project Village of the Future, which is aimed at supporting young families with children in rural areas.

Andrei Dapkiunas also stressed that following the decision of the Belarusian head of state 2018 was declared the Year of Native Land to focus on the revival of rural areas and the mitigation of the overpopulation of cities as factors to regulate internal migration and ecological sustainability.