The role of migration in the political system of Belarus

Poor political culture suppresses the political development in the country. Currently there are few stable social groups recognizing their interests and able to protect them through political activity.Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM-East) is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European Unio

Characteristic features of migrants' integration in present-day Belarus

CARIM-East: Creating an Observatory of Migration East of EuropeThe integration of migrants is becoming an increasingly important question in Belarus. As socio-economic cooperation between Belarus and other countries is developing the list of participants in the integration process of migrants is growing. For several decades, the traditional participants were citizens from neighboring countries: Russia, Ukraine and Poland. At the present there is also, though, rapid growth in migration flows from other areas, particularly from the south: Turkmenistan, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Turkey and the countries of South Asia including China and Vietnam. This paper presents a study of the scope and structure of the main participants in the integration process, in terms of country of birth and country of citizenship. The main data sources are the census, data on vital and education statistics. The results suggest that integration in Belarus is not a serious problem, being similar to other social processes. One of the key explanations for this is the influx of people from the former Soviet Union, above all, those who lived in Belarus themselves or had relatives there. The integration of migrants in Belarus is most evident in the labor market. The most common areas of integration for labor migrants from the older migrant nations are in industry, agriculture and trade. Citizens from the new areas are, on the other hand, concentrated in trade, health and education. The new migrants include more young males with higher-level skills. Among these, more than half are professionals. The vast majority of the new migrants come to Belarus to pursue higher education or under the guise of education. The old trends mean greater integration dispersion in terms of employment, skill levels and education, but also in terms of age. The study emphasizes the need for a special policy for the adaptation and integration of migrants, something particularly important for citizens from unusual areas due to differences in culture, language and religion. Special attention should be paid to the knowledge of Russian and Belarusian, the possibility of buying or renting housing, the use of free education and health care services, etc. At this point in Belarus there are no obstacles for migrants wishing to integrate, but there are no authorities specifically allocated for that purpose. Self-integration for these migrants is a problem which will take a good deal of time to work itself out.CARIM-East is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European Union

Sotsial'no-politicheskoe vliyanie trudovoi migratsii v Belarusi

CARIM-East: Creating an Observatory of Migration East of EuropeДанная статья нацелена на исследовании влияния, оказываемого миграционными передвижениями, на основные социальные процессы, происходящие на территории Беларуси в целом и в зависимости от типа местности. Весьма интересным представляется увязка проблем некоторых уязвимых групп населения с тенденциями в области рынка труда и трудовой миграции в частности.CARIM-East is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European Union

Emigration and diaspora in Belarus

emigration policy, unlike policy with regards to immigration, still needs refinement. Policy with regards to emigrants, just as in case of diaspora, is still to large extent theory-, rather than practice-oriented. The same is not true for the current immigration policy. Unlike previous programs, the current one implies not only assistance in settlement of immigrants and their integration into Belarusian society, but also a differentiated approach to migrants’ categories, based on national interests. This means that, first of all, one of the measures is to develop target-oriented regional programs, aimed at migrant influx to the geographic areas experiencing workforce deficit. Second, preference is given to persons under the age of 40 and having higher or secondary education. Besides, the Department of Citizenship and Migration of the Ministry of Interior identified countries from where migration is desirable: Ukraine, Russia, Baltic and CIS countries with Russian-speaking population, as well as undesirable donor countries: Africa and most of South East AsiaConsortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM-East) is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European Unio

Information on foreigners deported, expelled and voluntarily repatriated from Belarus

Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM-East) is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European Unio

Rol' migratsii v politicheskoy sisteme Belarusi

Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM-East) is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European UnionRussian version of CARIM-East 2012/10

Human trafficking in Belarus

Human trafficking is still a pressing issue for Belarus, despite its efforts to prevent it and the country’s accession to international conventions. Belarus was, in fact, the first among CIS countries to start an active combat against human trafficking. In the human trafficking context it can be regarded as a donor for many countries, and Russia is a leader among them. The Ministry of Interior is the main source of information about human exploitation offenses, hence available statistics mostly represent the results of criminal investigations. We have assessed the situation focusing on the following aspects: • Crimes against personal freedom • Human-trafficking victims • Exploitation channelsConsortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM-East) is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European Unio

The demographic and economic framework of circular migration in Belarus

Defining and thus measuring circular migration is a difficult task. Its definition is far from clear either at an academic or at the political level. In a comprehensive article Newland (2009) tries to identify all definitional issues by summarizing four dimensions which have been used to approach circular migration schemes: 1. spatial, which involves both the origin and the destination country; 2. temporal, which includes both short and long term movements; 3. iterative, including more than one cycle; and 4. developmental, describing a win-win-win process implying benefits for the country of origin, the country of destination and the migrant himself. When trying to measure this phenomenon, Belarus faces specific challenges as, at the time of writing, neither comprehensive statistics nor ad hoc surveys capture one specific trait of circularity, namely its repetitiveness.Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM-East) is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European Unio

Statistical data collection on migration in the Republic of Belarus

Information on migration in Belarus is mainly gathered via 2 kinds of official sources, namely those produced by the National Statistical Institute (section 1) and those produced by the Ministry of Interior (section 2). Both apply to emigration and immigration.Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM-East) is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European Unio

Forced migration in Belarus

There is limited information on the number of forced migrants from Belarus. Key information can be found in the statistical publications of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Belarusian office of this organization gives the following explanation: “countries are guided by the principle of confidentiality of information submitted by an applicant. Public bodies of the asylum country have no right to transfer or provide any personal information about an application to his/her state of citizenship” (Delovaya Gazeta, 2013). According to UNHCR, the total number of persons from Belarus applying for refugee status, asylum or complementary protection was 6839 in 2011 and 6194 in 2012 (UNHCR, 2012; UNHCR, 2013). European countries (the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland) and the USA were their countries of preference. Some estimates are available at the websites of Eurostat and US National Security Agency. According to the data for 1998-2007, 16255 citizens of Belarus sought asylum in EU member states (Eurostat Statistics). The main recipient countries were Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, the Czech Republic and Austria. The US National Security Agency also posts data on Belarusian refugees who arrived in the US territory. According to its estimates, there were 2844 of them 2003-2012 (Department of Homeland Security: 2012)Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM-East) is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European Unio