Bill on foreign travel restrictions to affect asylum seekers – rights group

April 21, BPN. Temporary restrictions on foreign travel by the Committee for State Security (KGB) may negatively affect human rights to seek asylum or employment abroad, the Viasna Human Rights Center’s lawyers said.

On April 18, Belarusian MPs passed the second reading of the bill authorizing the KGB to temporarily restrict foreign travel in the interests of national security. The bill also outlines procedures for public servants’ foreign travel and bars those charged with minor offenses from leaving Belarus, potentially targeting victims of politically-motivated persecution.

Planned restrictions on foreign travel lack transparency and deprive Belarusians of the opportunity to defend their rights, Viasna lawyers noted.

Any restriction on foreign travel must be based on clear and objective criteria and should not be used to persecute specific individuals or groups as Belarus remains a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), they stressed.

The bill has yet to be approved by the Council of the Republic, the upper house, and signed into law by the head of state.