Lithuania sues Belarus over migration crisis caused by Lukashenko's regime
Lithuania has filed a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice in The Hague against Belarus over the migrant crisis caused by the regime of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko and violations of international law. This was reported by the broadcaster LRT with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania.
The lawsuit alleges violations of obligations under the United Nations Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.
"Since 2021, Lithuania has been facing an unprecedented increase in the flow of illegal migrants from Belarus. Evidence gathered by Lithuanian institutions confirms the direct involvement of the Belarusian regime in organizing migrant flows," the country's Foreign Ministry said in a statement .
The media writes that Minsk's involvement is evidenced by the fact that Belarusian state-owned enterprises have increased the number of flights from the Middle East and other regions, organized the issuance of visas and accommodation for the arriving migrants.
In addition, after arriving in Belarus, many migrants were escorted by Belarusian security forces to the Lithuanian border and forced to cross it illegally, often in life-threatening conditions.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Belarusian border services, despite repeated requests, refused to cooperate with Lithuanian institutions to stop illegal border crossings.
"Lithuania considers these actions as a deliberate attempt by the Belarusian regime to use migration as a means of political pressure on Lithuania and the European Union in response to their support for Belarusian democracy and sanctions for human rights violations," the document says .
Lithuania's demands include full compensation for the damage caused, including the cost of building the wall, and guarantees that actions contrary to international law will not be repeated.
According to Lithuanian border guards, since the beginning of the migration crisis, they have prevented 23,600 illegal entries into the country from Belarus. The same people repeatedly try to cross the border illegally.
In 2021, the Belarusian authorities organized channels for smuggling migrants from the country across the EU border, first to Lithuania and then to Poland. Lukashenka has admitted that supporting the smuggling of illegal immigrants is a response to EU sanctions against Belarus, which, in turn, were the result of fraud in the 2020 presidential election and repression of the opposition. People (most often migrants from Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria) are smuggled across the border with the active assistance of the Belarusian border services.
- on March 18, 2025, it was reported that migrants threw stones at a Polish patrol and damaged a police car on the border with Belarus.
- On April 4, it was reported that Poland will conduct an information campaign in seven states to combat illegal migration.