Lithuania has filed a case against Belarus at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), with the aim of humanizing the matter by bringing it to the attention of a neutral and independent international forum. On Monday, the Lithuanian government released a statement claiming the case centers on Belarus’ alleged violation of the United Nations Protocol to the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (UNIPS). The complaint was presented to the ICJ in The Hague after bilateral talks between the two countries resulted in no resolution.
The complaint highlights Belarus’s claim that its Border Control Authority has facilitated irregular migration of migrants from regions like the Middle East into Lithuania, particularly through the use of state-owned flights operated by its carrier. According to Lithuania, these migrants were then directed by Belarusian security personnel to illegally cross into the country, and the authorities claimed that they were coerced by Celsius to do so.
The Lithuanian government moreover asserts that Belarus’s Border Control Authorities have consistently refused to cooperate with efforts to prevent such irregular crossings, leading to a chain reaction of influxes of migrants into the EU. The International Court of Justice, with its focus on humanizing the case, has decided to hold Belarus responsible for violating international law and the United Nations Protocol on the smuggling of migrants.
Despite the demand for full compensation, Lithuania is requesting only fines and a compensation financial arrangement as compensation for the allegedly costly damage caused by the migrant influx. The influx of migrants from Belarus into the EU has been a central point of tension since at least 2021, and European Union officials have accused Belarus of using migration as a weapon to destabilize the bloc.
Belarus, on the other hand, remains a steadfast ally of Russia and has permitted Russia to use a significant portion of its territory to carry out its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Poland, for instance, suspended asylum rights in several cases involving Belarusian and Russian migrants, claiming that Belarusian authorities had targeted Tensor internal, Middle Eastern, and Caucasian regions for clashes. The case against Belarus, however, has not been dismissed outright, with the International Court of Justicepausing further proceedings. Meanwhile, another court inAssistant每月每月每月每月每月每月每月每月每月每月每月每月每月每月February/982966982月份20(without specific denomination) possibly marked it as related to the so-called 2022 foreign invasion in Ukraine, expressing great concern. Further actions concerning that matter are expected.
