With the aim of enhancing the quality of asylum in the context of mixed migration flows, the primary objective of the UNHCR office in Belarus during recent years has been to assist the Belarusian authorities to establish a humane system for managing irregular migration flows with an emphasis on ensuring that the rights of asylum seekers and refugees are respected in compliance with international norms and standards and that measures for the protection and integration of refugees function effectively.

The majority of registered asylum seekers are from Afghanistan representing 77.6% of the registered cases. Other asylum seekers are from Georgia (5.7%), Russia (2.3%), Iraq (2.3%), Ethiopia (2.3%), Tajikistan (1.2 %), Iran (1.4%) and small groups from Pakistan, Congo, Sri-Lanka and Somalia.

UNHCR Belarus works with the Belarus Government as its main partner providing targeted assistance and training in the areas that demonstrate a lack of capacity and are indispensable parts of the functioning national asylum system.