Lithuania sues Belarus in International Court of Justice in Hague over provoked migration crisis
Lithuania has filed a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice in The Hague against the regime of self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko over the migration crisis, which the country considers a violation of international law.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by LRT.
The broadcaster notes that the lawsuit filed by the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry alleges that Belarus has violated its international obligations under the UN Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.
"Since 2021, Lithuania has been facing an unprecedented influx of illegal migrants from Belarus. Evidence collected by the Lithuanian authorities confirms the direct involvement of the Belarusian regime in organizing this flow," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
As noted, Belarusian state-owned enterprises have significantly increased the number of flights from the Middle East and other regions, as well as organized visas and housing for the arriving migrants.
In addition, after arriving in Belarus, many migrants were escorted by security forces to the Lithuanian border and forced to cross it illegally, often in dangerous and life-threatening conditions.
Lithuania tried to resolve the problem with Belarus
The country's Foreign Ministry also states that despite numerous requests for cooperation, the Belarusian Border Guard Service has refused to cooperate with the Lithuanian side to stop these illegal crossings.
"Lithuania regards such actions as a deliberate attempt by the Belarusian regime to use migration as an instrument of political pressure on Lithuania and the European Union in response to their support for democracy in Belarus and the imposition of sanctions for human rights violations," the statement reads.
Due to the lack of progress in bilateral negotiations to resolve the dispute over the violation of the Protocol, Lithuania has applied to the International Court of Justice to bring Belarus to justice in accordance with international law.
Lithuania demands compensation
The Lithuanian side is demanding full compensation for the damage caused, including the costs of border arrangements, as well as guarantees that such actions will not be repeated.
According to the country's State Border Guard Service, since the beginning of the migration crisis, Lithuanian border guards have prevented 23,600 foreigners from illegally crossing the border from Belarus. Some of them tried to cross the border repeatedly.
What preceded it
As a reminder, the artificial migration crisis on the eastern borders of the Baltic states has been in place since the summer of 2021 with the assistance of the Belarusian authorities, following the countries' harsh reaction to the repression in Belarus and the forced landing of a flight in Minsk to arrest an opposition blogger.
Despite the enhanced border protection, the problem has not completely disappeared and is occasionally exacerbated for Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Since the beginning of 2025, 628 illegal migrants have been prevented from entering Lithuania. Last year, more than a thousand attempts to cross the border from Belarus in unauthorized places were recorded.
