GENEVA/VIENNA - The UN Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus strongly condemns the Government's decision to invalidate the passports of persons formerly detained on political grounds who were forcibly expelled from the country following their release in 2025 and 2026.
The Group has conducted interviews with a large number of former detainees who, as a result of this measure, have been left without valid passports - contrary to international law and without legal grounds or justification.
These individuals face significant legal and practical consequences, including restrictions on their freedom of movement, preventing them from re-entering their own country and separating them from their families, barriers to accessing legal status, employment, healthcare, and essential services, as well as heightened risks of statelessness or prolonged legal uncertainty.
States have an obligation to protect their nationals and to ensure that any administrative measures affecting their rights are consistent with both domestic and international law. The invalidation of passports, while within the sovereign prerogative of States, must comply with applicable legal standards.
Invalidating a passport constitutes a legal violation when such action is arbitrary, discriminatory, disproportionate, or lacks a clear legal basis or due process. In particular, such measures may amount to violations of fundamental rights protected under international law, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and four articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including articles pertaining to freedom of movement, the right to enter one's own country, the right to recognition as a person before the law, and the principal of non-discrimination.
The Group calls upon the authorities of Belarus to immediately remedy this situation, restore the rights of affected individuals, and ensure full compliance with their international human rights obligations.
