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There is limited information on the number of forced migrants from Belarus. Key information can be found in the statistical publications of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Belarusian office of this organization gives the following explanation: “countries are guided by the principle of confidentiality of information submitted by an applicant. Public bodies of the asylum country have no right to transfer or provide any personal information about an application to his/her state of citizenship” (Delovaya Gazeta, 2013). According to UNHCR, the total number of persons from Belarus applying for refugee status, asylum or complementary protection was 6839 in 2011 and 6194 in 2012 (UNHCR, 2012; UNHCR, 2013). European countries (the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland) and the USA were their countries of preference. Some estimates are available at the websites of Eurostat and US National Security Agency. According to the data for 1998-2007, 16255 citizens of Belarus sought asylum in EU member states (Eurostat Statistics). The main recipient countries were Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, the Czech Republic and Austria. The US National Security Agency also posts data on Belarusian refugees who arrived in the US territory. According to its estimates, there were 2844 of them 2003-2012 (Department of Homeland Security: 2012)
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