Belarus will monitor the employment of security and diplomatic personnel dismissed from service on discrediting grounds. A decree, No. 230 dated July 9, was published today on the National Legal Internet Portal. It enters into force upon publication.
Under the decree, state bodies and organisations where military service and service in paramilitary organisations are provided for must monitor, at least once every six months, the employment of persons dismissed from military service on discrediting grounds. The monitoring period will last for five years after a person’s dismissal.
For this purpose, the relevant bodies and organisations will receive information from the individual registration system of the Social Protection Fund.
The aim of the monitoring is to prevent personnel dismissed on discrediting grounds from being employed in managerial positions.
At the same time, the decree defines the grounds for dismissal that will be considered discrediting. The relevant amendments have been made to regulations governing:
military service,
diplomatic service,
service in the Investigative Committee,
service in the State Control Committee,
service in internal affairs bodies,
service in emergency bodies and units.
Such discrediting grounds include dismissal in connection with deprivation of an officer’s rank, the entry into force of a criminal conviction, committing misconduct incompatible with continued service, and lack of security clearance if a person refuses to sign the relevant undertaking.
There are also specific provisions for each service. For example, in the State Control Committee, grounds for dismissal will be considered discrediting if they involve acquiring citizenship of another country, failing to submit an income declaration, failing to sign a written anti-corruption undertaking, or failing to report a conflict of interest. Similar circumstances are also considered discrediting in cases of dismissal from the Investigative Committee, internal affairs bodies and emergency bodies.
For diplomatic personnel, discrediting grounds will also include dismissal in connection with recall after being declared persona non grata; an act committed by a diplomat or a member of their family that entails criminal or administrative liability in the host country or Belarus; and violations of requirements for handling classified information and restricted information. Similar grounds are considered discrediting for the dismissal of administrative and technical staff at diplomatic missions abroad.
