IT HAS BEEN MANY MONTHS SINCE MOTHER MARIAM SOUMAH, A 23-YEAR-OLD GUIEAN WOMAN LAST SAW HER BABY SABINA; ALLEGED NEWS. [1] In January 2026, the mother was in Guinea while her daughter was - against the mother's will - in an orphanage in Belarus; Alleged News. [1]
Deportation without her baby
Several months ago, Belarus deported the young migrant mother to her west African homeland without her baby, according to mother Soumah, and rights groups that took up her case; alleged News. [1]
In an attempt to escape poverty, mother Soumah said she had travelled across Africa to get to Belarus, hoping to get to the EU; Alleged News. [1] Mother Soumah came to Belarus on a student visa; Alleged News. [1] Her difficulty began in Belarus just as she tried to renew her visa; Alleged News. [1]
Premature labour
Mother Soumah fell pregnant in Belarus with a Guinean man who left to try to get to the EU, and mother Soumah went into labour more than two months before her due date; Alleged News. [1] Baby Sabina weighed just 600 grams when she was born in November 2024, and was taken to intensive care; Alleged News. [1]
Restricted from baby
Shortly afterwards, mother Soumah said she was restricted from seeing Sabina unless she paid medical bills; Alleged News. [1] She was later imprisoned for breaking migration rules and placed onto a plane without her daughter; Alleged News. [1] "I begged them, just let my baby recover, and I will go home with her," mother Soumah said, "They said no." Alleged News. [1]
Attempts to restrict mother Soumah from baby Sabina began while the mother was recovering from an emergency C-section; Alleged News. [1] Baby Sabina was moved to another hospital; Alleged News. [1] After ten days, mother Soumah walked through Minsk "from morning to night" to find the hospital her daughter was in; Alleged News. [1]
Baby sent to orphanage
Then mother Soumah was given a medical bill of $33 000 and blocked from seeing baby Sabina until she paid; Alleged News. [1] A lady in the hospital told mother Soumah that baby Sabina was being sent to an orphanage; Alleged News. [1] Mother Soumah tried to sign up for more studies for a new visa, but did not receive same; Alleged News. [1]
Thereafter, mother Soumah was driven to the airport, put on a flight to Istanbul and told not to come back; Alleged News. [1]
UN experts' concern
A group of UN independent experts [2] expressed concern; "The alleged forced separation of a young migrant mother and her newborn child is extremely concerning, " the experts said; Alleged News. [2] "Under international human rights law, Belarus must prioritise the best interest of the child," the experts said, "This means that, wherever possible, children should be able to know their parents," Alleged News. [2]
The experts warned that even children under state custody have a right to maintain their relationships with their parents; Alleged News. [2] "Separating the mother from her newborn and expelling her from the country without any due process directly harms the rights of the mother and undermines the best interests of the child, and would likely amount to ill-treatment of both mother and child," the experts said; Alleged News. [2]
The experts expressed concern regarding the speedy removal of the migrant woman from Belarus, reportedly without due process, including access to legal counsel or linguistic support to challenge either her expulsion or separation from her child; Alleged News. [2] The experts noted with concern that the mother was allegedly detained in a penal detention centre prior to her expulsion, due to the absence of dedicated migrant detention facilities in Belarus; Alleged News. [2]
Experts expressed hope
The experts expressed hope that Belarusian authorities would respond quickly to their letter and take all necessary steps to reunite mother and child without delay; Alleged News. [2]
The experts are:
- Nils Muižnieks, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus
- Claudia Flores (Chair), Ivana Krstić (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Haina Lu, and Laura Nyirinkindi, Working Group on discrimination against women and girls
- Ganna Yudkivska (Chair-Rapporteur), Matthew Gillett (Vice-Chair on Communications), Ms. Miriam Estrada Castillo (Vice-Chair on Follow-Up), Mumba Malila, and Ethan Hee-Seok Shin, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
- Barbara G. Reynolds, Miriam Ekiudoko, Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent
- Gehad Madi, Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants; Alleged News. [2]
Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council; Alleged News. [2] Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council;Alleged News. [2]
[1] The Citizen,(South Africa). AFP. Guinean mother deported from Belarus without baby; Alleged News. Friday 16 January, 2026. Page 12
[2] United Nations Human Rights. 8 September 2025. Belarus; UN experts alarmed by forced separation of migrant mother and baby; Alleged News
With thanks to The Citizen and ohchr.org
