The European Union has expressed concern that Poland may violate its international human rights obligations if it stops granting asylum to migrants at the border with Belarus. This was reported by Politico with reference to a representative of the European Commission.
According to the source, all EU member states must comply with international and European obligations, including the right of migrants to access the asylum procedure. The European Commission has stressed the need to find a common European solution that will allow to counter hybrid threats from the regimes of Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin, while not compromising key European values.
So far, there is no specific information on which parts of the Polish border the announced restrictions will apply or how they will comply with international humanitarian law, Politico notes.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk recently announced a new strategy to combat illegal migration developed by his government. This strategy envisages a temporary suspension of asylum granting at the Polish-Belarusian border. According to him, the asylum system is used by Lukashenko’s regime, Putin, as well as smugglers and human traffickers. He clarified that this decision would not apply to Ukrainian refugees.
As a reminder, in June 2023, Poland completed the construction of an electronic barrier on the border with Belarus, equipped with thousands of cameras and technical means to monitor illegal border crossings. Poland also plans to erect observation towers up to 70 metres high, which will allow it to control the border area at a distance of up to 10 kilometres.
Due to the increased migration pressure, the Polish Ministry of the Interior proposed to introduce a three-month ban on access to the border area with Belarus.
