The NGO Human Rights Watch has accused Poland of conducting “unlawful” and “inhumane” pushbacks of migrants at its border with Belarus.
In a report published on December 10, the NGO alleged that Polish authorities have forcibly returned asylum seekers to Belarus without assessing the risks they faced there.
The report warned that such actions was putting migrants in danger of “death or serious injury” due to the current extreme weather conditions in the border region, including freezing temperatures and harsh winds.
However, the term “pushback” itself has been a point of contention. There is no internationally agreed definition of the term regarding migration.
Fabrice Leggeri, former CEO of Frontex and now an MEP with Patriots for Europe and France’s National Rally argued the term was not legally accurate.
“This term is not a legal concept but rather belongs to the realm of political vocabulary,” Leggeri told Brussels Signal on December 10.
Fabrice Leggeri argued that in the context of Belarus weaponizing illegal immigration against the EU, the NGOs criticisms are “irresponsible”.
“It is particularly irresponsible for some European NGOs to have encouraged this weaponization of migrants by criticizing Lithuania and Poland (as well as Greece, which faced a similar weaponization of migrants by Turkey in 2020)” he added.
The NGO findings were based on interviews with 22 asylum seekers currently in Poland.
According to the report, 17 of them had experienced at least one refusal of entry by Polish border officials in 2024 before finally being allowed into the country.
Human Rights Watch also interviewed humanitarian, medical and legal service providers for asylum seekers stranded in the Białowieża forest on the border between Poland and Belarus.
Lydia Gall, a senior Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch condemned Poland’s actions, stating: “Poland’s inhumane and illegal pushbacks of people seeking safety fly in the face of its duties under national and EU law and basic humanity.”
Gall also called on Polish authorities to ensure access to asylum procedures and to allow aid workers and independent observers into restricted border zones.
She emphasised Poland’s upcoming presidency of the European Union Council on January 1, urging the country to “set an example”.
“As the next holder of the EU presidency, Poland should be setting an example by safeguarding the right to seek asylum at its borders and ensuring that people are treated humanely and their rights protected,” she added.
The NGO’s report followed the EU Council’s criticism of Poland in late October over its handling of pushback.
Michael O’ Flaherty, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, has referred Poland to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for allegedly continuing these practices without considering asylum claims.
Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, has reported Poland to the European Court of Human Rights for allegedly continuing asylum “pushbacks” into Belarus without considering claims. https://t.co/MhRrxLIDFX
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 24, 2024
Article 19 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states: “Collective expulsions are prohibited” and “no one may be removed, expelled or extradited to a State where there is a serious risk that he or she would be subjected to the death penalty, torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.
In an interview with Brussels Signal in September 2024, Leggeri had hinted migration had shifted from being a neutral policy area to a partisan issue within EU institutions.
“Certain NGOs and, unfortunately … some parts of commission services as well as [former] Commissioner Johansson, were, in my eyes, spokespersons of the pro-migrants NGOs. They considered that everybody has a fundamental right to enter the European Union even if it is via illegal crossing of the external borders,” he said.
On December 6, his Patriots for Europe group proposed stricter EU migration policy.
Its plan included a focus on combating illegal border crossings, implementing robust border controls and enforcing strict return policies for those who do not meet asylum criteria.
📃 | The migration crisis threatens the future of our continent. We, the Patriots for Europe, say enough is enough. Today, we deliver the Budapest Declaration in the Hungarian Parliament. Together, we will Make Europe Great Again. #Patriots pic.twitter.com/b9Gp26F5XS
— Patriots for Europe (@PatriotsEP) December 6, 2024
