On 26 March, Poland’s President Duda signed into law a controversial bill allowing authorities to temporarily suspend access to asylum. The bill, which has been subject to extensive criticism, comes as rights groups have reported ongoing abuses of migrants and refugees at the country’s border with Belarus.
“Flagrantly Unlawful” Denial of Asylum Access
The new legislation, which was previously approved by the Senate on 13 March, allows Poland to suspend access to asylum for up to 60 days at a time within specified areas along the country’s border with Belarus. This time window could also be extended with parliamentary approval and renewed indefinitely.
Despite strong support from Polish MPs, the legislation has received extensive criticism both domestically and internationally. It has been described as “flagrantly unlawful” by Amnesty International, as flying “ in the face of Poland’s international and EU obligations” by Human Rights Watch, as “absolutely incompatible with the Polish constitution” by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, and as an “inhumane, monstrous act” by Polish NGO Grupa Granica. In particular, observers warn that it formalises the country’s unlawful practice of forced pushbacks at the border, which violates the principle of non-refoulement.
Although exceptions can be made for vulnerable groups (pregnant women, unaccompanied children, and people requiring special treatment because of their age or health conditions) the actual wherewithal for assessing vulnerability in the first place is extremely limited and thus does not provide an adequate safeguard. As Human Rights Watch explains: “Explanatory notes to the draft law say that border guards will assess who would qualify for exemptions. But the border guards are not trained or equipped to make such determinations, which should be made by the Office of Foreigners in Poland.” UNHCR expresses similar concerns, and notes that “access to territory and asylum procedures are necessary pre-requisites for vulnerability screening to occur.”
For a detailed assessment of the bill, see:
Abuses at the Border
Denying access to asylum is the latest in Poland’s efforts to prevent migrants and asylum seekers from entering its territory from Belarus. Since 2021, countries like Poland and Lithuania have witnessed a surge in the number of people attempting to enter from Belarus. Amidst claims that Belarus has “weaponised migration” by facilitating migrant access into the EU, Poland has increasingly militarised its border. Large numbers of uniformed personnel have been sent to the area, and extensive border fortifications have been constructed–including razor-topped barbed wire fence. As the GDP has previously highlighted, migrants attempting to enter the country have faced a slate of rights abuses, including violent pushbacks and detention in ad hoc sites where detainees face “inhuman” treatment. Many have also found themselves stranded between Polish and Belarusian forces at the border for days or weeks without proper access to food, water, shelter, or medical assistance.
Most recently, a new report from Oxfam and its Polish partner Egala has called attention to the slate of abuses that migrants and refugees continue to face in border areas. In particular, the report highlights the continued practice of pushbacks which form part of a “systemic denial of the right to asylum” as well “directly putting lives at risk, by leaving people in the wilderness.”
Testimonies from migrants provide a stark picture of detention upon arrival in Poland, swiftly followed by forced pushback to Belarus. As one migrant told We Are Monitoring, an NGO collecting data about the crisis at the border:
“I reached the Poland-Belarus border, hoping to request asylum in Poland or any other European Union country. But as soon as I crossed, the border guards caught me and the group I was traveling with. I was already injured—my leg was in terrible pain, and I could barely walk. The border guards took us to an immigration detention center. They searched us, forced us to remove our clothes, and left us wearing only our underwear. Then, they put us in a freezing cold room. We stayed there for 12 hours straight—with no food, no warmth, nothing but the unbearable cold. They only gave us water. My body was shaking, my leg was throbbing, and my hope was fading. Then, in the morning, without saying much, they took us and dumped us back at the Belarus border. Just like that. No explanation. No asylum. No mercy. I was devastated. I had nowhere to go. The freezing air cut through my skin, and I had no shelter, no protection from the cold.”
Oxfam and Egala also present a harrowing look at conditions on the Belarusian side of the border, where migrants have described detention in forest camps or warehouses; deprivation of food, water, and medical care; theft and extortion; beatings; and torture, including waterboarding and electrocution. “Those who fail to cross the border into Poland or are pushed back can face ‘punishment’ for being returned–including beatings, maulings by dogs, or as in at least one case, cutting off body parts.”
