In two letters dated 17 July and published on Wednesday 24, Michael O'Flaherty, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, reminds the Polish authorities that - however complex - migration management at the border with Belarus must respect human rights.
The first of these letters is addressed to the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk.
The Commissioner expressed his concern about reports on the continuing practice of summary returns and about the consequences for fundamental rights of re-establishing, at the end of May, a buffer zone forbidden to anyone not a member of the security forces.
The second letter is addressed to the Marshal of the Senate, Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, and concerns the bill proposing to exempt from criminal liability certain state agents deployed in border areas who - in certain cases - use direct force or firearms or authorise their use.
Recalling the importance of the principle of proportionality in responding to threats, the Commissioner calls on the Senate to refrain from adopting the bill in its current form.
The combined effects of the buffer zone and the reduced public scrutiny of actions taken by security forces deployed at the border may “foster a lack of accountability and suggest a lack of commitment to human rights obligations”, insists Michael O'Flaherty.
Link to both letters: https://aeur.eu/f/d4m ; https://aeur.eu/f/d4n (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)