On Monday 23 September, Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, commented on his visit to the border between Poland and Belarus from 16 to 18 September.
He acknowledges the instrumentalisation of migration by the Belarusian authorities, but condemns human rights abuses.
Foremost among these is the practice of summary returns at the border, facilitated by legislative changes that Poland adopted in 2021 and contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Commissioner is calling for an end to summary returns to Belarus, individual assessment of the case of every person seeking international protection, the creation of structures for dialogue between civil society organisations and border guards (as was the case before 2015), an end to criminalising people involved in legal and humanitarian assistance at the border, full humanitarian access to the buffer zone established there, and the establishment of an independent human rights monitoring mechanism along the border.
“Noting the prominent role Poland plays in shaping European migration policies”, the Commissioner “encourages the Polish authorities to show leadership”. By putting in place a robust migration management system, in which “legitimate security concerns” take into account the human rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in full compliance with international law.
Link to comments: https://aeur.eu/f/djc (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)