The Polish parliament on Thursday (October 14th) approved an amendment to the national law on foreigners which legalizes the controversial practice of refoulement at the border and makes it possible to ignore an asylum request made after illegally crossing the border.
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The parliament also gave the green light to the government plan to build a wall to prevent migrants from crossing the border, a project estimated at 353 million euros. Thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, have been trying in recent months to cross the EU border from Belarus to Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
According to the new amendment, a foreigner arrested at the EU border immediately after crossing it illegally will be forced to leave Polish territory and be temporarily barred from entering Poland and the Schengen area for a period of “
From six months to three years
”.
The Polish authorities have retained the right "
to leave without examination
" the application for international protection lodged by a foreigner arrested immediately after crossing the border illegally (...) unless he has arrived directly from a territory where his life and freedom are threatened.
7 dead at the border since the summer
Poland is accused by non-governmental organizations of practicing refoulement, which consists of escorting arrested migrants to the border and pushing them to return to Belarus. Many NGOs criticize Poland for imposing a state of emergency on the border, which prevents humanitarian organizations from helping migrants and denies access to all non-residents, including journalists. A total of seven people have lost their lives at the border since the start of the migratory influx observed in the region since the summer, according to the Polish, Lithuanian and Belarusian authorities.
The European Union accuses Minsk of orchestrating this influx, in retaliation for the sanctions imposed by the EU following the repression of the opposition by the Belarusian regime.
The migrants who come in large numbers to Belarus are then directed to the borders of the EU.
They remain under surveillance on the one hand by Belarusian border guards and on the other by Polish, Lithuanian or Latvian law enforcement agencies.
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A month ago, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was "
concerned about the alarming news
" at the Polish border.
"
All states have the right to manage their borders in accordance with international law, but on condition that they respect human rights, including the right to asylum,
" UNHCR recalled, adding that according to the 1951 on refugees, signed by Poland, "
asylum seekers should never be penalized, even for irregular border crossing
".