MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th June, 2023) Both Poland and Belarus engaged in pushing back migrants at their national borders during the migrant crisis of 2021, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants said on Monday, adding that both nations should launch a probe into the violence and fatalities caused by the mistreatment of refugees.
"In Belarus, migrants were sheltered in a temporary logistics centre, which most of them were not allowed to leave unless they were headed towards Poland. In Poland, enabled by the new legislative provisions adopted in 2021, migrants apprehended after crossing the border have been immediately returned back to the border by Polish authorities and forced back into the territory of Belarus. Those who have not been returned back to the border have been placed in guarded detention centres throughout the country, under the authority of the Polish Border Guard," Felipe Gonzalez Morales said during a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The special rapporteur also said that despite the evidence obtained, both Belarus and Poland had denied allegations of abusive and violent tactics by their border guards, which resulted in a "lack of internal investigation impunity."
Morales went on to say that a number of migrants had lost their lives on both sides of the Belarusian-Polish border since 2021 and that during his visit the Belarusian authorities provided data on four such cases and collected data on registered deaths and affected migrants, while the Polish authorities had investigated 10 deaths.
"The total number of deaths recognized by the authorities of both countries does not correspond to the information gathered by the delegation. According to public sources, at least 19 migrants died in the forest in 2021, at least 13 in 2022 and as many as 195 persons remain missing," Morales added.
He called on Minsk and Warsaw to launch a transparent probe on each allegation related to violence toward migrants and fatalities.
In mid-2021, tens of thousands of migrants crowded the border between Belarus and Poland in an attempt to enter the European Union. The Polish authorities tightened border controls, deployed troops, and have continued to intercept illegal migrants attempting to enter Poland. Warsaw accused Minsk of orchestrating the migrant crisis, while Belarus said Poland was forcibly expelling migrants to Belarusian territory and fueling the crisis.
