The United Nations describes the situation of migrants at the border between Poland and Belarus as unbearable | Poland is violating international law by making quick returns rather than granting asylum

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle BacheletAnd The migration crisis at the border between Poland and Belarus has been described as unbearable And demanded the immediate access of humanitarian aid. Bachelet also criticized focused responses to security and inflammatory rhetoric that violates her Migrants camping with the intention of entering Polish territory And moving to Western European countries.

Fences and deployment of troops

Access More than 2,000 immigrants, mostly from Syria and Iraq, to the borders of Belarus and Poland in recent days was It was strongly rejected by the Warsaw authorities. in a releaseMichelle Bachelet, High Commissioner for Human Rights, made an urgent appeal to the states concerned to take immediate measures “to disrupt and resolve this intolerable situation in accordance with their obligations under international law, human rights, human rights and refugee rights.”

“The The responses focused strongly on security and politics from both sides – including Greater deployment of troops– and the burning speech that accompanies them, they do nothing but Exacerbating vulnerabilities and risks for migrantss,” the United Nations High Commissioner denounced.

“Hundreds of men, women and children should not be forced to spend another night in a freezing cold without adequate shelter, food, water and medical care.Added in the text. Although the statement does not explicitly refer to Warsaw’s rejection of refugees at its borders, Bachelet stressed that no one can be prevented from seeking asylum and other forms of international protection. Said the High Commissioner, who in turn They demanded the passage of humanitarian aid to them, as well as observers from civil society and journalists.

While that, The far-right Polish government’s focus is on troop deployments To prevent immigrants from entering the territory of the European Union. The President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, confirmed that his country maintains 15,000 soldiers at the border, including the army, police and border guards.. Defense Minister Mariusz Blaschak confirmed that this number would increase if necessary, and in turn confirmed that 8,000 troops from the Regional Defense Forces were mobilized this week.

Accusations between Warsaw and Minsk

To all this, the European Union accuses the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, of orchestrating the arrival of migrants to his country and then sending them to the border point. According to European Union leaders, this is in retaliation for the sanctions imposed by the bloc on Minsk for its suppression of the post in the last presidential elections of 2020.

While Belarus says it has neither the means nor the money to contain the influx of migrants In turn, it accuses Poland of being “indifferent” to receiving immigrants and refugees. In this regard, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, traveled to Warsaw to meet with Duda. Michel described the migration crisis as a “hybrid, brutal, violent and unworthy attack” by Minsk.

For her part, the outgoing German chancellor said, Angela Merkel spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to intervene and dialogue with his ally Lukashenko.. The head of the German state called him to act against “the exploitation of immigrants by the regime in Belarus,” according to its spokesman, Stephen Seibert. Most migrants seek to cross into Poland with the aim of reaching Germany or other Western European countries.

Moscow opposes blaming Belarus for the migration crisis. “The current crisis stems from the West’s interference in the affairs of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the failure of the American operation in Afghanistan.”This was announced by a spokeswoman for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zagarova.

Poland and its anti-immigration policy

While in between, thousands of migrants face harsh conditions with temperatures dropping to 0 degrees at night and a heavy deployment of Polish security forces. The Polish press confirmed that at least 10 people were killed among the migrants at the border. Belarusian border guards said four Kurdish migrants in the camp were wounded and accused Polish security forces of violating them. “According to the refugees, they were detained on the territory of Poland, where they tried to seek protection and refugee status.”, they said in a statement.

Various human rights organizations have expressed concern about Warsaw’s anti-immigration policy, which in recent months has erected a fence in the border area. In September, four migrants trapped at the Belarusian-Polish border died of hypothermia and exhaustion.According to a British newspaper, Watchman. Amnesty International and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees note this Poland is taking a stand against international law by conducting expedited returns instead of offering asylum.

In this sense, the High Commissioner Filippo GrandiHe asserted that the bloc’s challenges regarding migration flows into the EU “do not justify the instinctive reaction we see in some parts, xenophobic rhetoric, walls, barbed wire, violent buttresses, and refugee beatings”. The part described as “unacceptable” is that states encourage the displacement of vulnerable people.