Rights group urges Poland to reject bill suspending asylum rights at border with Belarus News
Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania, GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons
Rights group urges Poland to reject bill suspending asylum rights at border with Belarus

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday issued a statement urging Poland to scrap a bill that would temporarily suspend asylum rights at its border with Belarus.

Lydia Gall, a researcher at HRW, said that “Poland, which currently holds the EU presidency should lead by example and ensure that people fleeing war and persecution are given the opportunity of having their asylum claims individually assessed.” According to Gall, “This bill flies in the face of Poland’s international and EU obligations and should be voted down.” HRW urged European institutions to call on Polish authorities to scrap the bill and stop pushbacks.

This bill would allow the Polish government to suspend the right to seek asylum along certain areas of Poland’s border with Belarus for an initial period of sixty days. Further, the Parliament could keep extending and renewing this period of suspension indefinitely. This bill comes in the background of international scrutiny of Poland’s treatment of persons attempting to enter its territory from Belarus, with reports of unlawful pushbacks by Polish border forces. Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk maintained that Poland will continue to deny entry to migrants and will not enter any new agreements restricting its actions.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also expressed concern over the bill’s repercussions for asylum-seekers and its conflict with Poland’s international obligations. The UNHCR recommended Poland “setting up efficient asylum processing modalities at border areas, as part of a legal framework that provides refugees with fair and efficient procedures as well as effective guarantees”. 

Article 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, to which Poland is a signatory, provides for the non-refoulment principle. According to this principle, countries cannot return individuals to regions where they face threat of human rights violations. Articles 18 and 19 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union also guarantee refugees similar asylum rights. In December 2024, the Polish Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights cautioned that the bill is inconsistent with the Polish Constitution and EU law.

Poland is currently facing a case in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for alleged pushbacks at the Polish-Belarusian border. The Grand Chamber hearing was held on February 12.

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