Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced that his government will enforce a new law allowing authorities to temporarily suspend asylum applications from migrants crossing into Poland via Belarus.
The measure, signed into law by President Andrzej Duda, permits Poland to halt asylum requests for up to 60 days at a time. Tusk emphasized that the law would be implemented “without a moment’s delay” to strengthen border security.
The decision has drawn criticism from human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, which argues that the policy violates Poland’s international and EU obligations. The organization has called on the EU to take legal action against Poland if the law is enforced.
Government officials maintain that the suspension will apply only to individuals deemed a threat to state security, such as large groups attempting to breach the border aggressively. Exceptions will be made for vulnerable individuals, including unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, the elderly, and those facing serious harm if returned.
Tusk has dismissed concerns about human rights violations, stating, “Nobody is talking about violating human rights or the right to asylum. We are addressing illegal crossings orchestrated by Belarusian authorities.”
Poland, along with Lithuania, Latvia, and Finland, has reported a surge in illegal border crossings from Belarus and Russia since 2021. In response, Poland has deployed thousands of border guards and troops while constructing a 5.5-meter steel barrier along 186 kilometers of the frontier.
Rights groups estimate that over 100 people have died attempting to cross the borders between Belarus and Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia since 2021. EU leaders have accused Belarus and Russia of using migration as a political weapon to destabilize the bloc.
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