UN Human Rights Council Accuses Belarus, Poland Of Pushing Back Migrants In 2021

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.