Polish authorities must stop stranding migrants near the border with Belarus and end the “grossly different” treatment of Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian refugees, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of migrants said. Felipe Gonzalez Morales on Thursday praised the actions of Polish authorities and citizens who have offered protection and assistance to more than two million Ukrainian refugees and accommodated them in their homes since the start of Russia’s invasion in February. However, non-Ukrainian nationals leaving that country have faced difficulties in obtaining residence permits and proper shelter and have not enjoyed the same legal protections, he said. 📢@UNSR_Migration 🙏#Poland for warmly welcoming #Ukraine refugees, but access to accommodation and housing for #migrants from other countries is completely different. To avoid loss of life, #EU, #Poland and #Belarus must stop #refusals and protect human rights 👉 pic.twitter.com/QIuVdq6I1a — UN Special Procedures (@UN_SPExperts) July 28, 2022 Some people who fled the war were from third countries, often in the Middle East, Asia or Africa, who were studying or working in Ukraine at the time of the invasion. “I note with concern that this dual-station approach has led to feelings of discrimination among third-country nationals,” Morales said in a statement after a July 12-25 trip to Poland and Belarus. There was no immediate comment on Morales’ statement from the Polish government or the Polish border guard agency.
Belarus border crisis
In addition to the fallout from the war in Ukraine, Poland has faced attempts by tens of thousands of migrants and refugees since mid-2021 to cross its border with Belarus and enter the European Union. The crisis prompted Poland to set up an emergency zone, build a steel border barrier and introduce a campaign of pushback. Meanwhile, estimates say that at least 20 migrants and refugees have died in the region’s frozen forests and bogs. Morales said these migrants and refugees, many of them from the Middle East and Afghanistan, are “routinely” locked up in detention centers in Poland near the border, including children, in violation of international humanitarian law. He said he had personally visited one of the centers and seen dozens of family members with children housed there. “I also called on Poland to use immigration detention as a last resort to stop the practice of immigration detention of children,” he said in a mock news briefing. “I urge the relevant authorities to immediately release unaccompanied children, children with their families, pregnant women and people with mental illnesses into open facilities,” he said. Poland and other EU member states have accused Belarus of creating the crisis by flying people from the Middle East and pushing them to try to cross illegally into the bloc in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed on Minsk after disputed August 2020 elections it handed longtime President. Alexander Lukashenko for a sixth term. Minsk has denied these claims.
