POLAND-BELARUS BORDER CRISIS/LETTER TO THE EU/''EU'S HUMAN OBLIGATIONS AGAINST THE REFUGEES, WHO ARE TRAPPED BETWEEN
TO MRS Y JOHANSSON
EU COMMISSIONER FOR HOME AFFAIRS
Relating her responsibility for Migration and Asylum
Subject:
The Poland Belarus crisis on migrants:
Eu's obligations regarding universal human rights
Dear Mrs Johansson,
[When you are pressed with time, just read the last piece
''EU's obligations'']
I am greatly concerned about EU's recent attitude against refugees, who are trapped in the border between Poland and Belarus
Firstly the EU waited months after months and allowing Poland to close and
militarize its borders against those refugees, thus violating their right on asylum,
violating their universal human rights by letting them try to survive in the freezing
cold and, to add insult to injury, pushing them back from the border, fully knowing that push-backs are against International Law. [1]
As a consequence, at least thirteen refugees died. [2]
Instead of immediately demanding of Poland, to refrain from violating
human rights and giving those refugees entrance to Poland, all the EU
did was express solidarity with Poland and also denying the refugees their right to asylum:
I quote from the statement from EU president, mrs von der Leyen, from 8th november 2021:
''Finally, the Commission will explore with the UN and its specialised agencies how to prevent a humanitarian crisis from unfolding and to ensure that migrants can be safely returned to their country of origin, with the support of their national authorities.'' [3]
That's inhuman.
In her report ''Die Here or Go to Poland'', Human Rights Watch wrote among else:
''Polish authorities should immediately halt all summary returns and collective expulsions to Belarus and stop all abuse by Polish officials of migrants. The government of Poland should also immediately allow humanitarian and other civil society organizations access to the area currently restricted under the state of emergency order for the purposes of saving lives. Journalists and other monitors should also be permitted access.'' [4]
Poland is a EU member and should apply to
EU rules, among else consolidated in the Charter'
for Fundamental Rights of the EU Union [5],
in which the right to asylum is granted [article 18] [6] and pushbacks are forbidden [article 18, article 19,
EU Charter of Fundamental Rights] [7]
As long as Poland is an EU member, Poland has to conduct according to
EU rules!
And it is the EU task to remember Poland of its obligations.
PROPOSAL OF THE EU COMMISSION FROM
1 DECEMBER 2021
Not only that has not happened, now the EU
Commission did proposals in the favour of Poland.
Latva and Lithuania taking ''exceptional measures''
I refer to the recent Statement from 1 december 2021, calling for measures of an ''of an extraordinary and exceptional nature'' [8]
According to my information from Amnesty International,
EU Commission proposals ''normalize dehumanisation
of asylum seekers'' [9]
Amnesty International writes among else:
''“The arrival of people at the EU’s borders with Belarus is entirely manageable with the rules as they stand. Today’s proposals will further punish people for political gain, weaken asylum protections, and undermine the EU’s standing at home and abroad. If the EU can allow a minority of member states to throw out the rule book due to the presence of a few thousand people at its border, it throws out any authority it has on human rights and the rule of law.
“The current situation at the EU’s borders with Belarus is being used by some countries as an excuse to weaken protections of asylum-seekers and push their anti-migrant agenda. Holding asylum seekers in detention for four months, without the protection standards required by international law, is normalising de facto unlawful detention at the EU’s external borders.'' [10]
That's clear language and I have nothing to add to this
EU'S OBLIGATION
Summarizing:
During the Poland-Belarus crisis on migrants,
all the EU really did was to express solidarity
with Poland, thus encouraging Poland in it's
unlawful policy of denying the right to asylum and
practising illegal pushbacks and, to add insult
to injury, letting vulnerable refugee freezing in the cold,
without adequate provisions.
With this the EU has violated her own rules of
humanity, right to asylum and the prohibition
of pushbacks.
So it's time, the EU acts again in accordance with it's own Charter and Laws and not proposing ''extraordinary
measures'' [11] which violate it's own rules.
So I call the EU to require from Poland to admit the
refugees and give them a proper asylum procedure,
according to human rights and stop pushing them back.
Of course Belarus bears responsibility too for the
existing situation [12], but that doesn't excuse
the EU from practising their own rules of
humanitarian protection of refugees, which is formally established in the EU Law.
Return to your own Laws and Charters, EU and stop
dehumanizing refugees.
That's all I ask.
Kind regards
Astrid Essed
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
NOTES
SEE FOR NOTES
https://www.astridessed.nl/poland-belarus-border-crisis-letter-to-the-eu-eus-human-obligations-against-the-refugees/
OR
https://www.dewereldmorgen.be/community/poland-belarus-border-crisis-letter-to-the-eu-eus-human-obligations-against-the-refugees-who-arfe-trapped-between-the-poland-belarus-border/