Wed 10 November 2021:
The International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Refugee Agency warned Tuesday that reports of migrant abuse at the Belarus-Poland border had them “very alarmed.”
A joint statement issued by the two UN agencies cited reports saying that a large group of migrants and refugees on the Belarusian side of the border are “moving towards the international border crossing point ‘Bruzgi’ with Poland.”
At a UN news conference in Geneva, UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo stated, “It’s a situation for which we’ve been expressing our concern for quite some time,”
“UNHCR and IOM have been in contact with both governments and are calling for an urgent resolution of the situation and immediate and unhindered access to the group to ensure that humanitarian assistance is provided, those in need of international or other forms of protection are identified and those who wish to apply for asylum can do so where they are,” the statement said.
“In view of the alarming situation at the border, both sides must uphold their obligations under international law and guarantee the safety, dignity, and protection of the rights of people stranded at the border,” the statement said.
The two organizations cited reports from the Belarusian side of the border on Nov. 8 of a large gathering of migrants and refugees, including women and children.
“Taking advantage of the despair and vulnerability of migrants and refugees by offering them unrealistic and misleading promises is unacceptable and has severe human consequences,” the IOM and UNHCR said.
Belarus and Poland have been caught in a spat in recent months. Poland has accused Belarus of trying to encourage migrants and refugees to cross into Poland and the European Union,
Poland and other EU member states accuse Belarus of encouraging illegal migrants from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa to cross the border into the EU in revenge for sanctions already slapped on Minsk over human rights abuses.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s government, which is backed by Russia, denies manufacturing the migrant crisis and blames Europe and the United States for the plight of the people stranded at the border.
The European Commission said on Tuesday Belarus was taking a “gangster-style” approach to the issue by illegally offering migrants easy entrance into the EU via its territory. It said more sanctions against Minsk were on the way.
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