The UN complained on Tuesday that Poland and Belarus had denied it access to the border area between the two countries, where the organization intended to investigate immigration + r% C3% A9fugi% C3% A9s “> migration crisis.
During a regular press briefing by humanitarian agencies, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Liz Throssell, explained that her team had been able to visit Poland, but “without to have been authorized to access the border area ”, while Belarus had blocked access to all of its territory.
“We urge the authorities of the two countries to allow access to border areas to representatives of humanitarian and human rights organizations, journalists, lawyers as well as representatives of civil society,” he said. -she adds.
The High Commissioner also calls on Belarus and Poland to “urgently remedy” “the desperate situation in which migrants and refugees find themselves” at their borders.
From November 29 to December 3, a team from the High Commission stayed in Poland. Although not allowed to travel to the border area, she met with government and civil society representatives and held talks with 31 migrants who arrived between August and November.
“Interviewees described dire conditions on both sides of the border, with no or limited access to food, clean water and shelter,” said Mr.me Throssell.
“The majority of them said they were beaten or threatened by the security forces while in Belarus. They also claimed that Belarusian security forces forced them to cross the border, telling them when and where to cross, and prevented them from returning to Minsk, ”she added.
The High Commission calls on Belarus to investigate these allegations and “immediately put an end to these practices”. He also calls on Poland to stop returning migrants to the Belarusian side without an individual study of their case and not to systematically detain those who are not returned.
“Detention should be an exceptional measure of last resort, and should only be used for a limited period, if at all,” said the spokesperson.
“We also remind the EU and its member states of their obligation to uphold human rights at the EU’s external borders,” she added.
Western countries accuse Belarus of orchestrating the influx of thousands of migrants to the EU’s borders since the summer in revenge for the sanctions imposed after the disputed 2020 elections. Minsk rejected the accusations and blamed Warsaw for violently turning back migrants who have managed to cross the border.