A small Polish village on the border with Belarus, Usnarz Górny, has grow to be a logo of the Polish stand on refugees’ safety as 32 asylum seekers turned trapped between Polish and Belarusian border guards. Polish authorities not solely refuse to just accept their asylum functions and are constructing a barbed wire fence but additionally, on September 2, 2021, declared a state of emergency in 183 cities in a 3-kilometer strip of land alongside the Polish-Belarusian border. Of their opinion, the present scenario is a hybrid assault orchestrated by Lukashenko who tries to destabilize the political scenario in Poland by bringing migrants from Iraq to the Polish border. Nonetheless, the scenario in Usnarz Górny is just the tip of the iceberg as migration from the Japanese border has been growing already for a while in addition to the variety of push again operations.
An identical stand on the matter was taken by the EU, because the European Commissioner for House Affairs, Ylva Johansson, claimed:
The actions on Polish facet, the state of emergency and the shortage of entry to the border zone, already led to loss of life of six individuals who tried to cross the border – inflicting concern within the European Fee. However why has this case has not met but with a harsh criticism and actions from the EU establishments? This text seems at some causes of why Poland and the EU behave on this manner. It begins nonetheless with the query why Poland should assist asylum seekers.
Before everything, push-back operations are unlawful and the refusal to just accept and study asylum functions is in opposition to the Geneva Conference, the European Conference on Human Rights and the Dublin Conference. If a person expresses a declare for asylum, the border guard has a authorized obligation to look at it. Nonetheless, in accordance with the work of The Rule of Regulation Institute, border guards make the most of terminological variations. Asylum seekers typically use the phrase ‘azyl’ which is similar to English (‘asylum’) and ought to be understood, in accordance with the EU terminology, as a request for worldwide safety. Nonetheless, Polish border guards use Polish terminology in accordance with which ‘azyl’ is a nationwide type of safety (not worldwide safety) granted to foreigners in want of safety however when it’s supported by the pursuits of Poland. Within the case of lack of such curiosity, safety will not be granted.
One other instance of illegal actions in the direction of asylum seekers is included in a draft act amending the act on foreigners and the act on granting safety to foreigners inside the territory of the Republic of Poland – adopted on August 17, 2021. In line with the act, foreigners could also be instantly eliminated and banned from re-entering Poland in case of unlawful border crossing. Moreover, their functions for worldwide safety could also be left with out examination, which has been claimed to be in opposition to not solely the provisions of worldwide legislation but additionally the Polish Structure.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, present vice-president and chief of the Regulation and Justice Occasion, made a speech within the Parliament on September 16, 2015, arguing that Poland doesn’t have an ethical obligation to just accept refugees because it neither took half in colonialization nor within the latest destabilising actions taken by the US and a few European international locations within the Center East. Whereas certainly Poland didn’t have colonies, it does make the most of being a part of a system construct by earlier colonizers. Furthermore, Poland despatched troops to Afghanistan and Iraq that are two international locations from which many asylum seekers come. Additional, from the historic standpoint, Poland ought to categorical a particular empathy and solidarity with foreigners who not solely flee from wars and persecution but additionally search to discover a higher life as Polish historical past consists of a number of waves of emigration.
Poland wants foreigners for at the very least two causes: cultural and financial. Though the variety of foreigners in Poland has considerably elevated, it nonetheless contrasts with the info from different European international locations: on January 1, 2020, Poland had the second lowest (after Romania) share of non-nationals within the resident inhabitants within the EU. In a survey from the identical 12 months, solely 40% of Poles declared that they personally knew a foreigner residing in Poland. This lack of familiarity with foreigners can considerably contribute to a hostile angle in the direction of foreigners, particularly to these from the Center East and Africa, and result in tensions within the society when the movement of immigrants will increase. And it will possible occur as a result of demographical scenario: Polish society is recently eldering quicker than the common within the EU and it’s calculated that “in 2030 employers can have issues with filling each fifth job place”.
In the course of the ‘migration disaster’ the Polish Authorities took a agency stand on migration which nonetheless has repercussions. The refusal to relocate a comparatively small variety of refugees impacted each the interior and exterior picture of Poland. On one hand, the Polish Authorities adopted securitising discourse on migration, presenting particularly individuals from the Center East and Africa, as a severe menace to nationwide, societal and well being safety. Accepting refugees now would contradict this discourse in addition to the above-mentioned discourse on lack of ethical obligation to assist. Thus, the actions which can be presently below manner are in step with the illustration of Poland as a rustic that prioritises its safety and defence – on this case, from Belarusian assault.
Whereas the Polish authorities’s actions met with robust opposition from authorized specialists, activists and a few politicians, the supporting response that got here from the EU could be seen as sudden on the first sight. Nonetheless, the EU nonetheless very a lot remembers the shortage of solidarity among the many Member States in 2015 and it faces unsolved issues at different migration routes and fears for future blackmail with migrants as a bargaining chip as within the case of Turkey. If one assumes that the rise of the variety of migrants on the Polish Japanese border is certainly simply Lukashenko’s doing, then taking the refugees opens the door for future blackmail not solely from Belarus but additionally different international locations – and this says nothing for the humanitarian value.
Lastly, there are additionally technical issues to contemplate. First, because it has been suspected by the Rule of Regulation Institute, Polish border guards might have issues with entry Eurodac gadgets which makes it inconceivable to successfully scan fingerprints with the submission of the asylum utility as required by the Dublin Conference. Second, there’s a lack of locations within the centres for foreigners. Since migration to Poland has typically elevated and the admission of functions at authorized crossings has been restricted, the variety of irregular crossings rose considerably: within the first half of this 12 months, there have been 4006 individuals, whereas in the identical interval of the earlier 12 months – 1453. If somebody crosses the border irregularly then they’re routinely despatched to considered one of solely six centres in Poland. There may be additionally a problem with translators whose presence is important. Lack of translators slows down the method and causes asylum seekers to spend months ready for choices within the guarded centres with out understanding what is going on with their instances.
Whereas the technical points with accepting asylum seekers in Poland in addition to the troublesome scenario throughout the EU in migration issues can to some extent clarify the deadlock on the border, can politics and technicalities be above the best to worldwide safety, and particularly, humanitarian therapy? Poland has been disobeying its obligations in the direction of asylum seekers for a very long time and this ought to be condemned on the worldwide stage. The issue is that neither the EU nor the world has a long-term plan for the way to handle migration which might solely be anticipated to extend because of political destabilisation and local weather disaster.
The writer want to thank dr Tomasz Sieniow, the President of the Rule of Regulation Basis, for a really attention-grabbing dialogue, and insights, that contributed to this text.
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