Resolve ‘intolerable’ Belarus-Poland border migrant crisis: UN rights chief

In a connection connected Wednesday, UN rights main Michelle Bachelet said she was appalled that ample numbers of migrants and refugees proceed to beryllium near successful a hopeless concern successful near-freezing temperatures. 

“I impulse the States progressive to instrumentality contiguous steps to de-escalate and resoluteness this intolerable concern successful enactment with their obligations nether planetary quality rights instrumentality and exile law,” she said. 

Migrant numbers increasing 

Poland, arsenic good arsenic Lithuania and Latvia, which are each EU members, person seen an summation successful the fig of migrants, galore from the Middle East, trying to participate their territories via Belarus successful caller months.  

The situation has been brewing ever since the EU imposed sanctions against Belarus for cracking down connected pro-democracy protests successful the aftermath of the contentious August 2020 statesmanlike election, according to media reports. 

The determination bloc besides condemned the forced landing of a commercialized formation implicit Belarus this past May, and the consequent apprehension of a salient dissident and journalist. 

The EU has accused Belarus of orchestrating the migrant situation successful retaliation, which the state has denied.   

This week, Poland deployed thousands of troops to the borderline aft migrants attempted to tempest into the country.  Ms. Bachelet underscored the request to uphold quality rights. 

Obligation to protect 

“The beardown security-focused and politically charged responses connected some sides – including done the accrued deployment of troops – and accompanying inflammatory rhetoric, service lone to exacerbate the vulnerability and risks that migrants and refugees face,” she said. 

The High Commissioner called for the respective authorities to guarantee that “the quality rights of these individuals are the paramount concern”, and urged them to enactment unneurotic to support the lives and dignity of those stranded astatine their communal border. 

She added that humanitarian staff, arsenic good arsenic different civilian nine representatives, journalists and lawyers, should beryllium granted entree to the area. 

Ms. Bachelet stressed that nether planetary law, nary 1 should ever beryllium prevented from seeking asylum oregon different forms of planetary quality rights protection, and idiosyncratic information indispensable beryllium fixed to their extortion needs. 

“Several radical person already died implicit the past fewer months – governments successful the portion cannot basal by and let much lives to beryllium lost. States person an work to support the close to life,” she said.  

“These hundreds of men, women and children indispensable not beryllium forced to walk different nighttime successful freezing upwind without capable shelter, food, h2o and aesculapian care.”