Instrumentalised migration pressure on the borders of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland with Belarus
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 30 September 2021 (30th sitting) (see Doc. 15382 rev, report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and
Displaced Persons, rapporteur: Ms Anne-Mari Virolainen). Text adopted by the Assembly on
30 September 2021 (30th sitting).
1. The Parliamentary Assembly is concerned
by the unfolding situation of “hybrid attacks” by the Belarusian authorities
resulting in increased pressures relating to migration and asylum
at the Belarus border with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. This is
all the more worrying as it has been orchestrated by the Belarusian
authorities in response to European Union sanctions against Belarus,
which were imposed for harsh violations of human rights. The Assembly
condemns any instrumentalisation of migrants, refugees and asylum
seekers by States for political purposes.
2. The Assembly notes with concern that recent arrivals of migrants
and asylum seekers have created significant challenges for Latvia,
Lithuania and Poland, putting a strain on their capacity to receive
migrants and refugees.
3. The Assembly, however, reiterates the obligations of all Council
of Europe member States to uphold human rights and humanitarian
principles as well as international law relating to refugees and
the right to seek asylum. Member States should furthermore ensure
the necessary humanitarian assistance to people in need of protection,
paying special attention to the situation of vulnerable groups,
including families with young children, unaccompanied and separated
children and people with disabilities and special needs. In doing
so they should also consider protection needs from the perspective
of gender.
4. The Assembly considers that effective border management by
Council of Europe member States should be accompanied by adequate
responses to the rights of asylum seekers. Border management should
be fully compliant with European and international law and in particular
the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5) and the 1951
United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
5. The Assembly condemns the growing tendency to restrict the
right to seek asylum of persons crossing a border irregularly and
any practice by member States of refoulements of
migrants and asylum seekers to third countries, where international
protection needs may not be guaranteed. It recalls the obligation
of member States to respect the principle of non-refoulement and
the prohibition of collective expulsion of foreigners.
6. The Assembly considers that the European Union and its agencies
should closely monitor the situation at the border and the actions
by its member States that could lead to violations of the human
rights of migrants and asylum seekers.
7. The Assembly is highly concerned that the situation at the
European Union’s eastern border has provoked a new wave of anti-migrant
rhetoric, which has resulted in countries being forced to build
new fences in Europe to prevent the neighbouring authoritarian regime
from instrumentalising migrants, asylum seekers and refugees for
its political goals.
8. The Assembly welcomes the efforts of the European Union to
reconsider its reception procedures and solidarity mechanism, including
the resettlement solution in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum.
The situation at the European Union’s eastern border has shown that
the European Union’s directive 2001/55/EC on temporary protection
should be revived in order to be used in exceptional situations
where there is a mass influx of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.
It is also important to create a comprehensive migration risk-assessment
algorithm allowing for the preparation of effective reaction strategies.
9. In response to the current situation at the border with Belarus,
the Assembly calls on governments of member States of the Council
of Europe to support Latvia, Lithuania and Poland by:
9.1 providing urgent financial and
technical assistance to ensure the necessary protection of migrants,
asylum seekers and refugees;
9.2 establishing effective support mechanisms for these countries
so that they can ensure an efficient reception process, adequate
accommodation, effective identification of people with special needs
and timely access to information about the asylum procedure and
social and other services for new arrivals while their applications
for asylum are being processed through fair and prompt procedures.
10. The Assembly calls on the authorities in Belarus to:
10.1 stop the instrumentalisation
of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, in particular those in
a vulnerable situation, and stop facilitating travel to Belarus
by third-country nationals under the false pretence of tourism;
10.2 take full responsibility, under applicable international
law, for third-country nationals present in the territory of Belarus,
especially those in vulnerable situations, and refrain from illegal
actions such as taking away their travel documents or forcibly pushing
them towards the border;
10.3 co-operate with its neighbours, Latvia, Lithuania and
Poland, as well as with the European Union, on cross-border arrangements
in order to solve ongoing problems in terms of irregular migratory
flows across these borders.
11. The Assembly also calls on the authorities in Latvia, Lithuania
and Poland to:
11.1 provide access
to asylum procedures to all those seeking international protection;
11.2 refrain from refoulements to
Belarus and provide the necessary safeguards to ensure the human rights
of those seeking entry to their territory;
11.3 ensure that detention of asylum seekers is only used as
a last resort and that alternatives to detention are explored. When
detention is resorted to, it should be carried out with all relevant safeguards,
including an assessment of the circumstances of the individuals
and their families. Children should never be detained, regardless
of their migratory status;
11.4 in co-operation with the European Asylum Support Office,
provide adequate reception facilities and accommodation for new
arrivals – identifying people with special needs – and provide access
to information about the asylum procedure and social and other services;
11.5 ensure that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) and organisations providing humanitarian assistance
and legal aid are provided with unhindered access to migrants, asylum
seekers and refugees, including at the border;
11.6 despite the state of emergency, ensure that vulnerable
groups, such as unaccompanied minors and survivors of torture, sexual
violence and other forms of serious violence, are exempted from
the accelerated asylum procedure and referred to more adequate and
safer reception facilities, and ensure that those who need psychological
support have access to specialist services;
11.7 guarantee that the return of migrants to third countries
does not take place without sufficient safeguards for the rights
of those being returned, and work with Belarus and the European
Union to solve ongoing problems in terms of irregular migration
flows across these borders.
12. The Assembly welcomes the support offered by the UNHCR to
the countries concerned in order to provide legal and technical
expertise on the reception, site management and processing of asylum applications,
and encourages the UNHCR and the International Organization for
Migration to further strengthen their monitoring of situations of
migratory pressure, in co-operation with other human rights organisations,
in order to provide early warning of impending problems.
13. The Assembly proposes the creation, within the Council of
Europe, of a permanent group or body to focus on the human rights
situation in Belarus, one of the tasks of which will be monitoring
the situation of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers from Belarus.
