Human rights organisations in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland have called on governments bordering Belarus to review their migrant pushback practices following the entry into force of the European Union's Migration and Asylum Pact.
Lithuania's Sienos Grupė, Latvia's Gribu palīdzēt bēgļiem and Poland's Stowarzyszenie Interwencji Prawnej issued a joint statement on Friday urging the three countries to ensure that implementation of the new rules fully complies with human rights standards and international law.
"Migration policy cannot be based on fear or short-term political considerations. It must be based on human rights, human dignity, and the principles of the rule of law," the organisations said.
The groups argued that even under the exceptional circumstances covered by the EU's crisis and force majeure regulation, member states remain bound by fundamental human rights obligations. They said that collective expulsions carried out without individual assessments or access to asylum procedures are prohibited under EU law, and that current pushback practices in all three countries raise questions about their compatibility with that framework.
The organisations also said that detention during migration procedures should be a last resort, used only after individual circumstances have been assessed and alternatives considered. Unaccompanied minors should be immediately assigned a legal representative and should not be detained, they added.
