Polish Prime Minister Pledges to End Asylum, Citing Migrants from Belarus

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk spoke at a Council of Ministers Meeting (The Chancellery of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland).

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced at a Civic Platform party congress on October 12 that he plans to suspend the right of asylum for migrants as part of his new strategy to reduce illegal immigration through the Belorussian border. According to RFE/RL, he justified this action by saying that the right of asylum has been abused by Russian, Belorussian, and criminal individuals, and that Poland has the sovereignty to make this decision for itself. 

This policy is only the most recent development in an ongoing border crisis since late 2021. When Belorussian President Alexander Lukashenko was reelected for a sixth time, there were mass protests. In response to Western sanctions over the suppression of these protests, The New York Times reported that Belarus loosened its immigration policy, helping migrants acquire tourist visas and offering more flights from places in the Middle East. Since then, it has actively assisted migrants crossing its borders into the EU, offering them wire cutters and having border guards guide them to crossing points. Lukashenko has even threatened to allow “human traffickers and drug smugglers,” into Europe, according to The Washington Post. 

In response, Poland accused Belarus of “hybrid warfare” and using migrants as a “weapon,” per RFE/RL. The government doubled the military presence at the border with Belarus, per Reuters. It also constructed a fence along its approximately 250 mile-long border. These policies led to increased injuries and refugee deaths. Human rights groups and even the Catholic Church have criticized the Polish government for its handling of the crisis, which included turning away migrants and blocking humanitarian aid, per Human Rights Watch. Until June 2022, humanitarian organizations were even restricted from approaching the border with Belarus. Border guards have faced little accountability for violence, and migrants who have been deported to Belarus faced similar violence. 

The number of border crossings has decreased significantly since 2021 but remains a major issue in Polish politics. According to the Pew Research Center, Polish popular opinion is divided on refugee issues, as the country has taken in nearly a million refugees from Ukraine in the past few years. Before the war, the Polish population was already opposed to migrants. The original receptiveness to Ukrainian refugees has faded, and may have come at the cost of those from elsewhere. Both the populist Law and Justice party, which ruled until 2023, and the current, more moderate Civic Platform-led coalition have used harsh policies and strict border security to assuage voter fears about migrants.

The Prime Minister’s Office released a summary of the new plan on October 15, a plan which, among other things, would support “temporarily and territorially” suspending the right to asylum in the event that immigration is causing “state destabilization.” A new law also reduces criminal liability for soldiers using firearms on the border, including in lethal incidents. The government has not yet released the full text of the resolution. 

If carried out, the decision to suspend asylum rights would violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states in Article 14 that “everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.” Amnesty International’s Poland office has already deemed the proposal “unacceptable.” Even Tusk’s deputy foreign minister has called it “incomprehensible,” per Reuters. However, per RFE/RL, Tusk has said, “I will demand this [suspension of asylum], I will demand recognition in Europe for this decision,” showing that he understands this policy may face significant pushback from the EU. A spokesperson for the European Commission has said that Poland and the EU must find a way to protect against “hybrid attacks from Putin and Lukashenko, without compromising on our values,” per Politico. Given high domestic support for the policy, though, it is likely to be implemented despite international opposition.