European Commission must take a "decisive and unequivocal stand against" Poland's suspension of asylum
Topic
Country/Region
06 November 2024
More than sixty organizations, including Statewatch, and 10 MEPs, have signed a letter to the European Commission demanding a "decisive and unequivocal stand against" the Polish government's decision to suspend the right to seek asylum. The country's prime minister, Donald Tusk, announced the plan last month in response to people arriving across the Polish-Belarussian border.
Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.
The letter was coordinated by Border Violence Monitoring Network.
Dear President Von der Leyen,
We are writing to express our deep concern regarding Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s recently announced migration strategy. The temporary suspension of the right to asylum in Poland poses an alarming threat to the foundations of our shared values and jeopardises the Rule of Law. It is clear that such a policy will disproportionately impact people from racialized backgrounds, who already face increased violence and discrimination at Poland's borders, amplifying existing injustices and inequalities in access to international protection.
The European Union was supposedly built on the principles of humanity and solidarity, and the right to asylum is enshrined in the fundamental human rights recognized within our treaties. We are concerned about the significant impact that suspending the right to asylum would have, delegitimizing EU laws and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Specifically, such a suspension would violate the requirement on all Member States to grant access to a fair asylum procedure to those seeking international protection and would undermine the protections enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the principle of non-refoulement.
The potential consequences of Tusk’s policies extend far beyond Poland and set a dangerous precedent that could embolden other Member States to follow suit, eroding the very foundation of the asylum acquis. “Taking back control” cannot mean the suspension of the right to asylum, and violations of the EU Charter.
We expect the Commission to demonstrate commitment to the non-negotiable rights and values that bind us. A strong and confident Poland, and Europe, is not one that panics and abandons its standards at the first sign of trouble. It is one that stands up for human rights, human dignity and the rule of law.
We urge the Commission to take a decisive and unequivocal stand against this plan. You have a responsibility to protect and uphold the EU’s commitment to human rights, the Rule of Law, and the Charter. At a moment where multiple Member States are seeking to opt out of these basic commitments, we call on you to remain steadfast in the EU’s founding principles now more than ever.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Association For Legal intervention) /Stowarzyszenie Interwencji Prawnej (SIP)
Be aware and share (BAAS)
Balkanbrücke
Channel Monitoring Project
Club of Catholic Intelligentsia in Warsaw
Collective Aid
Coordinadora Obrim Fronteres
Cribs International, Housing Homeless Refugee Women and Babies
Egala Association
Emfasis Non-Profit, Greece
Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice
Europe Must Act
European Lawyers in Lesvos (ELIL)
European Network Against Racism
European Sex Workers’ Rights Alliance - (ESWA)
Foundation for Social and Economic Initiatives (FISE)
Foundation Institute for Socio-Economic Balance
Foundation Ukraine
From the Sea to the City
Fundacja Bezkres
Fundacja Inicjatywa Dom Otwarty
Fundacja Right to Protection Poland
Grupa Granica
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
HIAS Poland
Hjärta - progressives of faith, Sweden
Hope and Humanity Poland
I Sentinelli di Parigi
Inter Alia
International Humanitarian Initiative Foundation
LeaveNoOneBehind
Lets Bring Them Here/We Gaan Ze Halen, The Netherlands
Love Without Borders
MALDUSA project
Migration Consortium
Mobile Info Team
Movimiento por la Paz (MPDL)
Moving Cities
MV Louise MICHEL project
No Name Kitchen
No To Ci Pomogę Association
Northern Lights Aid
Ocalenie Foundation
Podlaskie Ochotnicze Pogotowie Humanitarne
Polish Hospitality Foundation
Possibile
PRO ASYL Bundesweite Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Flüchtlinge e.V.
Project Elpida e.V.
Red SOS Refugiados Europa
ReFOCUS Media Labs
Refugees in Libya
Researchers on the Border [Badaczki i Badacze na Granicy]
Sea-Eye e.V.
Sea-Watch e.V.
SOLIDAR
Spanish Society in fight against the European Pact on Migration and Asylum
Statewatch
Stowarzyszenie Lepszy Świat/Better World Association
TAMPEP-The European Network for the Promotion of Health and Rights among Migrant Sex Workers
Terre des Hommes Deutschland e.V.
The Association of Creative Initiatives „ę”
The Border Violence Monitoring Network
União de Refugiados em Portugal - UREP
We Are Monitoring
Zagreb grad-utočište (Zagreb Solidarity City)
Alice Kuhnke, MEP Greens/EFA European Parliament
Bennedetta Scuderi, MEP Greens/EFA European Parliament
Damien Carême, MEP The Left in the European Parliament, France
Estrella Galán, MEP The Left in the European Parliament, Spain
Hanna Gedin, MEP Vänsterpartiet, Sweden
Jonas Sjöstedt, MEP Vänsterpartiet, Sweden
Pernando Barrena, MEP The Left in the European Parliament
Rima Hassan, MEP The Left in the European Parliament, France
Saskia Bricmont, MEP Greens/EFA European Parliament
Tineke Strik, MEP Greens/EFA European Parliament
Our work is only possible with your support.
Become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.
Further reading
Implementing the Pact: Commission calls for accelerated deportation procedures
The Commission has called on EU institutions and member states to ramp up efforts to prepare for the deportations that will result from the new “return border procedure” introduced by the Pact on Migration and Asylum. The proposals come in a classified report obtained by Statewatch, which assesses non-EU states’ level of cooperation with removals from the bloc.
Almost 100 organisations call on EU to uphold the right to asylum
Statewatch is one of 95 organisations that are calling on EU institutions and member states to uphold the right to asylum, and to halt the pursuit of deals, agreements and arrangements that would outsource asylum processing to third states. Doing so risks "undermining the international protection system," says the statement, noting that attempts to outsource asylum processing have caused "immeasurable human suffering and rights violations."
Migration Pact "will engender a proliferation of human rights violations" and must be rejected
Ahead of Wednesday's final parliamentary vote on the laws that make up the EU's Pact on Migration and Asylum, 161 organisations - including Statewatch - have called on MEPs to vote against the new measures. The statement says that the new laws will create "a system whereby the right to seek asylum in the EU is severely threatened and will engender a proliferation of human rights violations," and should be rejected.
Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.