https://tass.com/world/1382023
GENEVA, December 28. /TASS/. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, demands the Polish authorities grant unimpeded access to migrants at the border with Belarus, UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told TASS on Tuesday.
When asked by TASS whether UNHCR representatives had a possibility to meet refugees and migrants at the Polish side of the border and verify information of deaths of refugees and migrants, which was shared by a fugitive Polish soldier, Baloch said, “We are aware of the media reports about a Polish soldier crossing the border to Belarus and about the allegations he has made. However, it is up to the concerned national authorities to investigate the reported incidents.”
The UNHCR spokesperson recalled that the UN Refugee Agency “has been advocating for unhindered access to the people in the area from the very beginning” and has been “in direct contact” with the Polish interior ministry and the border services. Now that access to the border with Belarus is significantly restricted “humanitarian organizations but also lawyers, media, medics, volunteers are not there,” he said, adding that UNHCR “continues to call on the Polish authorities to ensure unrestricted access to migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees in the emergency zone – as specified in the 1991 agreement signed by UNHCR and Poland’s MFA and based on our mandate.”
“We have expressed our position in several press releases and advocacy for access to the area under restrictions for all humanitarian organizations is constant,” he stressed.
“While we cannot enter the state of emergency area, we conduct monitoring visits right outside this zone,” he said. “Similarly, we regularly visit detention centers and, together with our partners, offer legal counseling and support to individuals seeking international protection in Poland and Belarus. We increased our financial assistance to NGOs that provide legal help to people in asylum procedures. If we receive distress calls from people at the border, we coordinate with our counterparts to save lives. We have for long advocated for the rights of asylum seekers and refugees in Poland and Belarus, and continue to do so.”…
GENEVA, December 28. /TASS/. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, demands the Polish authorities grant unimpeded access to migrants at the border with Belarus, UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told TASS on Tuesday.
When asked by TASS whether UNHCR representatives had a possibility to meet refugees and migrants at the Polish side of the border and verify information of deaths of refugees and migrants, which was shared by a fugitive Polish soldier, Baloch said, “We are aware of the media reports about a Polish soldier crossing the border to Belarus and about the allegations he has made. However, it is up to the concerned national authorities to investigate the reported incidents.”
The UNHCR spokesperson recalled that the UN Refugee Agency “has been advocating for unhindered access to the people in the area from the very beginning” and has been “in direct contact” with the Polish interior ministry and the border services. Now that access to the border with Belarus is significantly restricted “humanitarian organizations but also lawyers, media, medics, volunteers are not there,” he said, adding that UNHCR “continues to call on the Polish authorities to ensure unrestricted access to migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees in the emergency zone – as specified in the 1991 agreement signed by UNHCR and Poland’s MFA and based on our mandate.”
“We have expressed our position in several press releases and advocacy for access to the area under restrictions for all humanitarian organizations is constant,” he stressed.
“While we cannot enter the state of emergency area, we conduct monitoring visits right outside this zone,” he said. “Similarly, we regularly visit detention centers and, together with our partners, offer legal counseling and support to individuals seeking international protection in Poland and Belarus. We increased our financial assistance to NGOs that provide legal help to people in asylum procedures. If we receive distress calls from people at the border, we coordinate with our counterparts to save lives. We have for long advocated for the rights of asylum seekers and refugees in Poland and Belarus, and continue to do so.”…
