Latvian, Lithuanian and Polish NGOs urge review of 'migrant pushbacks' at Belarusian border

RIGA - Three nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland are calling for a review of "migrant pushbacks" at the Belarusian border, Edvards Karlis Vonsovics, a representative of the Latvian NGO Gribu Palidzet Begliem (I Want to Help Refugees), told LETA.

The association notes that on June 12, the European Union (EU) Pact on Migration and Asylum entered into force, with the aim of harmonizing migration and asylum procedures across all EU member states. On June 11, the Saeima adopted a new Immigration Law, which is due to take effect at the beginning of next year.

The association notes that, in connection with this and the implementation of the pact in Latvia, changes to the Asylum Law are also planned, and a public consultation on the draft has been announced. Meanwhile, in connection with the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, a new detention center for foreign nationals, Rauda, became operational on June 12, and a new procedure for receiving asylum seekers has entered into force.

In the association's view, it is not entirely clear whether the "pushback practice" at the border will be discontinued. The Latvian NGO emphasizes that even under exceptional circumstances covered by the provisions of the EU Crisis and Force Majeure Regulations, fundamental rights remain binding on member states.

"Collective expulsion at the border, without assessing an individual’s circumstances and without allowing them to apply for asylum, is prohibited. Therefore, the ‘pushback practice’ currently applied in Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland raises serious concerns regarding its compliance with EU law," the NGO states.

According to I Want to Help Refugees, the implementation of the new legal framework must ensure that restrictions on freedom are not applied automatically in migration procedures. The NGO emphasizes that detention should be used only as a last resort after an individual assessment of the circumstances of each case and after less restrictive alternative measures have been considered.

The NGO states that effective legal assistance must be available at all stages of migration procedures, including during asylum, detention, and return procedures. In the NGO's view, if such assistance is not provided, there is a risk that the right to effective legal remedies will become a mere formality.

In the association’s view, the new regulations must adequately address the situation of those who cannot return to their countries of origin. I Want to Help Refugees emphasizes that access to employment is a key prerequisite for human dignity, self-sufficiency, and social inclusion. Conversely, if individuals are denied legal access to the labor market, the risks of poverty, exploitation, and undeclared work increase significantly.

Latvia's I Want to Help Refugees, Lithuanian NGO Sienos Grupe, and Polish NGO Stowarzyszenie Interwencji Prawnej, through the implementation of the Humane Borders in the East project, will monitor and engage in the implementation of the Migration and Asylum Pact. The organizations are calling on those member states that share an EU border with Belarus to ensure that the implementation of the new rules complies with human rights standards and international law.

The project will last one year, during which the partners will submit proposals and participate in decision-making, resulting in a report on the pushback and deportation of irregular migrants.

As reported, Interior Minister Janis Dombrava (National Alliance) believes that "bogus asylum seekers" in Latvia are "making a mockery" of European humanism, but the State Border Guard and the Office for Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) are not doing enough to prevent the problem.

After his visit to the asylum seekers' center in Mucenieki, the interior minister said that Latvia is unacceptably open to illegal immigrants who pose as asylum seekers after illegally crossing the state border.

This shows the need to establish a strict algorithm for how such persons are identified and deported, the minister said. He expects the responsible authorities - the PMLP and the State Border Guard - to act promptly to expel such persons from the country.

"Asylum seeker centers are flooded with hordes of Somali, Sudanese, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and other exotic nationals, who are being sustained on our taxpayers' money. They move around freely with knives, and they have made the surrounding environment a mess. They do not try to hide the fact that they have illegally crossed Latvia's external border and they understand well how to abuse the European Commission's regulation to their advantage," Dombrava said in a press release.

These people also "make a mockery" of Latvian and European humanitarianism, the minister believes.

Dombrava believes that the PMLP and the State Border Guard have not done everything possible to prevent this. "Such individuals will not be able to walk around freely and will not be kept in Latvia," Dombrava said.

Dombrava said on Latvian Television that the solution is simply to take such migrants back to their countries of entry when they identified. "I am really not interested in all these European norms," the minister said.

As reported, as the minister of the interior, Dombrava has declared curbing immigration his priority.

Under the minister's leadership, the Ministry of the Interior will develop and submit to the Cabinet of Ministers an action plan to implement the recommendations of the final report of the parliamentary ad hoc committee of inquiry on immigration, while at the same time launching the implementation of concrete measures outlined in the plan.

The implementation of the recommendations will enable the establishment of a strict immigration policy, eliminating the possibility of illegal stay in Latvia and shutting down schemes through which economic immigrants have been legalized, Dombrava believes.