MSF calls for humanitarian access to the Polish-Belarusian border
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is warning of possible dramatic consequences following the Polish Senate’s approval on Thursday of a law that excludes criminal liability for officers of the Police, Border Guard and soldiers of the armed forces who use coercive measures on the Polish-Belarusian border. The legislation will lead to a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation along the boundary. This will be compounded by an increased risk of normalising the use of lethal weapons and potential consequences for those seeking protection at the border, with more militarisation and restrictions on access to the buffer zone.
On June 13, Poland reintroduced an exclusion zone along about 60 kilometres of the country’s border with Belarus, covering areas with the highest concentrations of migrant crossings since 2021. Media and humanitarian workers have only been able to access the area with permission from the Border Guard. The restriction was set up to last 90 days.
As of 23 July, despite official requests for unrestricted and independent access to the entire border region to provide medico-humanitarian assistance, Médecins Sans Frontières has only been allowed to enter a small part of the buffer zone for a limited period of 30 days. Humanitarian workers and volunteers from other grassroot organisations, who are an integral part of humanitarian assistance at the border, have not been granted access to provide humanitarian assistance and are at increased risk of criminalisation.
“The ban acts like a blindfold. We do not know what is happening in the densely forested area between Poland and Belarus. And we cannot help the people we cannot see,’ said Andreas Spaett, head of Médecins Sans Frontières humanitarian activities in Poland. “All people seeking protection in Poland should be treated with humanity and dignity. Access should be provided to all humanitarian organisations”.
The recent developments, including the ban on entry to the border area, will have life-threatening consequences for people who are unable to obtain the necessary humanitarian and medical assistance. Without civil society organisations’ access to the buffer zone, acute needs are not met.
In the first six months of 2024, MSF conducted 99 interventions in the border zone and provided urgent medical assistance to 142 individuals suffering from extreme exhaustion, gastrointestinal infections and injuries related to violence (including deep cuts, bruises and suspected fractures). This included referring 32 patients to the hospital for general exhaustion, hypothermia, dehydration, wounds/orthopaedic conditions, worsening chronic diseases, psychological distress, and women in pregnancy. Most individuals treated by MSF report having been stranded in the forested stretch of land between the two border fences, referred to by refugees as the ‘death zone’, for an average of 21 days, and for some up to 90 days, with limited access to food or water. In this harsh context, medical problems can lead to rapid deterioration of people's health and can be life-threatening if they do not receive timely assistance and medical care.
Considering the humanitarian and medical concerns raised above, MSF calls upon the Polish authorities to fundamentally change course and take all necessary measures to ensure that individuals seeking protection in Poland are treated with humanity and dignity. This includes:
1. Ensure that all individuals in need can access humanitarian assistance, medical care and asylum procedures;
2. Safeguard independent humanitarian and civil society access to the entire border area, including buffer zone, an imperative to delivering lifesaving assistance to people in need;
3. Reconsider legal amendments, which risk providing further legitimacy to the use of violent practices at the border;
4. End harmful narratives around humanitarian aid activities as well as those rooted in the dehumanisation and securitisation of people seeking protection.
For more information contact solenn.honorine@brussels.msf.org