International human rights activists accuse Poland of mistreating migrants on border with Belarus

Forced pushbacks of migrants to Belarus by Polish border guards are accompanied by violence and cruel treatment, which often threatens refugees with illnesses, serious injuries and even death, according to a new report from Oxfam (a global organisation that fights inequality to end poverty and injustice) and Polish non-governmental organisation Egala, BelTA reports with reference to Politico

According to the report, Polish border forces regularly force migrants back into Belarus, while people are beaten, stripped of their clothes and left stranded in the forests without food, shelter or medical care.

The report, titled Brutal Barriers, details widespread mistreatment on the border, including migrants being shot with rubber bullets, attacked by dogs and given water contaminated with pepper spray before being expelled.

For example, Egala activists cite the testimony of a 22-year-old Syrian citizen who was stripped naked and left to freeze without shoes. Other testimonies include that of a pregnant woman who was bleeding and in need of medical attention, but was dragged back to the border. The report notes that some pregnant women suffered miscarriages after being denied assistance.

Despite constant allegations by human rights organisations of illegal forced expulsions of migrants, in December 2024, the European Commission allocated 52m Euros ‘to bolster surveillance and infrastructure’ along Poland’s eastern border.

When Donald Tusk became Poland’s PM in 2023, human rights activists hoped for a softening of migration policy, but his government only tightened measures, reintroduced exclusion zones and approved a law allowing the temporary suspension of the right to seek asylum. Migration policy remains a key issue ahead of the country’s presidential election in May.

It is worth noting that Brussels is avoiding an open confrontation with the Tusk government over the pushbacks. So far, Warsaw has refused to budge. In February, Tusk said that Poland wouldn’t respect the EU’s migration pact and wouldn’t accept migrants. He also said that Poland wouldn’t pay fines for refusing to take in migrants.

Human rights organisations warn that Warsaw’s actions and the EU’s unwillingness to stop them are setting a dangerous precedent.

“The EU must stop bankrolling this pushback policy and shut down any future plans that gamble with people’s lives. This is not about politics – it’s about what is right,” Oxfam’s Ukraine advocacy lead Sarah Redd emphasised.