Baltic, Polish NGOs call for review of migrant pushbacks at Belarus border

Human rights organisations in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland have called on governments bordering Belarus to review their migrant pushback practices following the entry into force of the European Union's Migration and Asylum Pact.

Lithuania's Sienos Grupė , Latvia's Gribu palīdzēt bēgļiem and Poland's Stowarzyszenie Interwencji Prawnej issued a joint statement on Friday urging the three countries to ensure that implementation of the new rules fully complies with human rights standards and international law.

"Migration policy cannot be based on fear or short-term political considerations. It must be based on human rights, human dignity, and the principles of the rule of law," the organisations said.

The groups argued that even under the exceptional circumstances covered by the EU's crisis and force majeure regulation, member states remain bound by fundamental human rights obligations. They said that collective expulsions carried out without individual assessments or access to asylum procedures are prohibited under EU law, and that current pushback practices in all three countries raise questions about their compatibility with that framework.

The organisations also said that detention during migration procedures should be a last resort, used only after individual circumstances have been assessed and alternatives considered. Unaccompanied minors should be immediately assigned a legal representative and should not be detained, they added.

The statement also called for effective legal aid in all migration procedures and the right to work for individuals who cannot be returned to their country of origin but have not been granted protection.

The call comes days after the Lithuanian government approved legislative amendments to transpose the EU pact into national law, though the changes still require parliamentary approval. Under the EU solidarity mechanism, Lithuania plans to accept 58 migrants from Cyprus and contribute 1.14 million euros to the scheme.

Lithuania has applied pushback practices at its border with Belarus since 2021, when a surge in migrant crossings, widely attributed to a deliberate policy by the Belarusian government of Alexander Lukashenko, prompted a state of emergency. The practice was enshrined in law in 2023.

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