Situation of Illegal Migrants at Polish Border: Legal Standards and Practice

Jakub J. Czepek

doi:10.47078/2024.1.73-93

Jakub J. Czepek Associate Professor, dr hab., Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7741-7806

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47078/2024.1.73-93

Keywords: illegal migrants, European Convention on Human Rights, Polish-Belarussian border crisis, refugees, Polish border

Abstract

The problem of migration in Europe has become increasingly pressing. The primary causes of this problem were the recent migration crises and Russian aggression in Ukraine in 2022. All these events had an impact on most European Union (EU) members, including Central and Eastern European states. This region also witnessed the Belarus–EU border crisis, which, in particular, involved Poland as the EU Member State, sharing the longest border with Belarus. Several months later, Poland encountered a wave of migrants fleeing Ukraine following Russian aggression. This study aims to examine the existing legal standards in this regard. The focus of this analysis is twofold. On the one hand, it is crucial to analyze international legal standards, including the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the EU legal framework, and the international human rights protection system, in particular the case law of the European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) and provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). However, this analysis would not have been complete without focusing on the Polish legal system and domestic practices regarding illegal migrants. This study also attempts to consider recent events on the Polish border, including the 2021–2022 Polish-Belarussian border crisis and the massive influx of migrants from Ukraine fleeing from armed conflict following Russian aggression in 2022.

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