photo of Facebook/Border GroupChild's Day. There is no more symbolic image than above. Eleven children and thirteen adults camped for respective days under the Polish barrier on Polish land at the Belarusian border. Polish services through this barrier refused to accept asylum applications from them
Poland was obliged to initiate appropriate procedures for families with children who asked for aid and global protection, and yet refused.
A group of 25 people, who had been in Poland on the another side of the wall for respective days, moved distant from it – informs the Border Group. Among them were women, children, a man with a pacemaker, as well as a individual bitten by dogs of Belarusian borderers. It was people from delicate groups, Poland had peculiar responsibilities towards them.
Group Border: – From activists and activists on the scene, we know that refugees were intimidated by Belarusian uniforms and were very afraid of force on their part. In the absence of appropriate procedures initiated by the Polish side, remoteness from the barrier may have been the only way to avoid attacks from the Belarusian services.
Polish services operating on the Polish-Belarusian border did not comply in fresh days with a number of applicable regulations, including:
– Article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
"States Parties shall respect and warrant the rights contained in this Convention to any child, without discrimination, regardless of race, colour, gender, language, religion, political views (...)".
– Article 22 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
"States-Parties will take appropriate steps to guarantee that a kid who applies for exile position (...) receives adequate protection and humanitarian assistance".
– Article 33 of the Geneva Convention
‘No Contracting State has issued or will in any way return refugees to the border of territories where its life or freedom would endanger its race, religion, citizenship, membership of a peculiar social group or political belief’.
– Article 56(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland
"The Cudzoziemek, who in the Republic of Poland seeks protection from persecution, may be granted exile position in accordance with binding Polish global agreements".
Group Border: – The Border defender was obliged to accept applications for global protection even in the event of an effort to cross the border in an unregulated place. It is besides clear that children and adults standing between steel bars of the wall were already in Poland. Syrians, Kurds of Iraq, an injured female from Congo – adults and children, families from countries affected by conflicts, wars and humanitarian crises, asked the Polish Border defender for global protection – all this in the presence of activists, media, employees of the Ombudsman's Office. Uniforms refused.
– We do not know what is happening to this group of refugees and refugees. We don't know if they're safe. We know that if any harm happens to them on the Belarusian side, the work for this will remainder not only on Belarusian services but besides on Polish uniforms – Activists write.
photo. Group Border
* Oh, my God *
- The Granica Group is an informal initiative created in consequence to the humanitarian crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border. It carries humanitarian, legal and medical aid, we monitor respect for human rights.
If you want to support action Border Groups, you can do it by:
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