MSF urges Polish authorities to retract announced suspension of right to seek asylum

“The new Polish government had an opportunity to reform the country’s asylum and reception system but has instead only deepened existing and dangerous political rhetoric, rooted in a ‘crisis’ narrative, further normalizing a militarized response, violent practices and denial of humanity to people seeking safety in the European Union,” says Mazzoli.

Since November 2022, MSF teams have treated over 400 people, many of them stranded for weeks in uninhabitable forests and exposed to violent practices at the border. Given the extreme conditions of deprivation people experience in the border area, MSF patients suffer from a wide range of severe medical conditions ranging from exhaustion, hypothermia, dehydration, trench foot to mental health issues.

In 2024, our teams have also witnessed a sharp increase in people carrying the scars of physical assaults, including bruises and dog bites. In July 2024, MSF teams treated for the first time injuries related to the use of rubber bullets being fired. Additionally, half of people MSF has seen in 2024 have reported having been pushed back, some of them several times.

This latest announcement represents a further escalation of an already extremely hostile environment for people on the move and those providing humanitarian assistance to them. In June 2024, the Polish authorities imposed a ban on access to the border zone, which has prevented civil society and humanitarian organizations from accessing people in need in these areas.