Poles protest government proposal to suspend asylum rights for migrants

WARSAW

Poles gathered in Warsaw on Tuesday to protest Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s recent proposal to suspend asylum rights for migrants entering Poland.

“We are disappointed and angry with the Tusk government,” filmmaker Agnieszka Holland said, addressing around 100 protesters outside the prime minister’s office in central Warsaw.

Last week, Tusk unveiled a new migration strategy under the slogan "Regain control - ensure security." A key aspect of the policy includes a temporary suspension of asylum rights, following an influx of non-European migrants crossing the Belarusian border into Poland this year.

A representative from the EU Commission warned that Tusk's plans could "violate the country's obligations in the field of human rights," particularly in relation to international treaties and standards governing asylum and refugee rights.

Polish human rights groups also voiced strong opposition to Tusk’s comments. Janina Ochojska, the founder of Polish Humanitarian Action and a former MEP in Tusk’s party, sharply criticized the proposal in an interview with news outlet Onet. "If the prime minister announces something like this, it means that he is also suspending the Geneva Convention, the Convention on Human Rights and many other conventions and laws. Does this mean that they will not apply in Poland?" she asked.

Ochojska added that she "feels cheated" by the government's new migration strategy, warning that it will lead to "the destruction of many people's lives."

She further criticized the government for ignoring the voices of those who work directly with migrants. “I would organize legal crossings at the border, where people could come, submit an application, be interrogated,” she suggested.

A coalition of 60 NGOs, including Amnesty International and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, also condemned the new strategy. In an open letter, the NGOs emphasized that fundamental rights and freedoms are not political bargaining chips. “It is thanks to them that thousands of Polish women and men found shelter abroad in the difficult times of communist totalitarianism,” it said.

With presidential elections looming next year, Tusk hinted that migration would be a central focus of his campaign, promising to reduce irregular migration to “a minimum” and to “regain 100% of the control over who enters and leaves Poland.”

However, concerns have also emerged within Tusk’s coalition government. Szymon Holownia, the parliament speaker and leader of the center-right Poland 2050 party, distanced himself from Tusk’s remarks, asserting that Tusk had spoken only for his own party.

“We are of the opinion that the right to asylum is ‘sacred’ in international law,” Holownia said on social media. Krzysztof Smiszek of the Left, another coalition member, echoed these concerns.