Berlin/Osnabrück, October 18, 2024 - While the demands for rejections to human rights on the borders are also getting louder in Germany, the migration strategy even provides for a suspension of asylum law. This disregard for international law, in particular children's rights, must not accept the EU and never become a precedent.
The children's rights organization Terre des Hommes joins the criticism of Polish civil society, which had described the new strategy as a de facto attack on human rights . Teresa Wilmes, a policy officer in Terre des Hommes : "The humanitarian crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border is already drastically affecting children and their families. Children, young people, and adults are forced to endure days of desperation in the forest and are sometimes subjected to massive violence by the Polish authorities during unlawful pushbacks. In light of this suffering, we make it clear: Disregarding international law is not a migration strategy and must never become one. All EU member states must ensure that children and their families have access to fair asylum procedures – anything else is a betrayal of the fundamental values of the international community."
Terre des Hommes has been working with Polish civil society organizations since 2022 to ensure the supply of food, dry clothing, and medicine to refugee children and young people in the border region. With the Polish government's announcements, it is to be expected that the illegal practice of pushbacks will continue and even intensify.
Further information: https://www.tdh.de/was-wir-tun/projekte/europa/kinder-auf-der-flucht