About the event
Russia and Belarus have in the past decade increasingly leveraged their position on the Eastern border of the European Union (EU) to manage and encourage migration flows. EU states, including Poland, have responded to migration via Belarus by legalizing pushbacks and suspending the right to asylum, thus bypassing their international obligations towards migrants. Confronted with this restrictive response, migrants have sought protection from the international level, mostly before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
In the past, the ECtHR reiterated that an increased influx of migrants cannot absolve states of their human rights obligations (in particular, the principle of non-refoulement and the prohibition of collective expulsions), however, the ongoing proceedings before the Grand Chamber concerning the migration crisis at the Belarusian border may lead to a significant change in this approach.
Participants
During this event, NCCR fellow, and visiting researcher at the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, Karin Vaagland will moderate discussions by two prominent experts on the Poland/Belarus border crisis.
Dr. Oskar Chmiel, a Polish political scientist and migration expert at the Warsaw-based Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE) will introduce the role that migration has played in Polish politics since 2015. In particular, he will reflect on the political dilemmas posed by the migration crisis at the Belarusian border He recently contributed to an expert commentary of Poland’s Migration Strategy for 2025-2030 and has published on migration from Belarus to Poland and the European Union.
NCCR-on the move fellow and legal scholar dr. Maja Łysienia will discuss her work concerning the crisis’ impact on Polish migration laws and policies. She will focus on the regressing human rights protection at the Polish-Belarusian border since 2015 and the European Court of Human Rights’ response to this persisting crisis. In particular, she will reflect on the R.A. and Others v. Poland case, concerning 32 migrants stranded at the Polish-Belarusian border for over two months, that is currently considered by the ECtHR’s Grand Chamber.
Practical information
The event will take place in the forum Thematic Group on Migration at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law, University of Oslo.
Lunch will be served at the event. Limited spots are available - sign up no to secure your seat!
Registration deadline is November 31. We hope to see you there!