- New report from Oxfam and its Polish partner, Egala, details violence and torture facing people on the move at the Poland-Belarus border.
- The report exposes Poland’s illegal pushback policy, bankrolled by the EU.
- Oxfam and Egala is urging the EU to investigate human rights abuses and pushbacks at this European border and invest in strengthening Poland’s asylum and reception system.
Today, Egala and Oxfam published a new report, “Brutal Barriers”, detailing the frightening and sometimes deadly journey of people trying to reach safety in Europe. Survivors’ testimonies reveal the violence inflicted by both Polish and Belarusian authorities on people seeking asylum as well as the treacherous conditions people face in crossing the swamplands of the primeval Białowieża forest.
The report documents abuses by the Polish authorities including shooting people with rubber bullets, setting dogs on them and giving them water laced with pepper spray. There are accounts of people being detained without food or water, having their clothes confiscated and being forced to strip naked.
Polish authorities have also forcibly pushed people back, including those in urgent need of medical care. This has included reported pushbacks of people who are unconscious or immobile, and even a case of a pregnant woman who was pushed back and subsequently suffered a miscarriage. Some have even reportedly been forcibly returned while receiving medical care in hospitals.
“Pushbacks at the Poland-Belarus border are generalized and systemic. We continuously come across people in the forest who have been pushed back to Belarus by Polish authorities”, said Aleksandra Gulińska, Egala Advocacy Lead.
Poland and Belarus have created a ‘death zone’ at Europe’s border. People are trapped in the forest for weeks or months, without food or water, exposed to extreme weather, with temperatures plummeting to minus twenty degrees in winter. People are unable to escape the forest as they are blocked on both sides by either the Polish or Belarusian authorities.
Accounts from those forcibly pushed back to Belarus paint a bleak picture of what awaits them on the Belarusian side of the border. Survivors describe the conditions as ‘hell’ with reports of violence, including sexual violence, robberies, and torture – from electrocution to waterboarding to cutting off of body parts.
“This is the ‘hell’ Poland is sending people back to, and it is sponsored by the EU,” said Sarah Redd, Oxfam Ukraine Advocacy Lead.
Local organizations and volunteers face increasing harassment and criminalization. Last year, Poland declared parts of the border an exclusion zone, making it harder for organizations like Egala to provide life-saving assistance. Aid workers are forced to choose between helping people in need and facing the criminalization or harassment of their staff and volunteers.
“We are among the very few who witness firsthand the hellish experience of people trying to seek safety. It’s terrifying to think about what would happen if no-one was there to help them”, said Gulińska.
The report also documents instances where the Polish authorities forced people to sign papers renouncing their intention to seek asylum, using intimidation and physical violence.
These reports of pushbacks are all part of Poland’s systemized pushback policy, with the latest move being a temporary block to people’s rights to claim asylum at its borders. With concerns over the escalation in Ukraine, European security sits at the top of the agenda. However, European leaders must ensure that these efforts do not include violations of fundamental human rights, as aid groups are witnessing at the Poland-Belarus border.
“Poland has abandoned its commitments to the rule of law and to protecting people fleeing war and persecution. It has instead replaced EU law with razor wire, torture and violence, creating an illegal pushback policy funded by the EU”, said Redd.
“The EU must stop bankrolling this pushback policy and shut down any future plans that gamble with people’s lives. The EU and European countries need to invest in an asylum system that actually works and allows people to rebuild their lives. This is not about politics – it’s about what is right”, said Redd.
Egala is a grassroots organization providing humanitarian aid, medical support and legal assistance to people on the move at the Poland-Belarus border. Oxfam partnered with Egala in 2023 as part of its response to the humanitarian crisis at the Poland-Belarus border.
The report collects extensive existing evidence as well as testimonies from Egala volunteers and workers on the ground and the voices of refugees themselves in order to document the human consequences of restrictive, illegal and inhumane policies at this border. Below is a selection of testimonies – see the report for more:
“It’s June, the middle of summer, and I just met a man with first-degree hypothermia. He was emaciated and he hadn’t drunk anything”, Jagna, Egala volunteer and professional medic – name changed to protect identity.
“The second man had a leg injury and an initial degree of hypothermia. As his condition was not improving, the volunteer explained that they could try call an ambulance. About an hour after calling the official emergency number, the border guards arrived – without an ambulance. All three men were taken to the Border Guard post. At this point the Egala volunteers lost contact with them”, said Olga, Egala employee – name changed to protect identity.
“What would happen if we weren’t here? There would be a lot of dead bodies in the forest”, said Jagna, Egala volunteer and professional medic – name changed to protect identity.
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In 2024, nearly 600 cases of violence by the Polish authorities were reported according to information provided by WeAreMonitoring.
The Polish government has taken several steps to create an illegal policy of pushbacks and violence including:
- September 2021: Poland created an exclusion zone at the border barring humanitarian workers and journalists. The zone was later reduced following legal action.
- June 2024: The Tusk government reintroduced the exclusion zone. The Polish authorities have yet to respond to requests from Egala to enter the zone to provide humanitarian assistance.
- July 2024: Poland enacted a law exempting Polish authorities from prosecution for improper use of weapons at the border.
- February 2025: Poland suspended the right to asylum at the Poland-Belarus border – effectively legalizing pushbacks.
Oxfam and Egala are calling on the EU to:
- Redirect EU funding and support away from border walls and surveillance, and instead invest in strengthening Poland’s asylum and reception system.
- Publicly condemn the human rights abuses occurring at the border.
- Investigate breaches of EU asylum law by Poland and, if justified, initiate infringement proceedings.
- Ensure that Poland implements the EU Migration Pact – in particular, an independent monitoring of human rights violations, such as pushbacks.
Oxfam and Egala call on the Polish government to:
- End illegal pushbacks and process asylum cases in accordance with human rights standards and EU law.
- Repeal laws decriminalizing firearm use and suspending the right to asylum.
- Allow safe access to humanitarian and human rights organizations at the border area.
In 2022, the EU allocated over 67 million euro to Poland under the Border Management and Visa Policy Instrument to cover ‘the additional needs for support related to the situation at the border with Belarus’. In 2024, the EU topped up this funding by 52 million euro to enhance border surveillance.