UN Chief Antonio Guterres expresses concern for refugees trapped at Belarus-Poland border

The Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres has expressed his concern about the ongoing situation at the eastern border of Poland with Belarus, where hundreds of refugees and immigrants are trapped in the harsh cold weather, his spokesperson stated on Wednesday. The UN Chief has emphasised the need of adhering to humanitarian values and international law while dealing with immigration and refugee crises. 

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric further clarified that this kind of humanitarian situation which has emerged around the border area should not be utilised for political objectives or become a source of conflict between governments.  

Dujarric also mentioned the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet's remarks, in which she expressed her outrage about the fact that a significant number of migrants and displaced persons are still trapped in the cold, freezing temperatures at the border. She has further claimed that the governments of the nations cannot allow more lives to be lost.  

EU charged Belarus with financing 'human trafficking' on the Belarus-Poland border dispute

Furthermore, following an upsurge of illegal migrants along Poland's eastern borders, the European Union (EU) charged Belarus on Wednesday of financing "human trafficking" through hollow claims. According to the Associated Press, a spokesperson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Steffen Seibert, claimed on Wednesday that Minsk has been engaged in "state-run smuggling and trafficking...100% at the expense of the people who are lured into the country with false promises."  

The comments came after Merkel and President of Russia Vladimir Putin had a telephonic conversation in which Merkel asked Putin to "exert his influence" on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko because "people are being used" in the nation. 

In recent months, EU member nations such as Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania have seen a shocking increase of migrants seeking to cross borders. At least 2,000 migrants attempted to enter Poland forcibly as of November 9, according to Polish authorities. Further, video footage has been surfaced in which it can be seen that migrants flinging branches of wood at Polish border guards has appeared. As temperatures dropped below zero, three asylum seekers living in tents along the border died, according to reports.  Poland's government called a crisis meeting on Monday and ordered 12,000 soldiers to the border area to control the critical situation. 

Meanwhile, according to Piotr Muller, a Polish government spokeswoman, Poland issued a warning to Belarusian authorities on Wednesday about the prospect of entirely banning all cross-border traffic, as reported by Sputnik. 

Image: AP