Lithuania - April 2023

The Seimas passed amendments to the law on the State Border and its Protection, which legalise the forcing of irregular migrants back into Belarus under a declared state of emergency (in force in border regions since September 2022). The law was adopted by 86 votes in favour, eight against and 20 abstentions. This policy of “pushbacks”, which allows the forcible (including physical force) return of migrants across the border, has been in place since August 2021. Migrants may not apply for asylum. A total of 20,100 migrants have since been refused entry to Lithuania from Belarus according to Latvian public broadcaster LRT. The law provides for border guard “sponsors”, civilian volunteers over the age of 18 who can be citizens of any EU member state with permanent residence in Lithuania, and grants them the right to use coercion against migrants and asylum seekers. Sponsors must meet certain educational, and language requirements and must have no criminal conviction or record of misconduct. The UNHCR and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights reiterated the need to guarantee effective access to asylum, and the law was widely opposed by local and international civil society organisations.

Sources: LRT (1), LRT (2), LRT (3), Euractiv, Seimas, European Council on Refugees and Exiles, Council of Europe, Amnesty International, UNHCR