Poland could receive up to a million refugees from Ukraine if war with Russia breaks out, says a deputy minister. In such a scenario, Warsaw would willingly help them not only due to its obligations under international law, but also under the “principles of civilised, European, Christian culture”.
“If there was a war in Ukraine, we have to be prepared for an influx of real refugees, people who are fleeing from the inferno, from death, from the atrocities of war,” deputy interior minister Maciej Wąsik told TV Republika.
“As a government, we must be prepared for the worst-case scenario, and for some time the interior ministry has been taking steps to prepare us for the arrival of this wave of [what could be] even one million people,” he added.
The heads of Poland’s Roman Catholic church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic church have jointly appealed for leaders to "refrain from hostilities" as "war is always a defeat for mankind".
They also accuse Russia of "disregarding international law" https://t.co/oQqioFAVrH
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) January 24, 2022
Wąsik noted that, under the Geneva Convention, Poland would be obliged to offer protection to such people, and said that the country would “not run away from” its responsibility to do so.
“Where there are indeed refugees, we must help them, this is international law, but these are also the principles of coexistence of civilised people, the principles of European and Christian culture,” he explained.
Poland has in recent months been accused by a range of domestic and international organisations – including the UN and Human Rights Watch – of violating its international obligations towards refugees by turning away or pushing back asylum seekers from the Middle East seeking to cross from Belarus.
Poland is already home to a large Ukrainian community, estimated to number over one million (though figures vary given the seasonal and temporary nature of some migration).
While Ukrainians have long migrated to Poland, their numbers increased significantly after the tensions around the annexation by Russia of Crimea and the armed conflict in Donbas.
The Polish government has often argued that this makes the arrivals refugees. However, only a tiny proportion have applied for or received asylum, with the vast majority coming as economic migrants.
During the ongoing tensions between Ukraine and Russia, Poland’s government has voiced its support for Kyiv and condemned the Kremlin’s actions. So far it has not sent any military equipment, though the Ukrainian ambassador in Warsaw says that pledges have been made to do so.
On Friday, President Andrzej Duda called a meeting of the National Security Council – which included both government figures and opposition leaders – to discuss the situation. The previous day, parliament nearly unanimously passed a resolution condemning Russia and declaring support for Ukraine.
The ruling party has also, however, faced criticism for attending a summit in Madrid over the weekend that included a number of right-wing leaders – including Marine Le Pen and Viktor Orbán – who have been accused of having ties to the Kremlin.
Main image credit: Jakub Orzechowski / Agencja Gazeta
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
