UN agencies want access to asylum-seekers stuck at EU border
ABC News
Two United Nations agencies have requested access to asylum-seekers stranded at Belarus’s border with Poland and Lithuania after four migrants were found dead in the area
WARSAW, Poland -- Two United Nations agencies requested access Tuesday to asylum-seekers stranded at Belarus's border with Poland and Lithuania, after four migrants were found dead in the area.
The International Organization for Migration and the U.N. Refugee Agency called on the governments involved to be guided primarily by human rights and international law as they try to stop people from illegally entering the European Union from Belarus.
In a joint statement, the U.N. agencies called for an investigation of the four deaths and asked for “immediate access" to other refugees and migrants "in order to provide lifesaving medical help, food, water and shelter, especially in light of the approaching winter.”
The governments of Poland and Lithuania introduced states of emergency that deny entry to certain border areas to anyone except border guards and security services. They also are building razor wire fences along their border with Belarus.
