Lithuania does not intend to end its policy of pushing back irregular migrants into Belarus, Interior Vice Minister Arnoldas Abramavičius says.
“We cannot end the pushback policy right now, maybe in the future, despite the drop in that inflow. It can be silently diverted. We have figures from our institutions that around 1,000 migrants are waiting for opportunities [to cross into Lithuania],” he told the parliamentary Committee on Human Rights on Friday.
Read more: Frontex says Lithuania should scrap pushback policy, as it violates migrants’ rights
The vice minister and Rustamas Liubajevas, commander of Lithuania's State Border Guard Service (VSAT), briefed committee members on Frontex recommendations that Lithuania should change its policies on the border with Belarus.
Summary expulsions of irregular migrants may violate their right to seek asylum, human rights groups have warned.
Liubajevas says that since early July, when Frontex's Rapid Border Intervention was launched near the Belarusian border, the VSAT received 30 reports about serious incidents from Frontex.
“Out of these, 27 have to do with the implementation and application of preventive measures, these reports are being looked into based on the rules approved by the Frontex executive director,” Liubajevas said.
“Speaking of the final report, we can now say that [probes into] almost all of those incidents are ‘closed’. It was stated that alleged violation of fundamental rights were committed in Lithuania, but, I would like to repeat once again, Frontex has no mandate to evaluate member states' action and say whether member states committed violations or not,” Liubajevas said.
More than 4,200 irregular migrants crossed into Lithuania from Belarus last year. Lithuanian border guards started pushbacks in August, preventing more than 8,100 migrants from entering the country.
Read more: Migration crisis in Baltics and Poland
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