A Human Wall

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Lithuania passed a new law that will allow volunteers to use force to help detain migrants trying to enter the country’s borders, a move the government says will enhance border security – but human rights advocates fear will attract “far-right extremists,” and promote violence, Euronews reported.

The Border and Protection Law, passed last week, will authorize volunteers to work alongside Lithuanian border authorities. These volunteers will receive state funds and be issued with “certificates, identification badges and vests” under the legislation drafted by the Interior Ministry.

The legislation also gives volunteers a number of legal rights, including the ability to “use mental or physical coercion” and “perform personal examinations and inspections.” It requires that volunteers must obey the law and “respect human dignity,” as well as help foreigners who are not allowed to enter the European Union member country.

The law bars convicted criminals or individuals who have been dismissed from military service or working as civil servants, lawyers, or bailiffs from signing up.

The Interior Ministry said the bill will enhance the defense of national security and reduce the “pull factors” attracting migrants.

But migrant advocates raised concerns that it could entice “far-right extremists” to use violence and commit abuses against migrants on the frontier.

The ministry said the concerns are “unfounded.”

The contentious legislation – set to take effect in May – comes as Lithuanian authorities have been trying to stop tens of thousands of undocumented people from entering the country via Belarus since 2021. Lithuania and the EU have accused Belarus of intentionally sending migrants across the border in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the bloc in 2020 because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In 2021, Lithuania declared a state of emergency on its eastern frontier and created a three-mile zone that shut out observers. It also temporarily suspended the right to claim asylum, which allowed officials to turn away around 20,000 people without assessing if they needed protection.

The Interior Ministry said the move was done out of concern for national security, but it has been criticized by the EU and human rights advocates as inhumane and illegal under international law.