A/HRC/53/26/Add.1 tourist visas from the Middle East, with the majority originating from Afghanistan, Iraq, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen. 7. Since August 2021, thousands of third-country nationals have attempted to enter Poland and, to a lesser extent, Latvia and Lithuania, over their borders with Belarus, using irregular ways of crossing borders, generally through the forests. The majority of arriving migrants were families with children. 8. The rise in these arrivals has triggered the adoption of a series of measures by the Polish authorities to prevent such access and to deformalize procedures to facilitate the expulsion of foreign nationals. The measures adopted, which follow a security-oriented approach, include the adoption of state-of-emergency measures restricting access to the border area, the amendment of national legislation and the construction of a steel barrier along the shared border with Belarus. The adoption of these migration strategies, based on security concerns, have negatively affected the human rights of migrants, contributing in some cases to exacerbating the already dire situation they face at the Polish-Belarusian border. 9. Of particular concern are reports of the use of pushback practices since the beginning of the humanitarian emergency. Pushbacks have become a routine element of national border governance in both Belarus and Poland, with serious negative impacts on the well-being and human rights of migrants. Other concerns in relation to the situation along the PolishBelarussian border include reported cases of deaths, missing persons and stranded individuals at the border, including families and children, as well as instances of family separation. In Belarus, migrants were sheltered in a temporary logistics centre, which most of them were not allowed to leave unless they were headed towards Poland. In Poland, enabled by the new legislative provisions adopted in 2021, migrants apprehended after crossing the border have been immediately returned back to the border by Polish authorities and forced back into the territory of Belarus. Those who have not been returned back to the border have been placed in guarded detention centres throughout the country, under the authority of the Polish Border Guard, where they have been detained for long periods of time, facing obstacles in accessing legal assistance, adequate medical and psychological support. 10. Tensions at the Polish-Belarusian border temporarily de-escalated during the winter of 2021, with a reduced number of arrivals reported between December 2021 and February 2022. While not in the high figures observed previously, reports of third-country nationals attempting to cross the border to Poland continued throughout 2022 and up until the time of the drafting the present report, with individuals arriving in the Russian Federation and transiting through Belarus, most still originating from Afghanistan, Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic, but also from countries in Africa, Latin America and Southern Asia. 11. On the Polish-Ukrainian border, following the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on 24 February 2022, millions of refugees have crossed the border seeking safety and protection in Poland and in other countries in Europe. As at 24 August 2022, over 5.5 million refugees had arrived in Poland by crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border. While many refugees have moved to other countries, approximately 2 million remain in Poland, where the majority have been hosted as guests by individual citizens, including members of the Ukrainian community, at their own homes. In response to this unprecedented influx of refugees, on 12 March 2022, the Polish parliament passed an act on assistance for Ukrainian nationals in connection with the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.1 Under this law, Ukrainian nationals and their spouses fleeing the war may legally stay in Poland for 18 months, starting from 24 February 2022, including legal residency in the territory of Poland, access to health care, the labour market, education and social assistance and benefits. 1 GE.23-06742 Law on assistance to Ukrainian citizens in connection with the armed conflict on the territory of the country (24 February to 24 August 2022), prepared by the Ministry of the Interior and Administration. 3