The organisation also called on the European Commission to "act to uphold European Union treaties and member states’ obligations, including to provide access to the asylum procedure."
Poland, which currently holds the EU presidency, "should lead by example and ensure that people fleeing war and persecution are given the opportunity to have their asylum claims individually assessed," said Lydia Gall, senior Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch.
"This bill flies in the face of Poland’s international and EU obligations and should be voted down," she added.
The bill "risks formalizing ongoing unlawful and abusive pushbacks" at Poland’s border with Belarus, according to the HRW.
"It would expose people to abuses and inhumane conditions in Belarus, in violation of the principle of nonrefoulement, which prohibits returns to a country where people may face torture or inhumane or degrading treatment," it said.
If passed, the bill would allow the Polish government to suspend the right to seek asylum for a period of up to 60 days along specific sections of its border, the HRW noted.
Extensions beyond this period could be authorised with parliamentary approval and renewed indefinitely, according to the HRW.
The Polish government says the authority to suspend the right to asylum is necessary because of the instrumental use of migrants by Belarus and Russia.
"In 2021, Belarus began facilitating visas to third-country nationals and encouraging, even forcing, their onward travel to Poland," the HRW said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk this month reiterated his opposition to the European Union's migration pact, saying that his government would not implement any provisions requiring it to accept migrants identified in other European countries.
European Union leaders in October expressed solidarity with Poland over migration challenges, saying that Russia and its ally Belarus cannot be allowed to exploit European values, including the right to asylum.
Tusk told reporters at the time that "more European leaders have come to realise that current approaches, including the migration package, are not the right response to the threat posed by mass illegal migration."
Tusk said in April last year that Poland would not agree to the EU's relocation mechanism for migrants, despite its approval by the European Parliament.
Poland and the EU have accused Belarus and Russia of deliberately sending migrants from the Middle East and Africa to the Polish border.
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Source: hrw.org