Poland in the Council of Europe - News|
Poland in the Council of Europe - News |
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Poland in the Council of Europe - News Council of Europe conference The Conference of International NGOs of the Council of Europe (INGO’s) is holding a conference on Democratisation of the Mass Media in Belarus on 6-7 June in Warsaw, hosted by the Polish Parliament. The event, which is organised by the Conference of INGOs and the Casimir Pulaski Foundation, will gather members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), international NGOs, Belarusian journalists, human rights defenders, representatives of the democratic opposition in Belarus, as well as representatives of NGOs, experts and politicians from Poland. The conference will discuss the challenges of media freedom in Belarus from several angles: broadcasting and international assistance to independent media coverage, the situation of the printed media, internet legislation, and the role of civil society and human right defenders of the media.
On 29 May, 2008 Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights, started a three day contact visit to Poland to discuss the human rights situation in the country, focusing mainly on the government’s execution of the European Court of Human Rights judgments, prison conditions, judicial appointments and anti-discrimination issues. During the visit, the Commissioner met with the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Justice, and the Interior. He also had separate meetings with the Polish Inter-Ministerial Committee for Matters Concerning the European Court of Human Rights, the National Judicial Council, and the Central Board of the Prison Service. Further meetings were held with the Polish Ombudsman and non governmental organizations. On Saturday 31 May, the Commissioner was awarded a prestigious doctorate honoris causa from the Maria Grzegorzewska Academy for Special Education in Warsaw.
"IRENA SENDLER - THE GOOD CONSCIENCE OF POLAND During World War II, Irena Sendler was an activist of Polish Underground and Polish anti-Holocaust resistance in Warsaw, where she helped to save about 2500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto by providing them false documents and hiding places in individual and group children houses out of the Ghetto. Arrested in 1943 by the Gestapo, she was severely tortured and sentenced to death. Zegota saved her by bribing the German guards on the way to her execution. Officially, she was listed on public bulletin boards as among those executed. Even in hiding, she continued her work for the Jewish children. In 1965, Irena Sendler was recognized by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations. She received the Order of the White Eagle. On 14 March 2007, at age of 97, Irena Sendler was honored by Poland's senate. Polish President Lech Kaczynski stated that she "can be justly named for the Nobel Peace Prize". Irena Sendler died in Warsaw on 12 May, 2008 at age of 98.
Programme:
Children have the right to be heard
and adults should listen to their views
Information Office of the Council of Europe
and
Center for Women’s Rights Foundation
kindly invite to the performance by Teatr Terapeutyczny
which will be followed by a debate
”Combating domestic violence against women”. Barbara Rożniatowska - Drama Therapy Campaign Stop domestic violence against women (Polish-English brochure)
The Council of Europe awarded its Pro merito medal to Prof. Marek Safjan, the former President of the Polish Constitutional Court (1998-2006), for his achievements as the President of the Court and a prominent scholar in the human rights and the rule of law areas. Currently, Prof. Safjan is a member of a Council of Europe study group working on European standards concerning impartiality of judges.
Visit of the Human Rights Commissioner to Poland The Commissioner visited Poland to hold high-level meetings following his recent Memorandum on the Polish human rights situation. Mr. Hammarberg met with Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, and Ombudsman Janusz Kochanowski. He also discussed the Memorandum's conclusions with representatives of civil society and human rights experts. The debate was organized by the Information Office of the Council of Europe at Warsaw University. After the debate, the Commissioner visited the so called “white village”, where Polish nurses (organized by the Polish Trade Union of Nurses) were on strike demanding higher pay and more dignity for their profession. The Commissioner, together with Health Minister Zbigniew Religa, addressed the protesters there.
Strasbourg, 20.06.2007 - Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, today presented a Memorandum on Poland’s human rights record to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. The 25-page document looks at whether the problems identified in a 2003 report by the previous Commissioner, Alvaro Gil-Robles, have been addressed by the government. It also lists a number of new recommendations. The Memorandum says that in order to improve the efficiency of the judicial system, the government should speed up judicial proceedings and improve the law on domestic remedy for related complaints. It also recommends that the case law of the European Court of Human Rights be widely disseminated to lawyers, judges and prosecutors. According to the Memorandum, Polish authorities should reduce over-crowding in prisons and – where possible – apply alternative penalties which do not involve incarceration. With regard to the conduct of the police, the Commissioner proposes the establishment of an independent body to investigate police misbehaviour. On the problem of discrimination, Thomas Hammarberg argues that Poland should enact a comprehensive body of legislation, and set up a single specialised institution to combat the phenomenon. He also urges authorities to implement existing articles of the criminal code on incitement to racial and ethnic hatred, to put in place adequate legal measures to combat hate speech, and to protect the rights of the LGBT community. The report also covers the policy to screen for former communist collaborators (lustration). The Commissioner argues that the current law (recently found partially unconstitutional by the Constitutional Tribunal) does not uphold the standards of “a state based on the rule of law and respect for human rights” and reminds of the Council of Europe’s official guidelines on the subject. In addition, the Memorandum includes recommendations in relation to pre-trial detention, reproductive rights, domestic violence, trafficking in human beings, anti-Semitism, the rights of the Roma and other minorities, freedom of expression, unaccompanied minors, and the treatment of asylum seekers. The report was prepared after the Commissioner’s visit to Poland in December 2006, during which he consulted with the authorities, the judiciary, the Ombudsman and human rights NGOs. The Polish government, which saw an advance copy of the report, made comments which are attached to the report.
Crossroads..., Compass and other publications
The competition is organized by the Information Office of the Council of Europe in Warsaw, the Center for Civic Education and the Office for Education of the Capital City of Warsaw. The works should comprise the main ideas of the "All different - All equal" campaign: diversity - human rights - participation, and present them with local references. All students of post-primary schools (between the age of 13 and 18), residents of the Warsaw metropolitan area are invited to participate in the competition. The competition will be held between 28 March and 1 June (Children's Day). Rules of the competition (Polish))
The seminar is organized by the Information Office of the Council of Europe in Warsaw, the Center for Civic Education and the Office for Education of the Capital City of Warsaw. Program of the seminar (Polish))
Conference organised by the Council of Europe in collaboration with the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw and with support of the Information Office of the Council of Europe in Warsaw. Information and registration on-line (Polish)
Did you know that before the Word War II over 30% of Warsaw citizens had a Jewish background? If there was no tragedy of Holocaust, 1/3 of our colleagues would now have that origin. We could listen to hip-hop songs in Yiddish on a radio, there would be for sure an action movie in that language too. The soccer team you cheer on would also have a number of Jewish players, either the soccer team you don't like… Since October 1939, when the Word War II begun, the Jewish nation have been systematically destroyed and closed in terrible conditions in ghettos, where the only way led to the death camps. Warsaw ghetto has occupied over 1/3 of the whole city. Can you imagine how huge area it was… On 19th of April 1943 the first uprising against Nazi occupants begun. It was raised by young people at your age. Their only guilt, according to Nazis, was that they were Jewish. Most of them have been killed during the fights in ghetto. Some, over a year later, have died fighting together with their Polish colleagues in the Warsaw Uprising for the freedom of Warsaw and the freedom of Poland. It was also their Warsaw, their Poland. On 19th of April 2007 in order to commemorate our Jewish friends and diversified Warsaw we will put candles in 10 points of the city - along the walls of the former Ghetto. Flame of Memory - program (Polish)
On 20 March, Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, during his visit to Poland, paid his respects to Irena Sendler whom he visited in her residence. The meeting, organized by the Information Office of the Council of Europe in Warsaw, was attended also by Sirpa Rautio of the Commissioner’s Office and Hanna Machinska, the director of the Information Office in Warsaw. During World War II Irena Sendler was an activist of Polish Underground and Polish anti-Holocaust resistance in Warsaw, where she helped to save about 2500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto by providing them false documents and hiding places in individual and group children houses out of the Ghetto. Arrested in 1943 by the Gestapo, she was severely tortured and sentenced to death. Zegota saved her by bribing the German guards on the way to her execution. Officially, she was listed on public bulletin boards as among those executed. Even in hiding, she continued her work for the Jewish children. In 1965, Irena Sendler was recognized by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations. She received the Order of the White Eagle. On 14 March 2007, at age of 97, Irena Sendler was honored by Poland's senate. Polish President Lech Kaczynski stated that she "can be justly named for the Nobel Peace Prize".
This article has also been published in Gazeta Wyborcza of 19 March, 2007 Countries moving from totalitarian rule to authentic democracy have to settle accounts with the past. Persons who committed gross human rights violations must of course be prosecuted and barred from holding public office. It is also necessary to reform and screen the judiciary, law enforcement agencies and the government administration. Countries in transition therefore need to find a sensible approach to those who collaborated with the former Communist system. Lustration is an administrative measure used by post-totalitarian regimes to exclude from public institutions persons who worked for or collaborated with Communist security services. Vetting is a more general term used for measures to purge from these institutions those who lack integrity, in other words, those who cannot be trusted to exercise governmental power in accordance with democratic principles. Lustration procedures should follow strict criteria in order to ensure that all cases are treated with fairness. Back in 1996, the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly proposed guidelines to ensure that lustration laws comply with the requirements of a state based on the rule of law. The Assembly stated that a person may in no case be lustrated without being furnished with full due process. This should include the following rights: Furthermore, the Strasbourg Court concluded in a 2006 case that if a State is to adopt lustration measures, it must ensure that those affected enjoy all procedural guarantees under the European Convention of Human Rights (Turek v Slovakia). Experience has shown that even the most urgent vetting exercise could get compromised if strict procedures are not followed. In December last year, I visited Sarajevo to discuss complaints from 260 police officers who had been barred from police service (decertified) through a vetting procedure organised by the UN International Police Task Force. The possibility for the police officers to challenge the merits of the decision to decertify them was very limited. The decision not to grant a certificate was for life and therefore had a serious economic and social impact for the individuals concerned. The UN decision had also given them a certain stigma in society which had further worsened their situation. This goes to show that vetting is a very complex process which must be handled with great caution. Under the new Lustration law in Poland, which just came into effect on 15 March, a vast number of professions – including judges, lawyers, tax advisors, certified accountants, court enforcement officers, journalists, diplomats, municipal officials, university teachers, heads of public and private educational institutions, heads of state controlled companies, and members of the management and supervisory boards of companies listed on the stock exchange – will have to make a declaration as to whether they co-operated with state security organs of the Polish People’s Republic (PPR) from 1944 to 1990. This declaration is then verified by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance. Where there are any doubts as to the truth of the declaration, court proceedings can be brought, which could result in the person losing his/her job. The refusal to submit a declaration as to past collaboration may also result in losing one’s job. During my visit to Poland at the end of last year, I was informed that the new law could affect more than 300,000 people; the current government figures are now in the region of 700,000 people. The scope of the new law is extremely broad and one can wonder whether people in all these professions really pose a significant danger to human rights or democracy, especially given the time that has elapsed since the system change. Indeed, these procedures give little room for the possibility that individuals may have changed their attitudes and habits during the years which have passed since the overthrow of the Communist regime. Relying on illegally collected information, stored in incomplete secret services files, is in my opinion problematic. Fair vetting procedures can hardly be based on such archives. Some countries have opened up their secret service files for public examination, such as Germany, where an office has been created for this purpose. All persons affected should be able to examine the files kept on them by the former secret services. However, the privacy of individuals, victims and witnesses must also be protected according to human rights standards. It could easily happen that files are leaked and that unsubstantiated information cause damage to the reputation of individuals. This would violate the principle that everyone should be seen as innocent until guilt is proven through just procedures. Lustration is only one aspect of dealing with the past. Prosecuting those responsible for serious crimes, providing compensation to victims, uncovering the truth and educating about the past are other necessary measures which should all complement vetting procedures. The Council of Europe Parliamentarians stated in their 1996 resolution that “the key to peaceful coexistence and a successful transition process lies in striking the delicate balance of providing justice without seeking revenge”. Any risk that the vetting process is misused for political or personal reasons has to be prevented. This requires very strict and fair procedures. It must be made clear that revenge and justice are not the same. *** FOOTNOTE The decision of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly was taken in Resolution 1096 (1996) on measures to dismantle the heritage of the former communist totalitarian systems. FOOTNOTE In 2003, the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) launched a major research project, because it considered that vetting had received little systematic attention. On the basis of its research, the ICTJ developed operational vetting guidelines which were published in 2006 by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Poland was granted special guest status by the Parliamentary Assembly in 1989 and became the 26th member state of the Council of Europe on 26 November 1991. In May 2005, during Poland's chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the 3rd Summit of the organization was held in Warsaw. On 19 January 1993, Poland ratified the European Convention on Human Rights. To date, Poland has ratified 77 and signed 17Council of Europe conventions. Photos from the accession ceremony
Information about Poland's membership in the Council of Europe
Conventions ratified and signed by Poland
A year ago, I was one of many people in Europe and around the world who thoroughly enjoyed the Polish riposte against the negative rhetoric in the run-up to the French Referendum on the European Union Constitution. The handsome Polish plumber telling the French that he was staying at home but inviting them to visit was a masterpiece of public relations and an effective response to xenophobic messages in France. But a few months ago, I was considerably less amused by some of the news coming from Poland. The wave of intolerance targeting especially gays and homosexuals, came as a surprise and was in stark contrast to the positive image of an open and modern society which used to give a lesson in tolerant behaviour to its European neighbours. I was particularly disappointed by some politicians who endorsed and propagated homophobic views instead of standing up against the language of prejudice and hate. To be perfectly honest, the image is not entirely black and white. Unlike some other capitals in Europe which continue to violate the right to the freedom of assembly guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, a Gay Pride Parade in Warsaw was not only authorised this year, but took place without incident. But to tolerate - grudgingly - those who are different is not enough because genuine tolerance requires acceptance, understanding and respect. In the Council of Europe, we are not in the business of imposing values on anyone because this would be meaningless and counter-productive. In any truly open and democratic society these values are embraced, not pushed down people's throats. The key is education, and the Council of Europe has developed a multitude of tools and programmes to help our member states in teaching the values which our Organisation was set up to defend and extend. One of them is Compass, a manual on human rights education for young people, produced by the Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights. Since its first publication, Compass has been translated into thirteen languages, from Spanish to Arabic. In May 2005, the Polish version of Compass was launched on the occasion of the Council of Europe Summit in Warsaw, and we were all very proud. A year later, the new Polish Minister of Education dismissed the Director of the government agency which financed and distributed the manual, and we were all very puzzled. Reportedly, the Minister objected to the Compass chapter on homosexuality and homophobia. Naturally, I asked the Polish authorities for a clarification of a decision which seemed, to put it mildly, unusual in the light of Poland's membership in the Council of Europe and its commitment to the values it represents. These values are not a smorgasbord from which governments can pick and chose as they like. I have now received a reply from the Polish authorities, but I am afraid that their arguments fail to fully alleviate my concern of government sanctioned homophobic behaviour. How this story will unravel, it is too early to say. If any individual's human rights have been violated as a result of the government's action or omission to act, the case may come to the European Court of Human Rights. Eventually, if no satisfactory explanation is provided, I will report the matter to the Committee of Ministers, and it will be to the member states' governments to decide on whether and how they want to react. But at the end of the day, what is really important is what Poland does to honour its word to the Council of Europe and to its own citizens - not in response to external pressure - but out of Poles' own sense of honesty and self-respect. As a friend of Poland for more than 60 years, I have no doubt that a country I like and admire will do the right thing and dispel any doubts about its commitment to freedom, tolerance and human rights.
The exhibition organized by the Information Office of the Council of Europe, the capital city of Warsaw and Warsaw University will be open to public from 29 September to 31 October 2006 in the lobby of the former Warsaw University Library Biulding (Warsaw, 26/28 Krakowskie Przedmiescie).
International seminar organized by the Information Office of the Council of Europe in Warsaw in cooperation with the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and with support of Wardyński & Partners law firm and Human
Rights Commission of the Polish Bar Council.
The seminar is organized on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Poland's membership in the Council of Europe.
Photos (by Małgorzata Klimiuk)
Polish European Meetings, organized by the Polish Robert Schuman Foundation since 1994, provide an opportunity for pro-European circles from all over Poland to get in touch with each other on a regular basis. The objective of the Polish European Meetings is to promote the idea of civil society and encourage pro-European activities. One of the main events of the Meetings is the Schuman Parade gathering each year thousands of people from Poland and abroad. The 12th Polish European Meetings and the Schuman Parade were the events accompanying the 3rd Summit of the Council of Europe held in Warsaw in May of 2005. Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe and tens of Council's officials and staff members participated in the Parade that year. The Information Office of the Council of Europe in Warsaw has been participating in the parade and its organization since mid 1990s. Main events of the 13th Polish European Meetings:
Photo gallery Further information about te Meetings Website of the Polish Schuman Foundation
As a result of the 3rd Summit of the Council of Europe Heads of States and Governments (Warsaw, 16-17 May 2005), the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe has introduced a new pilot project addressed to national NGOs of the 46 members states of the Council. The aim of the project is to bring together representatives of leading national Non-Governmental Organizations for regional Congresses, in order to discuss and improve the current situation of the civil society participation in building and consolidating democracy. The first Regional NGOs Congress will take place in March 2006 in Warsaw, gathering 150 representatives of Central and Eastern European national Non-Governmental Organizations.
The Warsaw Regional NGOs Congress is a three-day assembly gathering 150 participants: NGOs' leaders from Belarus, Germany, Poland and Ukraine, NGO representatives from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia, representatives of the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe.
The Congress is organized by the Casmir Pulaski Foundation, the Polish Forum of Young Diplomats and the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe. Further information:
The path delineated by Solidarność has opened new civilization opportunities. The peaceful revolution of Solidarność, waged for the right to decent life and an individual development, crushed down the walls and crumbled the restraints of freedom. It triggered the real economic transformations in our Fatherland as in the whole region. The political victory of Solidarity contributed to the fall of the communist regime and the peaceful re-unification of Europe.
Lech Wałęsa, Message to the participants of the International Conference "From Solidarność to freedom", Website of the conference "From Solidarność to freedom" |
Doctorate Honoris Causa
Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
Council of Europe Campaign 
Human Rights Commissioner 
DIVERSE WARSAW
Flame of Memory
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
Use the compass to find the right way
