Commissioner for Human Rights

Commissioner for Human Rights has already appealed to the ministry three times to take legislative action enabling the full implementation of the Commissioner's mandate to monitor deportation operations. This request has not yet been fulfilled, which is why the Commissioner is once again raising this issue with the Minister, calling for an urgent amendment to Article 333 of the Act on Foreigners.

The Commissioner for Human Rights acts as an independent body in Poland for the prevention of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (National Prevention Mechanism). This also includes the detention of foreigners, understood not only as their stay in centres for foreigners, detention in Border Guard facilities for detained persons, but also deprivation of liberty as defined in Article 329(3) of the Act on Foreigners, related to ‘bringing a foreigner to the border or to an airport or seaport of the country to which he or she is being taken’.

Under domestic law, the possibility of monitoring deportation is provided for in Article 333 of the Act on Foreigners, which establishes a list of entities authorised to do so. The fact that the Commissioner is not included among them – although this does not deprive him of the right to monitor the transfer of a person to a third country – gives rise to numerous organisational problems, which in practice prevent the Commissioner from performing the function of the National Prevention Mechanism in this area. The Commissioner has extensively pointed out these obstacles in his previous correspondence.

In the assessment of the Commissioner, previously shared by the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, there is a need to add the Commissioner for Human Rights  to the entities directly included in the national system for monitoring forced returns. Further delay raises concerns about Poland's compliance with the effectiveness requirement set out in Article 8(6) of the so-called Return Directive. It also exposes Poland to a negative assessment of its functioning within the Schengen area.

CHR Marcin Wiącek asks Marcin Kierwiński, Minister of Interior and Administration, to implement such changes. 

MIA’s Undersecretary of State Maciej Duszczyk replied that since the amendment to the Act on Foreigners, in terms of taking into account the participation of the CHR, had not yet been implemented, it was necessary to adapt the legal regulations in this area to the guidelines of the European Commission. Nevertheless, representatives of the CHR's Office will be invited to participate in the work on the shape of the proposed solutions to improve the current system.

In response, Commissioner Marcin Wiącek asked the Ministry about the status of the amendment work on this issue.

https://bip.brpo.gov.pl/pl/content/rpo-cudzoziemcy-deportacje-monitorowanie-mswia-odpowiedz-kolejne