Newsletter 18-25 October 2016
MAIN MATTERS
The UN Human Rights Committee’s recommendations for Poland expected on 4 November
The Human Rights Committee periodically monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by the states-signatories of the Covenant. The Committee is composed of 18 independent experts.
The Polish government submitted a report which was thoroughly discussed by the Committee on 17 and 18 October. Positions on the document were also presented by Polish NGOs working in the field of human rights and by the Commissioner for Human Rights [more].
The Committee’s expected document will be another significant report relating to the issue of respect for democratic values in Poland (after the Venice Commission’s report on the Constitutional Tribunal, the recommendations of 7 October of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for Poland, and the report of the International Ombudsman Institute on the CHR’s situation in Poland).
Report on the situation of the Commissioner for Human Rights
Representatives of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) have presented a report on the situation of the Polish Commissioner for Human Rights. They have set out a number of recommendations which should be implemented in order to ensure independent work of the CHR and adequate protection of human rights in Poland [more].
The CHR’s regional meetings in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodeship
From 3 to 5 November, Adam Bodnar will hold meetings with residents of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodeship. He will visit Włocławek, Toruń, Bydgoszcz and Grudziądz [meeting programme and venues].
THE COMMISSIONER ON CITIZENS’ ISSUES
2nd Regional Debate on the National Preventive Mechanism in Gdańsk
Police officers, court employees, representatives of social welfare homes, detoxification centres, psychiatric hospitals, youth detention centres, pre-trial detention centres and prisons met in Gdańsk with representatives of the Commissioner for Human Rights to discuss key issues concerning the rights of persons staying at facilities for persons deprived of liberty [more].
The case of Mr Tymon: the Supreme Administrative Court upholds the CHR’s opinion
The Supreme Administrative Court upheld the cassation appeal regarding the case of Mr Tymon, a minor citizen to whom the Civil Registrar Office refused to issue a photocopy of his grandfather’s death certificate. The Supreme Administrative Court referred the case back to the Office for reconsideration [more].
After his visit to London, the Commissioner calls for a campaign on the electoral rights of Poles in the UK
According to the CHR, if Poles who live in the UK were more aware of their voting rights, they would be better represented and their rights would be better protected. The Commissioner thus calls upon the State Elections Commission to cooperate with the British electoral organizations [more].
Local tourist tax in Zakopane: the CHR seeks annulment of the City Council’s resolution
In the region of Małopolska, concentration levels of certain air pollutants are exceeded. Despite this fact, the municipal authorities of Zakopane, a town located in the region, charge a local tourist tax. The Commissioner has joined the proceedings on the case, seeking the annulment of the City Council’s resolution which provides for the tax [more].
The CHR consults with representatives of local governments from the Mazowsze region on the issue of support for elderly persons
Methods of providing support to senior persons at the place where they live, of encouraging them to become more active and of reacting to and prevent irregularities at nursing homes for the elderly were discussed at the CHR’s first consultative meeting with representatives of local authorities and persons who provide support to seniors on daily basis [more]. Gaps in the system of care for senior persons were also discussed by Adam Bodnar in his commentary for the Onet.pl internet portal [more].
Rectors of universities are helpless in the face of acts of hostility towards foreign students
The effectiveness of actions taken among university communities to oppose lack of respect or acts of hostility toward foreign students is limited, given that such incidents are underestimated by public authorities and competent services – this can be concluded from the response the CHR received from the Conference of Rectors of Polish Universities [more].
Citizens' participation in meetings of local authorities
Residents of Witnica may now attend meetings of the local review committee. After the intervention by the CHR and the head of the regional government, the authorities have adopted new statutes of the town and municipality [more].
The CHR’s intervention relating to the railway station in Kielce
At the railway station in Kielce there are not enough access ramps for wheelchairs. Following the press publications, the Office of the Regional Representative of the Commissioner for Human Rights in Katowice is looking into the case [more].
LEGISLATION
The Constitutional Tribunal’s judgement relating to caretakers of persons with disabilities has to be implemented
Two years have passed since the Constitutional Tribunal’s judgement relating to caretakers of adult persons with disabilities. The Commissioner calls for implementing the judgement and emphasizes how unfair the current regulations are [more].
The Commissioner on merging Gdańsk World War II Museum with another one
Having analysed nearly one thousand complaints and requests from individuals, the Commissioner appealed to the Regional Administrative Court against the Minister of Culture’s regulation merging the 8-year-old Gdańsk Museum of World War II with the newly established Westerplatte Museum [more].
The National Preventive Mechanism’s Expert Committee starts to operate
On 18 October, the first meeting of the National Preventive Mechanism’s Expert Committee was held. The Committee members appointed by the Commissioner for Human Rights are professionals whose work is related to the rights of persons deprived of liberty. Among the members, there are e.g. lawyers, representatives of non-governmental organizations and uniformed services, physicians, etc. [more].
How is information collected and processed by the Government Protection Bureau controlled?
The Commissioner has requested the Minister of the Interior and Administration to provide information concerning the system of control of the adequacy and accuracy of citizens’ data collection and processing by the Government Protection Bureau [more].
THE CHRONICLE
The Commissioner took part in a conference on the rights of child victims of crime
- Children who are victims of crime require particular support from the state and non-governmental organizations. It is very important to offer support also to the NGOs working for this most vulnerable group of persons, as helping those who are the weakest is not a matter of ideology but a duty of the state - said the Commissioner at the conference "Helping children - victims of crime" [more].
Adam Bodnar at the Sergio Vieira de Mello prize award gala
Tahira Abdullah from Pakistan, Staffan de Mistura from Italy and the organization Cultures of Resistance Network Foundation from Brazil were awarded the Sergio Vieira de Mello prize of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the 13th edition of the prize. The laudation for the Brazilian non-governmental organization was given by Commissioner for Human Rights Adam Bodnar [more].
On the independence of judges
- Any violation of the autonomy and independence of the judiciary entails risks to proper protection of rights of individuals, said deputy Commissioner for Human Rights Stanisław Trociuk at the conference on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the Silesian branch of the IUSTITIA Association of Polish Judges [more].
The CHR attends a symposium on the extermination of the Roma
Adam Bodnar took part in the international scientific symposium "Beyond the Roma Holocaust: From Resistance to Mobilisation" which was held in Kraków [more].
The Commissioner takes part in the Constitution Week
Within the Constitution Week organized by Professor Zbigniew Hołda Association, Adam Bodnar conducted a lesson on the rights of citizens at the XLIV Antoniego Dobiszewskiego Upper Secondary School in Warsaw [more].
Prevention of violence against women and children
Deputy CHR for equal treatment Sylwia Spurek took part in a conference on counteracting violence against women and children, organized by WOMEN AGAINST VIOLENCE EUROPE in Berlin [more].
Meeting with upper secondary school students from Łomża
What does the Commissioner for Human Rights do? In what types of problems can assistance of the CHP be sought? These and other questions were explained by deputy Commissioner for Human Rights Krzysztof Olkowicz to students of the Tadeusz Kościuszko Upper Secondary School no. 1 from Łomża in a meeting at the CHR Office in Warsaw [more]
The Commissioner’s work discussed by European judges and prosecutors
Judges and prosecutors from European countries met with representatives of the CHR as part of a study visit within the EJTN Exchange Programme of the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution [more].
Adam Bodnar at the University of Warsaw
“EU citizenship - legal status and recent trends in the CJEU jurisprudence” was the title of the lecture delivered by Adam Bodnar for students at the University of Warsaw. The event was organized by the Scientific Group on the European Law, which operates at the University’s Faculty of Law and Administration [more].
Meeting with Agata Młynarska
Commissioner for Human Rights Adam Bodnar met at the CHR Office with Ms Agata Młynarska. The meeting focused on the protection of women's rights in Poland.
The CHR patronage
The Commissioner for Human Rights is the patron of honour of:
- publication dedicated to the memory of Maciej Lis, to be issued by the Department of International and European Law of the University of Wrocław [more]
- Polish edition of the international campaign “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence” [more]
- second national scientific conference entitled “Youth in danger: drugs and boosters – prevention and treatment” [more]
- social rehabilitation programme “Your dog: meet - cuddle - love” [more]
Important!
The website rpo.gov.pl contains a calendar of meetings with the Commissioner for Human Rights and of special events held under his patronage.
Information about the Commissioner’s work on cases relating to citizens’ issues is available under the “What we do” tab. An interactive map indicates cases in which the Commissioner has intervened.