• Human Rights in Poland

    Access to abortion remains severely restricted, though draft legislation to impose a total ban was narrowly defeated.  The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the denial of access to genetic pre-natal testing and a legal abortion was cruel and inhuman treatment. New anti-discrimination legislation did not meet expectations for fully protecting people regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability.  The lead prosecutor investigating alleged Polish complicity in CIA secret detention was replaced, with suggestions the move was politically motivated. 

  • Landmine Ban: Poland Final EU Member to Join
    Dec 7, 2012

    Poland’s announcement on December 5, 2012, that it is about to ratify the international treaty prohibiting landmines means that all 27 European Union countries have banned these unlawful weapons.

  • EU: Rights Abuse at Home Ignored
    Jan 22, 2012
    The European Union and member governments proved unwilling to tackle human rights abuse at home during 2011, even as they proclaimed the issue’s importance in inspiring the Arab Spring, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012.
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Poland

  • Landmine Ban: Poland Final EU Member to Join
    Dec 7, 2012

    Poland’s announcement on December 5, 2012, that it is about to ratify the international treaty prohibiting landmines means that all 27 European Union countries have banned these unlawful weapons.

  • EU: Rights Abuse at Home Ignored
    Jan 22, 2012
    The European Union and member governments proved unwilling to tackle human rights abuse at home during 2011, even as they proclaimed the issue’s importance in inspiring the Arab Spring, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012.
  • Poland: Reject Blanket Ban on Abortion
    Aug 30, 2011
    The Polish parliament should reject the proposed absolute ban on abortion that is up for a vote on August 31, 2011. The draft bill, “On the Protection of Human Life from the Moment of Conception,” would impose an absolute ban on abortion in Poland.
  • UN: Mixed Results for New Review Process
    Apr 18, 2008
    The first session of the new country review mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council was undermined by inconsistencies and the timidity of some governments in reviewing others, Human Rights Watch said today. On April 18, 2008 the council concluded a two-week session in which it examined the records of 16 countries as part of the new Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.
  • Human Rights Council Begins Universal Periodic Review
    Apr 6, 2008
    The UN Human Rights Council will begin a new review process on April 7, 2008. The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is the most innovative and ambitious instrument of the council and was set up to assess the human rights performance of all 192 UN member states over a four-year cycle.
  • Council of Europe Confirms Secret CIA Prisons
    Jul 1, 2007
  • Council of Europe: Secret CIA Prisons Confirmed
    Jun 6, 2007
    The Central Intelligence Agency secretly operated illegal prisons for terrorism suspects in multiple locations in Poland and Romania from 2003 to 2005, according to a report released today by the Council of Europe, a European intergovernmental human rights body.
  • Hands Off Human Rights Petition
    May 19, 2007
    Dear President Kaczynski, We urge you and your government to stop your attacks on the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Such attacks betray Poland’s long, proud record of struggling for human rights. Upholding equal rights for all will help build a freer future.
  • Poland: School Censorship Proposal Threatens Basic Rights
    Mar 18, 2007
    The Polish government’s proposed legislation to censor all discussion of homosexuality in schools and other academic institutions would violate freedom of speech and impede free access to information, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
  • Letter to Polish Prime Minister about Censorship in Schools
    Mar 18, 2007
    On behalf of Human Rights Watch, I write to you concerning proposed legislation that, if passed, would prevent free speech and access to information by and about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in schools and other institutions of learning in Poland—as well as legally sanctioning discrimination against them. The legislation—which Deputy Minister of Education Miroslaw Orzechowski has stated will be introduced within a month—would create a climate of intolerance and threaten the civil and political rights of Polish educators and of LGBT Poles in schools, especially youth.
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