A letter send by Human Rights Watch to the President of Poland Lech Kaczynski
16/02/2006
By
KPH
Lech Kaczynski
President of the Republic of Poland
Kancelaria Prezydenta RP
ul. Wiejska 10
00-902 Warszawa
February 15, 2006
Dear President Kaczynski,
On behalf of Human Rights Watch, I write in concern over a climate that
increasingly threatens the basic rights and equality of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender people in Poland.
As you are undoubtedly aware, on January 18 the European Parliament
overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning "a series of worrying
events" in member states, "ranging from banning gay pride or equality
marches to the use by leading politicians and religious leaders of
inflammatory or threatening language or hate speech, failure by police
to provide adequate protection or even breaking up peaceful
demonstrations," as well as "violent demonstrations by homophobic
groups."
The European Parliament urged member states "firmly to condemn
homophobic hate speech or incitement to hatred and violence, and to
ensure that freedom of demonstration-guaranteed by all human rights
treaties-is respected in practice." It also called on them "to promote
and implement the principle of equality in their societies and legal
systems."
Human Rights Watch urges that Poland, as an E.U. member state, through
its government and you as President, respond positively, promptly and
effectively to this resolution.
This resolution is based on human rights standards to which all European
Union member states are bound, including Article 13 of the Amsterdam
Treaty, Article 21 of the E.U. Charter of Fundamental Rights, and
Directives 2000/43/EC and Directive 2000/78/EC prohibiting direct or
indirect discrimination on specific grounds including sexual
orientation. It is also based on Poland's international legal
obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
As president of Poland it is your responsibility to speak in defense of
the freedoms of all Polish citizens, particularly vulnerable minorities.
When government officials contribute actively to stigma against a
minority that they are obligated to protect, they signal that
discrimination and perhaps even violence will be tolerated. Such
statements create a dangerous environment for the freedoms of all..
Human Rights Watch has been monitoring with grave reservations several
restrictions placed on the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender community in Poland over the past number of years. We are
aware that you yourself have supported restrictions on that minority's
rights in your prior capacity as mayor of Warsaw, as have members of
your party and government in public statements.
In 2004 and 2005, as mayor of Warsaw, you banned Gay Pride marches-a
peaceful exercise of the freedom of assembly which had taken place
several times in previous years without incident. You declared that you
were opposed to "propagating gay orientation." In 2004, you refused
even to meet with the organizing group, the Campaign Against
Homophobia-reportedly stating, "I am not willing to meet perverts." On
the other hand you approved counter-demonstrations by conservative
groups opposed to the march, the League of Polish Families and the
All-Polish Youth. In the same year, a "March for Tolerance" organized by
the Campaign Against Homophobia in Cracow was attacked by over two
hundred demonstrators, many skinheads from the All-Polish Youth, who
pelted them with eggs, bottles, and rocks, and shouted "Send the fags to
the hospital!" and "Perverts, get out of Cracow!"
In 2005, more than two thousand demonstrators, supported by the deputy
prime minister and deputy speaker of the Sejm, defied your ban and
marched through Warsaw's streets, despite attacks from
counterdemonstrators. Counterdemonstrators threw eggs and rushed
barricades in an attempt to beat marchers. You subsequently condemned
the fact that police did not stop the march, but that they tried to stop
the attackers. Your official position was that "the police undertook to
protect an illegal demonstration by gay and lesbian organizations but
drastically attacked other illegal gatherings. This situation
constitutes an infringement of the principles of social coexistence."
Also in 2005, following the example of Warsaw, the mayor of Poznan
banned a March for Equality and Tolerance in Poznan-one sponsored not
only by the Campaign Against Homophobia but by human rights, women's,
and student organizations. When a small number of marchers persisted in
assembling, members of the All-Polish Youth assaulted them, throwing
projectiles and shouting "Gas the fags!" and "We'll do to you what
Hitler did to the Jews!" In this case, police intervened against the
marchers rather than the attackers, arresting sixty-eight of them.
Since you assumed the presidency, your political allies have continued
to make ominous statements threatening state action against the public
expression or defense of homosexuality. Prime Minister Kasimierz
Marcinkiewicz has told the press that if a homosexual "tries to 'infect'
others with their homosexuality, then the state must intervene in this
violation of freedom." Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the Law and
Justice Party, and your brother, called during the 2005 election
campaign for banning gays and lesbians from teaching. In January 2006,
he condemned a situation where "gay people are allowed to conduct
perverse demonstrations in the streets, but it is forbidden to discuss
the issue of moral censorship."
We are also concerned by the election by the Sejm, on January 26, of
Janusz Kochanowski as Ombudsman for Human Rights. Mr. Kochanowski has
stated in the past that "a culture favorable to pedophilia has come to
Poland. ... This culture already accepts homosexuality and wants it to
be seen as equal to heterosexuality. And there is a link between
pedophilia and homosexuality: the majority of pedophiles are
homosexual."
That statement is untrue. Further, the mentality it reflects--one in
which myth and stigma are used to vilify a minority and nullify its
right to participate in society--is inimical to Poland's vibrant
democracy. Fears of "infection" and blatant invocations of prejudice
cannot be allowed to decide how citizens exercise their rights. Gays
and lesbians marching in the streets pose no conceivable threat to other
Poles. To suppress their freedoms threatens all people's equality.
Poland is a long standing party to the European Convention on Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. You will thus be aware that Poland is
bound to prohibit discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or
gender identity in relation to any of the rights enjoyed under the
Convention. The European Court has on several occasions made clear that
discrimination based on sexual orientation is strictly prohibited. Most
recently in Karner v Austria, the Court pointed out that "very weighty
reasons have to be put forward before the Court could regard a
difference in treatment based exclusively on the ground of sex as
compatible with the Convention. Just like differences based on sex,
differences based on sexual orientation require particularly serious
reasons by way of justification." Similarly, the U.N. Human Rights
Committee-charged with monitoring states' compliance with the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) -held in
1994 in Toonen v Australia that sexual orientation should be understood
as a status protected against discrimination by the treaty's equality
provisions.
Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned that actions that taken against
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Poland directly
violate these international standards. We therefore urge you to affirm
that the rights to expression, association, and assembly cannot be
denied on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
In your new capacity as Poland's president, you stand under the scrutiny
of Europe and the international community to see whether you will work
to defend or seek to deny human rights protections. With confidence in
the power and permanence of Poland's democratic development, we hope
that you will commit yourself to the former.
Sincerely,
Scott Long
Director
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program
Scott Long
Director
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program
Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY USA 10118
Tel. +01 (212) 216-1297
Fax +01 (212) 216-1876
E-mail: longs@hrw.org
President of the Republic of Poland
Kancelaria Prezydenta RP
ul. Wiejska 10
00-902 Warszawa
February 15, 2006
Dear President Kaczynski,
On behalf of Human Rights Watch, I write in concern over a climate that
increasingly threatens the basic rights and equality of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender people in Poland.
As you are undoubtedly aware, on January 18 the European Parliament
overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning "a series of worrying
events" in member states, "ranging from banning gay pride or equality
marches to the use by leading politicians and religious leaders of
inflammatory or threatening language or hate speech, failure by police
to provide adequate protection or even breaking up peaceful
demonstrations," as well as "violent demonstrations by homophobic
groups."
The European Parliament urged member states "firmly to condemn
homophobic hate speech or incitement to hatred and violence, and to
ensure that freedom of demonstration-guaranteed by all human rights
treaties-is respected in practice." It also called on them "to promote
and implement the principle of equality in their societies and legal
systems."
Human Rights Watch urges that Poland, as an E.U. member state, through
its government and you as President, respond positively, promptly and
effectively to this resolution.
This resolution is based on human rights standards to which all European
Union member states are bound, including Article 13 of the Amsterdam
Treaty, Article 21 of the E.U. Charter of Fundamental Rights, and
Directives 2000/43/EC and Directive 2000/78/EC prohibiting direct or
indirect discrimination on specific grounds including sexual
orientation. It is also based on Poland's international legal
obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
As president of Poland it is your responsibility to speak in defense of
the freedoms of all Polish citizens, particularly vulnerable minorities.
When government officials contribute actively to stigma against a
minority that they are obligated to protect, they signal that
discrimination and perhaps even violence will be tolerated. Such
statements create a dangerous environment for the freedoms of all..
Human Rights Watch has been monitoring with grave reservations several
restrictions placed on the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender community in Poland over the past number of years. We are
aware that you yourself have supported restrictions on that minority's
rights in your prior capacity as mayor of Warsaw, as have members of
your party and government in public statements.
In 2004 and 2005, as mayor of Warsaw, you banned Gay Pride marches-a
peaceful exercise of the freedom of assembly which had taken place
several times in previous years without incident. You declared that you
were opposed to "propagating gay orientation." In 2004, you refused
even to meet with the organizing group, the Campaign Against
Homophobia-reportedly stating, "I am not willing to meet perverts." On
the other hand you approved counter-demonstrations by conservative
groups opposed to the march, the League of Polish Families and the
All-Polish Youth. In the same year, a "March for Tolerance" organized by
the Campaign Against Homophobia in Cracow was attacked by over two
hundred demonstrators, many skinheads from the All-Polish Youth, who
pelted them with eggs, bottles, and rocks, and shouted "Send the fags to
the hospital!" and "Perverts, get out of Cracow!"
In 2005, more than two thousand demonstrators, supported by the deputy
prime minister and deputy speaker of the Sejm, defied your ban and
marched through Warsaw's streets, despite attacks from
counterdemonstrators. Counterdemonstrators threw eggs and rushed
barricades in an attempt to beat marchers. You subsequently condemned
the fact that police did not stop the march, but that they tried to stop
the attackers. Your official position was that "the police undertook to
protect an illegal demonstration by gay and lesbian organizations but
drastically attacked other illegal gatherings. This situation
constitutes an infringement of the principles of social coexistence."
Also in 2005, following the example of Warsaw, the mayor of Poznan
banned a March for Equality and Tolerance in Poznan-one sponsored not
only by the Campaign Against Homophobia but by human rights, women's,
and student organizations. When a small number of marchers persisted in
assembling, members of the All-Polish Youth assaulted them, throwing
projectiles and shouting "Gas the fags!" and "We'll do to you what
Hitler did to the Jews!" In this case, police intervened against the
marchers rather than the attackers, arresting sixty-eight of them.
Since you assumed the presidency, your political allies have continued
to make ominous statements threatening state action against the public
expression or defense of homosexuality. Prime Minister Kasimierz
Marcinkiewicz has told the press that if a homosexual "tries to 'infect'
others with their homosexuality, then the state must intervene in this
violation of freedom." Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the Law and
Justice Party, and your brother, called during the 2005 election
campaign for banning gays and lesbians from teaching. In January 2006,
he condemned a situation where "gay people are allowed to conduct
perverse demonstrations in the streets, but it is forbidden to discuss
the issue of moral censorship."
We are also concerned by the election by the Sejm, on January 26, of
Janusz Kochanowski as Ombudsman for Human Rights. Mr. Kochanowski has
stated in the past that "a culture favorable to pedophilia has come to
Poland. ... This culture already accepts homosexuality and wants it to
be seen as equal to heterosexuality. And there is a link between
pedophilia and homosexuality: the majority of pedophiles are
homosexual."
That statement is untrue. Further, the mentality it reflects--one in
which myth and stigma are used to vilify a minority and nullify its
right to participate in society--is inimical to Poland's vibrant
democracy. Fears of "infection" and blatant invocations of prejudice
cannot be allowed to decide how citizens exercise their rights. Gays
and lesbians marching in the streets pose no conceivable threat to other
Poles. To suppress their freedoms threatens all people's equality.
Poland is a long standing party to the European Convention on Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. You will thus be aware that Poland is
bound to prohibit discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or
gender identity in relation to any of the rights enjoyed under the
Convention. The European Court has on several occasions made clear that
discrimination based on sexual orientation is strictly prohibited. Most
recently in Karner v Austria, the Court pointed out that "very weighty
reasons have to be put forward before the Court could regard a
difference in treatment based exclusively on the ground of sex as
compatible with the Convention. Just like differences based on sex,
differences based on sexual orientation require particularly serious
reasons by way of justification." Similarly, the U.N. Human Rights
Committee-charged with monitoring states' compliance with the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) -held in
1994 in Toonen v Australia that sexual orientation should be understood
as a status protected against discrimination by the treaty's equality
provisions.
Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned that actions that taken against
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Poland directly
violate these international standards. We therefore urge you to affirm
that the rights to expression, association, and assembly cannot be
denied on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
In your new capacity as Poland's president, you stand under the scrutiny
of Europe and the international community to see whether you will work
to defend or seek to deny human rights protections. With confidence in
the power and permanence of Poland's democratic development, we hope
that you will commit yourself to the former.
Sincerely,
Scott Long
Director
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program
Scott Long
Director
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program
Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY USA 10118
Tel. +01 (212) 216-1297
Fax +01 (212) 216-1876
E-mail: longs@hrw.org
