U.S. State Demartment Report about violation of gays and lesbians in Poland
09/03/2006
By
Tomasz Szypula
U.S. State Demartment has published The Annual Report on Human Rights all over the World.
One section of the report is devoted to violation of gay and lesbian rights in Poland.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61668.htm
Section 5 Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination
Right-wing groups attempted on several occasions to disrupt gay pride
marches. In May the mayor of Warsaw, Lech Kaczynski, denied approval of
a gay rights parade organized by the Equality Foundation, a consortium
of gay-rights groups, stating that he would not allow the promotion of
gay culture. Despite the denial, on June 11, gay rights activists held
a peaceful equality parade during which they complained about the
discrimination they experienced in their everyday lives. Marchers were
assaulted with objects such as rocks thrown by antigay demonstrators
led by the ultraconservative All Poland's Youth League. In September a
Warsaw court ruled that the mayor's refusal to issue a permit for the
equality parade was illegal. In December the organizers of the parade
filed a claim with the ECHR arguing that the country had violated three
articles of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case was
pending at year's end.
On November 15, the mayor of Poznan, Ryszard Grobelny, refused to issue
a permit for an equality march in that city. The mayor cited security
concerns, but the NGO attributed the refusal to social intolerance of
the local lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. On
November 20, despite the denial of the permit, several hundred people
demonstrated in support of gay rights. The activists were harassed,
reportedly by members of the All Poland's Youth League, who threw eggs
and rocks and made verbal threats that were both homophobic and anti-
Semitic in nature. Sixty-eight of the gay rights activists were
arrested by police and interrogated about their participation before
being released. Approximately one hundred of the violent
counterdemonstrators were asked by police for identification in case
police decided to investigate further.
On November 25, AI issued a public statement expressing concern over
the local "climate of intolerance" against the LGBT community. The
statement also criticized the abolition of the office of the
plenipotentiary for equal rights for men and women.
There was discrimination against HIV-positive persons. The national
AIDS center reported several minor cases of discrimination against HIV-
positive persons in the units supervised and funded by the center. The
center intervened when complaints were found to be justified.
One section of the report is devoted to violation of gay and lesbian rights in Poland.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61668.htm
Section 5 Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination
Right-wing groups attempted on several occasions to disrupt gay pride
marches. In May the mayor of Warsaw, Lech Kaczynski, denied approval of
a gay rights parade organized by the Equality Foundation, a consortium
of gay-rights groups, stating that he would not allow the promotion of
gay culture. Despite the denial, on June 11, gay rights activists held
a peaceful equality parade during which they complained about the
discrimination they experienced in their everyday lives. Marchers were
assaulted with objects such as rocks thrown by antigay demonstrators
led by the ultraconservative All Poland's Youth League. In September a
Warsaw court ruled that the mayor's refusal to issue a permit for the
equality parade was illegal. In December the organizers of the parade
filed a claim with the ECHR arguing that the country had violated three
articles of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case was
pending at year's end.
On November 15, the mayor of Poznan, Ryszard Grobelny, refused to issue
a permit for an equality march in that city. The mayor cited security
concerns, but the NGO attributed the refusal to social intolerance of
the local lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. On
November 20, despite the denial of the permit, several hundred people
demonstrated in support of gay rights. The activists were harassed,
reportedly by members of the All Poland's Youth League, who threw eggs
and rocks and made verbal threats that were both homophobic and anti-
Semitic in nature. Sixty-eight of the gay rights activists were
arrested by police and interrogated about their participation before
being released. Approximately one hundred of the violent
counterdemonstrators were asked by police for identification in case
police decided to investigate further.
On November 25, AI issued a public statement expressing concern over
the local "climate of intolerance" against the LGBT community. The
statement also criticized the abolition of the office of the
plenipotentiary for equal rights for men and women.
There was discrimination against HIV-positive persons. The national
AIDS center reported several minor cases of discrimination against HIV-
positive persons in the units supervised and funded by the center. The
center intervened when complaints were found to be justified.
