Human rights in Poland


Human rights in Poland are guaranteed by the second chapter of the Constitution. Poland is a party to all important international agreements relevant to human rights, including the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Helsinki Accords, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Human rights in the Polish law

The Constitution of the Republic of Poland

The Polish Constitution guarantees variety of human and citizen's rights. The second chapter of the Constitution titled "The Freedoms, Rights and Obligations of Persons and Citizens" contains many articles informing about human rights in Poland. Among constitutional freedoms and rights are:
Article 14 - Freedom of the press and other means of social communication.
Article 21 - Protection of ownership and the right of succession.
Article 25 - Equal rights of churches and religious organisations.
Article 31
  1. Legal protection of freedom of the person.
  2. Respect for freedoms and rights of others.
Article 32
  1. Equality before the law of all persons and the right to equal treatment by public authorities.
  2. No discrimination in political, social or economic life for any reason whatsoever.
Article 33 - Equal rights of men and women in family, political, social and economic life.
Article 34 - Right not to loose Polish citizenship by a Polish citizen.
Article 35 - Freedom to maintain and develop language and customs.
Article 36 - Right to protection by the Polish State while staying abroad.
Article 38 - Right to legal protection of the life of every human being.
Article 39 - Freedom from being subjected to scientific experimentation without voluntary consent.
Article 40 - Freedom from torture or cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 41 - Right to personal inviolability, security and liberty.
Article 42 - Right to defence.
Article 45 - Right to a fair and public hearing before a competent, impartial and independent court.
Article 47 - Right to legal protection of private and family life.
Article 48 - Right of parents to raise their children in accordance with their own convictions.
Article 50 - Right to inviolability of the home.
Article 51 - Right not to disclose personal information.
Article 52 - Freedom of movement and choice of place of residence.
Article 53 - Freedom of conscience and religion.
Article 54 - Freedom to express opinions.
Article 56 - Right to asylum in the Republic of Poland.
Article 57 - Freedom of peaceful assembly and participation.
Article 58 - Freedom of association.
Article 60 - Right of access to the public service based on the principle of equality.
Article 61 - Right to obtain information on the activities of public authorities.
Article 62 - Right to vote for Polish citizens who attained 18 years of age.
Article 63 - Right to submit petitions, proposals and complaints in the public interest.
Article 65 - Freedom to choose and to pursue occupation.
Article 66 - Right to safe and hygienic conditions of work.
Article 67 - Right to social security.
Article 68 - Right to protection of health.
Article 70 - Right to education.
Article 72 - Right to protection of the right of the child.
Article 73 - Freedom of artistic creation.
Article 80 - The right to apply to the Commissioner for Citizens' Rights for assistance in protection of freedoms or rights infringed by organs of public authority.

History

Elements of what is called now human rights may be found in early times of the Polish state. The Statute of Kalisz, the General Charter of Jewish Liberties introduced numerous right for Jewish minorities in Poland. The Warsaw Confederation of 1573 confirmed the religious freedom of all residents of Poland, which was extremely important for the stability of the multi-ethnic Polish society of the time. Gathered at Warsaw, all nobles signed a document in which representatives of all major religions pledged mutual support and tolerance. The following eight or nine decades of material prosperity and relative security witnessed the appearance of "a virtual galaxy of sparkling intellectual figures."
In recent history, human rights have vastly improved only after the fall of communism in 1989 and the replacement of the old repressive norms of the pro-Soviet communist regime with the modern, democratic government guaranteeing first class civil and political rights, confirmed by the Freedom House.
Poland has ratified the International Criminal Court agreement. Corporal punishment is entirely prohibited since 2010. Death Penalty is abolished for all crimes as noted by Amnesty International. Modern Poland is a country with a high level of freedom of expression, guaranteed by the article 25 of the Constitution of Poland which reads:
The article Article 54 states:

Women's Rights

History of Feminism

started in 1800s in the age of foreign Partitions marked by the gross abuse of power especially by the Russians, which impacted the rights of women as well. However, prior to the last Partition in 1795, tax-paying females were allowed to take part in political life. Poland's precursor of feminism under Partitions, Narcyza Żmichowska who founded a group of Suffragettes in 1842, was jailed by the Russians for three years. Since 1918, following the return to independence, all women could vote. Poland was the 15th country to introduce universal women's suffrage. Nevertheless, there is a number of issues concerning women in modern-day Poland such as the abortion rights and the "glass ceiling".

Violence against women

Domestic Violence, according to 2011 report by TheNews.pl website run by the Polish Radio, is perceived by one in five respondents as a problem. Thirty eight percent of Poles know at least one family where physical violence occurs, and seven percent claimed to know of at least one family where sexual violence took place, according to a survey carried out in November by research centre SMG KRC on behalf of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. The survey revealed that 27 percent of respondents were reluctant to act against apparent abusers for fear that the violence might be transferred onto themselves, while 17 percent felt that raising the matter would exacerbate the problem for the initial victim. One in four of those surveyed felt that there is no obligation on neighbours or acquaintances to act when domestic violence is brought to their notice, believing that it is difficult to judge which party is in the right. Forty three percent of those surveyed declared that interventions in family matters is only permissible when someone asks for help and 14 percent of third parties said there was no point in reporting such as case, as the victim would inevitably withdraw from legal action regardless. Some 13 percent said that such abuse is a private family matter. At the same time, 16 percent said that there are situations when violence is justified in the home. Some 26 percent of Poles claim that they have been victims of physical violence.
Rape is illegal and punishable by up to 12 years in prison. Sexual harassment is under-reported due to societal views. In January 2014, a reform was introduced to both simplify the procedure as well as make it a criminal offence pursued by the state, rather than a private act of accusal. An abortion is very difficult to obtain in Poland by official means.
In the field of employment, due to perceptions of women's roles, unemployment for women is high.

LGBTQ+ rights

Poland country signed the UN LGBTQ+ rights declaration, but same-sex unions are not recognized in Poland. However, Poland is not on the list of countries with state-sponsored homophobia, and homosexuality in Poland was never criminalised under Polish jurisdiction. Homosexuality was confirmed legal in 1932, and Poland also recognises gender change and requires no sterilisation of its transgender citizens. Anna Grodzka became an MP in the 2011 Polish parliamentary elections, and currently is the only transgender MP in the world.

2020 ILGA-Europe Ranking

The most recent ILGA-Europe Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People, informs about legal, political and social developments occurring in European countries and institutions. Extensive analysis informs that growing hate-speech and anti-LGBTI rhetoric practiced by the ruling Law and Justice Party, as well as religious leaders, nationalist politicians and state-owned media led to tensions, violence and overall negative tendency in terms of respecting LGBTI rights. By the end of 2019 almost one third of Poland's territory was declared an LGBT-free zone. Incidents such as giving out LGBT free-zone stickers by Gazeta Polska a conservative newspaper, public announcement of an Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski that the LGBT movement is a "rainbow plague" or Equality March-bans indicate the condition of LGBTI rights in Poland. On the 20th of July during an Equality March in Białystok, attendees were attacked by right-wing extremists, who injured and beaten up participants, threw objects such as smoke bombs and bottles at them and screamed offensive and violent slogans about the LGBTI community. ILGA-Europe Review contains a lot of information regarding legal status and possibilities of the LGBTI people. Same-sex marriage is not legally recognised in Poland, with Article 18th of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland explicitly defining marriage as "A union of a man and a women".
On the 2020 Rainbow Map, a ranking of 49 European countries published by ILGA-Europe annually, Poland scored the lowest place out of European Union member-states This ranking uses extensive criteria to assess legal and policy practices for LGBTI people on a scale from 0% to 100%. On Rainbow Map published on the 14th of May 2020, Poland scored 16% and after three years of being second-last dropped to the last place.

Third-party evaluation

A 2010 report by United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor noted that "Poland's government generally respects the human rights of its citizens"; it did however note problems, with the majority of such being police misconduct, lengthy pretrial detention and laws that restricted free speech, in addition to corruption in the government and society.
According to the 2014 "Political Terror Scale" report generated by Mark Gibney of the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Poland was ranked among countries with the highest levels of human rights.
Freedom House Research Institute has classified Poland as a country of first class political and civil rights. According to the Global Peace Index, Poland is the 23rd most peaceful country in the world.