There are two public bodies that have competences in the field of equality and non-discrimination: the Human Rights Defender and the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment. There is a governmental program dedicated to the Roma minority which aims at improving the situation of Roma in different areas. National and ethnic minorities have the right to establish their own educational and cultural institutions and those that serve to protect their religious or cultural identity.

Clear
  • Anti-discrimination Legislation & Implementation

    The Polish Constitution forbids discrimination for any reason. The new antidiscrimination law, an Act on the Implementation of Certain Provisions of the EU on Equal Treatment contains a closed catalogue of possible grounds of discrimination. The Act sets up a minimum standard of the protection against unjustified unequal treatment which is not the same for everybody. Another problem is incorrect and incomplete implementation of the EU Directives.

  • Employment

    Sometimes the National Labour Inspectorate or NGOs reveal isolated cases of discrimination against migrants, including in respect to wages. There are legal obstacles in access to employment in the public sector since the non-Poles can work there only on positions, where the tasks would not concern exercising public authority or protection of the interests of the state. The migrants can work in Poland if they obtain a work permit unless they are exempted of this obligation.

  • Housing & Segregation

    In general there is no segregation between minority groups and the majority population aside from several exceptions in southern Poland where Roma clusters are separated from the remainder of the locality. There are also areas that are inhabited primarily by some other national and ethnic minorities. The NGOs reported the examples of denial of housing for migrants and refugees (social or communal housing). It happens that the private landlords are reluctant to rent apartments to migrants.

    • Is there evidence of particular difficulties faced by migrant/minority groups in purchasing or renting property of their choice?

      Yes.

      Qualitative Info

      For several years now experts and NGO staff have been drawing attention to the fact that landlords are reluctant to rent apartments to migrants. Some of them demand higher fees from immigrants than from Poles. There are cases where the owners simply say they do not want to rent the apartments to foreigners, but there are currently no studies clearly indicating to what extent this is the result of discrimination and to what extent the landlords’ ‘economic calculations’.

      Because of financial reason Roma cannot afford to rent or purchase their own homes at market prices. There are no data suggesting the Roma’s access to private housing was limited by factors other than lack of affordability.
       


      Sources:

      Wysieńska, K., Ryabińska, N. (2010), Bezdomność uchodźców w Polsce – wyniki badania pilotażowego, Instytut Spraw Publicznych, Warszawa 2010.

      Dorota Hall, Agnieszka Mikulska, Thematic Study. Housing Conditions of Roma and Travellers. Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Warsaw 2009.
       

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • Anti-roma/zinghanophobia

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Housing

      External Url www.isp.org.pl/uploads/pdf/246292626.pdf , http://fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/attachments/RAXEN-Roma%20Housing-Poland_en.pdf

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Affected group with particular difficulties in purchasing or renting property of own choice

      Roma and refugees from Chechenia face problem in purchasing or renting property.

      Qualitative Info

      The problem of access of immigrants to housing seems to have the most painful impact on refugees (which are mainly Chechens), especially in the case of single mothers and families with many children faced particularly by. According to expert`s estimates, homelessness affects 20–30% of the refugees.

      The second affected group is Roma community. Due to the lack of the money they cannot afford to rent or purchase their own homes at market prices. The low and irregular incomes of the Roma mean they have problems paying rent for flats, even when renting at relatively low prices. This is why they generally reside in communal housing (sometimes these are social housing); estimates are that about 80% live in communal homes and 20% own their own flats or houses.

       


      Sources:

      Wysieńska, K., Ryabińska, Bezdomność uchodźców w Polsce – wyniki badania pilotażowego, Instytut Spraw Publicznych, Warszawa 2010.

      Dorota Hall, Agnieszka Mikulska, Thematic Study. Housing Conditions of Roma and Travellers. Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Warsaw 2009.
       

      Groups affected/interested

      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Asylum seekers

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • Anti-roma/zinghanophobia

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Housing

      External Url www.isp.org.pl/uploads/pdf/246292626.pdf, http://fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/attachments/RAXEN-Roma%20Housing-Poland_en.pdf

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Are there positive initiatives with an impact on housing of migrant and minority groups?

      Yes.

      Qualitative Info

      The government Programme for the Roma Community (which is a national project that began in 2004 and will run through 2013) contain component devoted to improve housing conditions. The investments carried out under the Program include renovations, construction of social housing or container buildings and construction of water and sewage networks are conducted. It must be mentioned however that the housing situation of Roma is improving very slowly [1].

      In the case of refugees, some NGOs and social protection institutions mediate in renting apartments on the open market or assist them in their efforts to obtain social or protected housing.Municipal Family Welfare Centre in Lublin conducts project “Safe haven: providing protected housing for foreigners” which consists in offering protected housing to the refugees families. The city using, among others, the EU funds, develops the idea of protected flats for foreigners. There are currently three such flats; until June 2012, 30 foreigners altogether (5 families) are supposed to take advantage of the city's support. As to Warsaw, the first protected flat for foreigners has functioned in the capital since October 2011. In Warsaw, too, flats for refugees (5 flats annually) have been granted for years within the contest organized by the Warsaw's Family Support Centre [2].


      Sources:

      1. Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych, Program na rzecz społeczności romskiej w Polsce (Programme for the Roma Community in Poland), http://www.msw.gov.pl/portal/pl/181/Program_na_rzecz_spolecznosci_romskiej_w_Polsce.html, Accessed on 12.12.2012.
      2. Miejski Ośrodek pomocy Rodzinie, Bezpieczna Przystań - prowadzenie mieszkania chronionego dla cudzoziemców (Safe haven: providing protected housing for foreigners), http://www.mopr.lublin.pl/?id=programy_eu/bezpieczna_przystan/2, Accessed on 12.12.2012.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Asylum seekers

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • Anti-roma/zinghanophobia

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Housing

      External Url http://www.mopr.lublin.pl/?id=programy_eu/bezpieczna_przystan/2, http://www.msw.gov.pl/portal/pl/181/Program_na_rzecz_spolecznosci_romskiej_w_Polsce.html

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  • Education

    Among the national and ethnic minorities only the Roma stand out from the rest of society with regard to their situation in the field of education. The governmental Programme for the Roma Community includes an “Education” component as its priority. Students belonging to national and ethnic minorities may obtain education in their native language. There are positive initiatives designed to solve problems of discrimination, racism or xenophobia in schools carried out by NGOs.

  • Health And Social Protection

    The Roma minority is considered more vulnerable to various diseases in comparison with the rest of society. Higher morbidity and higher mortality is caused a.o. by the problems of economic nature and the non-use of public healthcare.. Not all groups of migrants have the same access to the social protection system and benefits, it depends on their legal status in Poland. Migrant and minority women encounter particular obstacles while accessing and receiving effective healthcare services.

  • Political & Civic Participation

    Only Polish and the EU citizens and who permanently reside in Poland have the right to vote and stand in/for the elections. The third country nationals are not entitled to do so. They have the right to assembly and associate in social organisations, trade unions and employers organisations, to set up and join foundations or to join political parties. There is the Common Commission of the Government and National and Ethnic Minorities, a consultative body established by law.

  • Policies On Integration - Cohesion

    There is no national strategy on migrant/minority integration as such. The Roma people are the minority the most marginalized in Poland. A sort of policy on integration of this group has been adopted and since 2004 there is a Programme for the Roma Community. There is no comprehensive integration program that would meet the needs of all groups of migrants choosing to stay in Poland. According to law such assistance is available only for selected groups of foreigners.

  • Public Life, Culture, Sport & Media

    According to Polish law foreigners residing in Poland may join together to form associations in accordance with the rules applicable to Polish citizens. There are no legal obstacles for minorities to exercise and manifest their religion and belief. Public media are required to account for the needs of minorities, however the respective laws are sometimes being implemented defectively. Racist incidents are rare in most sports, except for football.

    • Is self-identification of individuals/groups a criterion for recognition and respect of minority or ethnic cultural linguistic religious groups' rights by the state/government?

      No.

      Qualitative Info

      In Polish law, a national minority is defined as a group of Polish citizens that collectively meets the following conditions: it is less in number than the remainder of the Polish population; it differs in a significant manner from other citizens by language, culture and tradition; it seeks to maintain its language, tradition and culture; it is conscious of its own historic national community and is inclined to express and protect it; has resided in the Republic of Poland for at least 100 years; and, it identifies with the nation organised in its own state. The definition of the ethnic minority is the same as the definition of the national minority except that the ethnic minority does not identify with a nation organised in its own state. This means that self-identification is not a sufficient enough criterion to be recognized as ethnic or national minority and, consequently, enjoy minority’s rights. For many years, Silesians have been unsuccessfully demanding recognition as a minority, even though in the 2002 census 173 thousand people declared Silesian nationality (experts on ethnic issues are not unanimous on whether it is actually possible to consider Silesians a minority). Due to the above legal definitions, migrant groups also cannot be treated as ethnic / national minorities.

      According to the Act on National and Ethnic Minorities and Regional Language recognized national/ethnic minorities include Belarusians, Czechs, Lithuanians, Germans, Armenians, Russians, Slovaks, Ukrainians, Jews, the Roma, Lemkos, Karaims and Tatars. Kashebe are recognized as a group using regional language and enjoy the same linguistic rights as minorities.

       


      Source: Act on National and Ethnic Minorities and Regional Language, Poland (Dz. U. 2005/17/141).

      Groups affected/interested

      • Ethnic minorities
      • Linguistic minorities

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Daily life

      External Url http://msw.gov.pl/portal/pl/178/2958/Ustawa_o_mniejszosciach_narodowych_i_etnicznych_oraz_o_jezyku_regionalnym.html

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    • Association: are there restrictions of the freedom of peaceful assembly, and freedom of association for migrants

      No.

      Qualitative Info

      According to the Law on Associations, the right to establish associations is granted to Polish citizens having full legal capacity and not deprived of public rights. Foreigners residing in Poland may join together to form associations in accordance with the rules applicable to Polish citizens. However, foreigners not having residence on the territory of the Republic of Poland may join associations, whose statutes provide for such a possibility (Polish law does not use the term migrant). There is a number of migrant associations operating in Poland.
      In accordance with Polish law, anyone can enjoy the freedom of peaceful assembly. The Act on the right to assembly does not provide for exceptions in this regard due to the given person’s origin or nationality.

       


      Sources:

      Act of 7 April 1989 Law on Associations

      Act of July 5, 1990 Law on Assemblies


       

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Culture
      • Daily life

      External Url http://lex.pl/serwis/du/2001/0855.htm, http://lex.pl/bap/student/Dz.U.1990.51.297.html

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Association: are there restrictions of the of the freedom of peaceful assembly, and freedom of association for minorities

      No.

      Qualitative Info

      Minorities enjoy the freedom of assembly and freedom of association to an equal extent as other Polish citizens, because according to the Polish law national/ethnic minorities are defined as groups of Polish citizens that collectively meet the following conditions: it is less in number than the remainder of the Polish population; it differs in a significant manner from other citizens by language, culture and tradition; it seeks to maintain its language, tradition and culture; it is conscious of its own historic national community and is inclined to express and protect it; has resided in the Republic of Poland for at least 100 years.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Ethnic minorities

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Culture
      • Daily life
      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Religion: Persons belonging to minorities face legal and practical obstacles in exercising or manifesting their religion or belief?

      No.

      Qualitative Info

      There are no legal obstacles for minorities to exercise and manifest their religion and belief. According to the Polish law, national/ethnic minorities are defined as groups of Polish citizens that collectively meet the following conditions: it is less in number than the remainder of the Polish population; it differs in a significant manner from other citizens in terms of language, culture and tradition; it seeks to maintain its language, tradition and culture; it is conscious of its own historic national community and is inclined to express and protect it; it has resided in the Republic of Poland for at least 100 years. Being citizens, minorities enjoy the freedom of religion and belief to an equal extent as Polish citizens. In practice though, minorities draw attention to problems appearing from time to time, for example, related to taking days off from work and school during the period of religious holidays.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Religion
      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Media: Are there positive measures for promoting or restrictions for Migrant and minority media?

      Public media (radio and tv) are required to account for the needs of minorities, including broadcasting information programmes in minority languages.

      Qualitative Info

      Public media (radio and tv) are required to account for the needs of minorities, including broadcasting information programmes in minority languages. Minority language programming or content about minorities are broadcast in certain sections of regional Polish state television (TVP 3) in areas with minority populations. There are also three private radio stations broadcasting for minorities - Radio Racja (for Belarusians), Radio Kaszebe (for Kashubians), Radio Vanesa (for Germans). However, the respective laws are sometimes being implemented defectively: minority programming is broadcast during low point hours and on the selected local channels only (thus being unavailable for the minority members living outside a given area). In 2010, some television stations reduced the air time available for minority programming by as much as 50 per cent. Several programmes are facing the threat of termination due to the lack of financial resources. The minorities are not satisfied with their actual capacity to make use of the public media. The issue has been much discussed at meetings of The Joint Commission of the Government and National and Ethnic Minorities: the minorities objections concern both organisation and content-related problems and the cooperation with local TV stations. Apart from this, minority’s magazines (in minority language) are subsidized by the state budget. (in 2010, 36 minority’s magazines received financial support)

      The above regulations apply only to national and ethnic minorities. There are no regulations concerning migrants, in the sense of the existence of any restrictions or positive measures. In practice, the creation of materials dealing with the subject matter of migrants or multiculturalism depends on the the good will of editors or individual journalists. At this point one should note that the degree of the implementation of the public media tasks described in the National Programme Against Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance 2004-2009 was so low that in the final report the objective of these tasks was considered unattained. From this one can conclude that the media’s interest in this subject matter is insignificant.

       


      Sources:

      Ministry of Interior, Raport dla Sekretarza Generalnego Rady Europy z realizacji przez Rzeczpospolitą Polską postanowień Europejskiej karty języków regionalnych lub mniejszościowych

      Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Second Opinion on Poland, adopted on 20 March 2009

      Act on Radio and Television (Dz. U. 1993/7/34)

      Groups affected/interested

      • Ethnic minorities
      • Linguistic minorities

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Culture
      • Media

      External Url http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/minorities/3_fcnmdocs/PDF_2nd_OP_Poland_en.pdf , http://www.msw.gov.pl/portal/pl/238/3497/Ustawa_o_radiofonii_i_telewizji.html

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Media: Are there positive measures for promoting or restrictions for minority and lesser used language in the media?

      Public media (radio and tv) are required to account for the needs of minorities, including broadcasting information programmes in minority languages.

      Qualitative Info

      Public media (radio and tv) are required to account for the needs of minorities, including broadcasting information programmes in minority languages. Minority language programming or content about minorities are broadcast in certain sections of regional Polish state television (TVP 3) and radio in areas with minority populations. There are also three private radio stations broadcasting for minorities (Radio Racja for Belarusians, Radio Kaszebe for Kashubians, Radio Vanesa for Germans). However, the respective laws are sometimes being implemented defectively: minority programming is broadcast during low point hours and on the selected local channels only (thus being unavailable for the minority members living outside a given area). Apart from this, minority’s magazines (in minority language) are subsidized by the state budget (in 2010, 36 minority’s magazines received financial support).

      The above regulations apply only to national and ethnic minorities; there are no regulations concerning the languages spoken by migrants.

       


      Sources:
      Act on Radio and Television,  (Dz. U. 1993/7/34)

      Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Second Opinion on Poland, adopted on 20 March 2009, http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/minorities/3_fcnmdocs/PDF_2nd_OP_Poland_en.pdf
       

      Groups affected/interested

      • Ethnic minorities
      • Linguistic minorities

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Culture
      • Media

      External Url http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/minorities/3_fcnmdocs/PDF_2nd_OP_Poland_en.pdf, http://www.msw.gov.pl/portal/pl/238/3497/Ustawa_o_radiofonii_i_telewizji.html

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    • Media: Is there a visible presence (or absence) of members of target groups as media professionals?

      It is not possible to assess the visible presence of the representatives of the ethnic and national minorities and migrants as media professionals.

      Qualitative Info

      It is difficult to assess the visible presence of the representatives of the ethnic and national minorities and migrants as media professionals, as the majority of them do not distinguish themselves in appearance (and often also in last name) from the general public. Among well-known journalists there are people of both migrant origin as well as ones originating from minorities, although certainly not all migrant or minority groups are represented and / or equally prominent.

      Pursuant to the Act on Radio and Television, in appointing the programming boards of public radio and television sections that broadcast shows in minority languages, the section directors should take into account candidates submitted by minority social organisations. In practice, however, almost no minority representatives are members of broadcasters’ programme boards, with only two persons of minority origin involved in the works of programme boards of regional radio stations (appointed in 2008).

       


      Source:
      Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Second Opinion on Poland, adopted on 20 March 2009

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Ethnic minorities

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Culture
      • Media

      External Url http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/minorities/3_fcnmdocs/PDF_2nd_OP_Poland_en.pdf

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Sport: Effective participation of migrants in sport

      It is difficult to assess effective participation of migrants in sport activities as only few migrants permanently reside in Poland.There are no studies or reports devoted to the issue of effective participation of migrants in sport.

      Qualitative Info

      It is difficult to assess effective participation of migrants in sport activities as only few migrants permanently reside in Poland.There are no studies or reports devoted to the issue of effective participation of migrants in sport. Majority of the foreigners come to work and stay in Poland for a relatively short time with only some of them deciding to settle down in the country. The number of second generation migrants is scanty which results from the nature of the long-standing communist system which curtailed the inflow of foreigners. Accordingly, participation of migrants in many sports is practically unnoticeable. There are, however, persons arriving in Poland as players engaged by certain clubs. They come from various countries of Africa, as well as Brazil, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Most competitors of a non-Polish origin can be found in team sports such as basketball, and, above all, football. Foreign sportspersons are sometimes victims of racism, in particular football racism, which is quite visible in Poland.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Sport
      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Sport: Effective participation of minorities in sport

      The lifestyle of ethnic and national minorities and their participation in sports activities do not differ from what is typical of the remaining part of the society.

      Qualitative Info

      The lifestyle of ethnic and national minorities and their participation in sports activities do not differ from what is typical of the remaining part of the society. An exception to that principle are the Roma who, due to a lower standard of living, have more limited access to the cultural goods, including sports. Central and local government authorities act for improvement of their situation. As a part of the governmental Programme for the Roma Community in Poland which has been implemented since 2004 various extracurricular sport activities for the Roma children are organised at schools. Such actions aim at involving the young Roma into a school life and enabling them more effective integration with other children.

       


      Source: Ministry of Interior, Programme for the Roma Community in Poland

      Groups affected/interested

      • Roma & Travelers
      • Ethnic minorities

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-roma/zinghanophobia

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Sport

      External Url http://www.mswia.gov.pl/palm/en/10/55/Programme_for_the_Roma_community_in_Poland.html

      See other countriesSee indicator history