Poland is relatively homogenic ethnically and open racism is not a nationwide phenomenon. The number of crimes committed in Poland with reference to nationality or ethnicity is small. However, some of these acts may not be reported to law enforcement, or not recorded in statistics for other reasons. Polish law includes provisions that directly or indirectly penalize acts with racist undertones or those related to someone’s racial, national or ethnic origin.

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.

  • Anti-racist Crime Legislation & Implementation

    Polish law does not contain the definitions of racial discrimination, hate speech, racist hate crime, racist incident or racist violence. The Labour Code and the Act on the Implementation of Certain Provisions of the EU on Equal Treatment forbid discrimination on the ground of, e.g. race. The Criminal Code includes a series of articles that directly or indirectly penalize acts with racist undertones or those related to someone’s racial, national or ethnic origin.

    • Is there legislation against racist and hate crime?

      Yes.

      Qualitative Info

      Polish legislative codes include provisions that directly or indirectly penalize acts with racist undertones or those related to someone’s racial, national or ethnic origin. For example:

      Article 256 of the Criminal Code prohibits public propagation of a fascist or other totalitarian regime, inciting hate with reference to differences in national, ethnic, racial, denominational characteristics or lack of denomination. Violations are subject to fines or limitation of freedom or deprivation of liberty of up to two years. Also manufacture, recording or importing, storage, possession, presenting, transport or sending of print materials, recordings or other objects containing the aforementioned content and order media with fascist, communist or other totalitarian symbols carry the same penalty. However, the criminal code allows such conduct as part of artistic, educational, collecting, or scientific activities.

      Article 257 of the Criminal Code prohibits insulting a group of peoples or particular person due to his or her national, ethnic, racial, denominational or lack thereof membership. It also prohibits battery against another for the above reasons.

      Article 118 of the Criminal Code essentially penalizes genocide (as as well as preparations therefore) committed against a national, ethnic, racial, political, denominational group or a group with a defined worldview for the purpose of its total or partial annihilation. These crimes are murder, causing grievous bodily harm, creating living conditions that threaten biological annihilation, use of means to prevent birth or forced seizure of children.

      Article 118a of the Criminal Code penalizes a series of crimes and acts committed in connection with participation in a mass attack or even one of repeated attacks in support or execution of state or organizational policy against a group of peoples. Serious persecution of a group of peoples for reasons proscribed under international law, especially for political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, denominational or lack thereof, worldview or gender, resulting in deprivation of fundamental rights, are crimes subject to deprivation of liberty.

      Article 119§1 of the Criminal Code prohibits the use of violence or criminal threats against groups of individuals or a particular person due to his or her national, ethnic, racial, political, denominational or lack thereof membership.

      The current regulations keep sanctioning crimes of incitement to hatred, threats, public insults, or violence towards persons and minorities on, among others, national, ethnic, racial and religious grounds. Non-governmental organisations have been appealing for years to introduce legal changes which would allow to include in the penal code the crimes committed on grounds of sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, age and disablement. Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Club of Platforma Obywatelska (Civic Platform) informed on the beginning of works on the change of the article 256 of the penal code by means of adding an unclear criteria of “natural personal features or beliefs”, which raised protests of non-governmental organisations focused within the Coalition for Equal Opportunities (Koalicja na rzecz Równych Szans).


      Source:

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Muslims
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities
      • Linguistic minorities
      • Asylum seekers
      • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
      • Persons with disability

      Type (R/D)

      • Extremism - organised Racist Violence
      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • Anti-semitism
      • Islamophobia
      • Afrophobia
      • Arabophobia
      • Anti-roma/zinghanophobia
      • Religious intolerance
      • Nationalism

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Anti-racism

      External Url http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WDU19970880553

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Is there a legal definition of racist-hate crime?

      No.

      Qualitative Info

      Polish law does not contain a definition of racist hate crime as such.

      External Url http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WDU19970880553

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Is there a legal definition of hate speech?

      No.

      Qualitative Info

      Polish law does not contain a definition of hate speech as such.

      External Url http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WDU19970880553

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Are there legal definitions of racist incident and racist violence?

      No.

      Qualitative Info

      Polish law does not contain legal definitions of racist incident and racist violence as such.

      External Url http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WDU19970880553

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Is there a legislation penalising, or prohibiting the establishment of, organisations which promote, incite, propagate or organize racial discrimination against an individual or group of individuals? Is membership of such organisations treated as an offence under the law?

      Yes.

      Qualitative Info

      According to the Polish Constitution, political parties and other organizations whose programs are based upon totalitarian methods and modes of activity of nazism, fascism and communism, as well as those whose programs or activities sanction racial or national hatred, the application of violence for the purpose of obtaining power or to influence the State policy, or provide for the secrecy of their own structure or membership, shall be prohibited.
      The Criminal Code penalizes participation in a criminal bond, stating that it is prohibited to take part in an organised group which aims at committing crimes. This provision may be applied as far as the hate groups are concerned.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Muslims
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities
      • Linguistic minorities
      • Majority
      • Asylum seekers

      Type (R/D)

      • Extremism - organised Racist Violence
      • Nationalism

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Anti-racism

      External Url http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WDU19970880553; http://www.sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/polski/kon1.htm

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Is there an independent assessment of the impact of anti-racist legislation and its application in practice?

      No.

      Qualitative Info

      There is no such assessment done by the public authorities. Independent research is done by non-governmental organisations and international bodies.

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Anti-racism

      External Url http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/ecri/Country-by-country/Poland/POL-CbC-IV-2010-018-ENG.pdf; http://www.otwarta.org/files/Debata%20-%20Mowa%20nienawisci%20a%20wolnosc%20slowa.pdf; http://www.otwarta.org/files/Przestepstwa%20z%20nienawisci.pdf

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Is there an estimate or evidence that hate crime cases/incidents are under-reported disproportionately in relation to other crimes?

      Yes.

      Qualitative Info

      There is an estimate (made by experts from non-governmental organisations) that such crimes are not always reported to law enforcement representatives. Firstly, the statistics do not include racially motivated crimes that do not comprise of acts described in the articles of the Criminal Code. The Temida statistical system, which collects crime statistics broken down by particular articles of the criminal code, indicates that the number of racist crimes in Poland is low. However, the statistics may miss a portion of reported racist crimes beginning at the police report stage. This may occur because, in the Temida system, when a suspect is accused of two or more crimes, the report records only the crime carrying the highest potential penalty. As such, that will not always be the racist crime as the punishments for these crimes are relatively low. Another reason the statistics may be missed is that officials recording crime reports may ignore the racist aspects and treat racist cases as common crimes.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Muslims
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities
      • Linguistic minorities
      • Asylum seekers

      Type (R/D)

      • Extremism - organised Racist Violence

      External Url http://otwarta.org/files/Przestepstwa%20nie%20stwierdzono.pdf; http://www.crisisintervention.free.ngo.pl/; http://www.nigdywiecej.org/images/komunikat/2009/hate_crime.pdf

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Is policing reported to be adequate in terms of combating racist violence/hate crime effectively?

      It happens that the police is not adequate in terms of combating racist violence/hate crime effectively.

      Qualitative Info

      International bodies and non-governmental organisations report that the Police is reluctant to intervene in hate crimes and point out the problems of the law-enforcement officers' misconduct towards minority groups (e.g. Roma) and racial profiling. Besides, the Police often do not take into account the racist motivation of crimes, which results in a lighter sentence for the perpetrator, if convinced. However, it should be stressed that the Public Prosecutor's Office has recently become more effective in dealing with racially motivated offences. In 2007 the National Centre for Training Employees of Common Courts and Prosecution Authorities  (NCTECCPA) carried out a project “The role of prosecutors in an effective prevention of discrimination” targeted at prosecutors active in tasks related to preventing discrimination on grounds of i.e. race, ethnic origin, religion and creed. Besides the number of relevant indictments brought to courts has increased. In 2009 there were 28 indictments brought to courts (in the years 2000-2003 there were 7 indictments, in 2004 – 6 indictments, in 2005 – 7, in 2006 – 12, in 2007 – 19 indictments and 2 cases were brought to courts for summary judgement, in 2008 there were 28 indictments).

       

      In 2011, police officers were informed about the guidelines of the Chief of Police (running the National Police Headquarters – KGP) concerning the proceeding in social conflicts grounded in nationality. Moreover, a specialist course for police officers is conducted, which covers the counteraction and fight against hate crimes of a cascading character. In 2011, 115 police officers were trained on the central level, while – locally – more than 38,000 police officers.

      As to proceedings concerning crimes committed for racist or xenophobic reasons, prosecutors in 2011 were conducting 322 proceedings, including 272 new proceedings. In about 40 of them indictments were filed, 134 cases were dismissed, and in 91 cases preparatory proceedings were refused to be initiated [1].

       


      Source:

      Prokuratura Generalna, 13.06.2012, Ofiary przestępstw z nienawiści (The victims of the hate crimes), http://www.pg.gov.pl/index.php?0,821,3,512, Accessed on 12.12.2012.
       

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Muslims
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities
      • Linguistic minorities
      • Asylum seekers

      Type (R/D)

      • Extremism - organised Racist Violence
      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • Anti-semitism
      • Islamophobia
      • Afrophobia
      • Arabophobia
      • Anti-roma/zinghanophobia
      • Religious intolerance
      • Nationalism

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Policing - law enforcement
      • Anti-racism

      External Url http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/ecri/Country-by-country/Poland/POL-CbC-IV-2010-018-ENG.pdf; http://bip.ms.gov.pl/pl/prawa-czlowieka/onz-i-prawa-czlowieka/sprawozdania-rp/

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Is the judiciary reported to be adequately and effectively combating racist violence/hate crime?

      No.

      Qualitative Info

      It appears that some racially motivated offences go unpunished, and such problems in Poland as hate crime and xenophobia happen to be denied. The racially motivated acts are not treated seriously and are often neglected. Most of the proceedings concern the acts of battery in connection with verbal insults of a person of different origins or expressing the fascist symbols in connection with destroying one's property. Prosecutors and judges often conduct the proceedings which aim to punish the perpetrator for typical hooligan behaviours and ignore the racial undertone in the cases which are more difficult in investigating, and require more effort. Besides, the judiciary seems not to acknowledge the harmfulness of the racially motivated acts. Until recently, most of these cases have been discontinued due to insignificant social noxiousness of an act. There are also considerable discrepancies in jurisdiction – comparable behaviours are differently classified.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Muslims
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities
      • Linguistic minorities
      • Asylum seekers

      Type (R/D)

      • Extremism - organised Racist Violence
      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • Anti-semitism
      • Islamophobia
      • Afrophobia
      • Arabophobia
      • Anti-roma/zinghanophobia

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Anti-racism

      External Url http://www.otwarta.org/files/Przestepstwa%20z%20nienawisci.pdf; http://www.sukurs.nomada.info.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21&Itemid=16&lang=en

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • In the context of hate crime, is racist motivation treated as an aggravating circumstance?

      It depends on a judge.

      Qualitative Info

      According to the Polish Criminal Code, the court is invited to take into account the racist motive of an offence as part of specific penalisation guidelines set out in one of the articles of the Criminal Code. The guidelines point to the motive of action or inaction of the perpetrator as one of the circumstances affecting the scope of the penalty. They do not contain a list exhaustive or indicative of factors that could amount to aggravating circumstances. It means that Polish law does not render expressly the racial motivation of an offence as an aggravating circumstance which however influences the qualification of an offence. It is not possible to state how often it is applied by courts in the cases of hate crimes and how the judges follow the sentencing recommendation in the case of crimes related to someone’s origin.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Muslims
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Asylum seekers

      Type (R/D)

      • Extremism - organised Racist Violence
      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • Anti-semitism
      • Nationalism

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Anti-racism

      External Url http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WDU19970880553

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • If there is a legal provision on racist motivation as an aggravating factor, how often is it applied? What kind of sanctions/penalties are issued?

      No data available.

      Qualitative Info

      According to the Polish Criminal Code, the court is invited to take into account the racist motive of an offence as part of specific penalisation guidelines set out in one of the articles of the Criminal Code. The guidelines point to the motive of action or inaction of the perpetrator as one of the circumstances affecting the scope of the penalty. They do not contain a list exhaustive or indicative of factors that could amount to aggravating circumstances. It is not possible to state how often it is applied by courts in the cases of hate crimes and how the judges follow the sentencing recommendation in the case of crimes related to someone’s origin.

      External Url http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WDU19970880553

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Does national legislation provide specific sanctions against public servants reported as perpetrators of racist violence/hate crime?

      No.

      Qualitative Info

      National legislation does not provide for specific sanctions against public servants reported as perpetrators of racist violence/hate crime. However, the fact of racist motivation may influence the sentencing. One of the articles of the Criminal Code stipulates that the public servant who exceeds authority or does not fulfil his or her duty, and acts to the detriment of public or individual interest is subjected to the penalty of up to 3 years imprisonment. If the perpetrator commits this act in order to obtain financial or personal benefits, he or she is subjected to the penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment. If the perpetrator acts unintentionally but causes serious harm, he or she is subjected to the following penalties: fine, imprisonment of maximum 2 years or restriction of liberty. The public servants may also bear disciplinary responsibility.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Muslims
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities
      • Linguistic minorities
      • Asylum seekers

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • Anti-semitism
      • Islamophobia
      • Afrophobia
      • Arabophobia
      • Anti-roma/zinghanophobia

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Policing - law enforcement

      External Url http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WDU19970880553

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Have public servants been reported as being perpetrators of racist violence/hate crime?

      Yes, sometimes.

      Qualitative Info

      It happens that policemen themselves discriminate against and behave racist. Even though they go through several trainings, the attitude of many police officers towards people of a different race or nationality is not a proper one. Some immigrants signalled that police officers addressed them in a racist manner (hate speech). An NGO was reported on the case of an immigrant who was mistreated by policemen during detention and transportation to the police station and hospital. The man was beaten, threatened with deportation and humiliated. The police officers insulted him by making reference to his nationality and skin colour. There is also the case of a migrant from Chechnya (who obtained international protection and resides in Poland legally). He was a witness in the case of his friend but was unlawfully detained by the police and humiliated due to his nationality, together with two other Chechens. The court found the detention procedure unlawful, and the application for compensation was lodged.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Policing - law enforcement

      External Url http://www.interwencjaprawna.pl/docs/ARE-610-dyskryminacja-praktyka.pdf

      See other countriesSee indicator history
  • Political Parties-organisations - Racist & Xenophobic Discourse

    In Poland, there is the National Rebirth of Poland, the nationalist and national-revolutionary political party, promoting violent forms of neofascism and anti-semitism, including the Holocaust denial and racism. Next, there is the National Radical Camp, which is a Polish extreme right, anti-semitic, anti-communist and nationalist political movement.
    There is also the Polish National Party, a nationalist and ultra-conservative political party famous for its anti-semitic discourse.

  • Anti-racist Policies & Organisations

    According to the new antidiscrimination law the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment is obliged to design the National Action Plan for Equal Treatment. At a local level there are no special policies in this respect. Sometimes local authorities support NGO projects aimed at combating racism and its manifestations. There are several NGOs dealing with racism, discrimination and xenophobia. Some of these organisations' activities have a positive impact on anti-racist policies.

    • Has the national government developed policies/programmes aimed at combating racism and related ideologies? Have these policies/programmes been implemented and in whatway?

      Yes

      Qualitative Info

      According to the new Act on the implementation of certain provisions of the EU on equal treatment, which entered into force as of 1 January 2011, the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment is obliged to design the National Action Plan for Equal Treatment. Work on this programme has already begun.

      The Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment, the Jagiellonian University in Cracow and the Warsaw School of Economics are cooperating in developing a document titled “National Action Plan for Equal Treatment” which is supposed to define the objectives and priorities of the government's actions to promote equal treatment to be undertaken the five-year perspective. In May 2012, expert seminars were held the aim of which was to define the opinions of representatives of various environments on the proposed diagnosis of problems and recommendations worked out so far. After taking into account the recommendations developed during the seminars, the document will be presented to the Chancellery of the Prime Minister (expected time of forwarding it to the Chancellery is 2013).


      Source:

      • Rzeczpospolita, 03.03.2012, Powstaje program na rzecz równego traktowania (The National Action Plan for Equal Treatment comes into being), http://www.rp.pl/artykul/832655.html, Accessed on 12.12.2012.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Muslims
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Asylum seekers

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • Anti-semitism
      • Islamophobia
      • Religious intolerance

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Anti-discrimination
      • Anti-racism

      External Url http://www.hf.org.pl/raporty/rasizm_w_polsce.pdf

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Has regional/local governance made a significant attempt at combating racism and related ideologies?

      Sometimes local authorities support NGO projects aimed at combating racism and its manifestations, while within the “Equal treatment as a standard for good governance” project in 2012 a series of regional conferences titled “Administration against discrimination” were organized.

      Qualitative Info

      Sometimes local authorities support NGO projects aimed at combating racism and its manifestations. The most common example of this is the involvement in activities to remove racist inscriptions from the walls of cities – the role of local authorities in such cases is to provide moral support (e.g. patronages) or enforce the removal of these inscriptions on owners of the buildings, on which they were placed.

      Within the “Equal treatment as a standard for good governance” project in 2012 a series of regional conferences titled “Administration against discrimination” were organized. The seminars are supposed:

      - to present the Strategic Recommendations for Equal Treatment which will become the basis for the National Action Plan for Equal Treatment;

      - to present the outcomes of the research on the social phenomenon of discrimination;

      - to present the outcomes of the research on variety and equal treatment of public administration employees;

      - to exchange opinions and discuss the situation and problems depending on the region with the Plenipotentiary.


      Source:

      Biuro Pełnomocnika ds. Równego Traktowania, Równe Traktowanie Standardem Dobrego Rządzenia (Equal treatment as a standard for good governance), http://rownetraktowanie.gov.pl/rowne-traktowanie-standardem-dobrego-rzadzenia, http://rownosc.info/rownosc.php/main/index/page/433, Accessed on 12.12.2012.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • Anti-semitism
      • Islamophobia
      • Afrophobia
      • Arabophobia
      • Anti-roma/zinghanophobia
      • Religious intolerance
      • Nationalism

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Anti-racism

      External Url http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolorowa_Tolerancja

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • In your country are there any non governmental organisations whose principal objectives relate to opposing/undermining racism and racist activity?

      Yes.

      Qualitative Info

      There are several organizations dealing with racism and xenophobia. These are various types of organizations: those conducting extensive activities in support of human rights, organizations that focus on discrimination (on various grounds) or matters relating to minorities and migrants. Finally, there are several organizations whose activities are focused primarily on issues of racism and counteracting this phenomenon.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Muslims
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities
      • Asylum seekers

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • Anti-semitism
      • Islamophobia
      • Afrophobia
      • Arabophobia
      • Anti-roma/zinghanophobia
      • Religious intolerance

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Anti-discrimination
      • Anti-racism

      External Url http://www.nigdywiecej.org/, http://www.otwarta.org/, www.hfh.org.pl, http://www.otwarta.org/, http://crisisintervention.free.ngo.pl/

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Non governmental organisations whose principal objectives relate to opposing/undermining racism and racist activity

      Yes.

      Qualitative Info

      The oldest nationwide organization dealing with anti-racist activity is the Never Again Association. Also the Association Against Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia “Open Republic” deals mainly with this issue.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Muslims
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities
      • Asylum seekers

      Type (R/D)

      • Extremism - organised Racist Violence
      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • Anti-semitism
      • Islamophobia
      • Afrophobia
      • Arabophobia
      • Anti-roma/zinghanophobia
      • Religious intolerance
      • Nationalism

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Anti-racism

      External Url http://www.nigdywiecej.org/, http://www.otwarta.org/

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Are there examples of anti-racist anti-discrimination organisations' activity having a positive impact on anti-racist policies?

      Yes.

      Qualitative Info

      There are several examples of anti-racist and anti-discrimination organisations' activity having a positive impact on anti-racist policies. For example, in March 2011 the Human Rights Defender approached the Attorney General with regard to increasing the efficiency of prosecuting racist crimes. In his speech the HRD referred to results of studies among victims of racism and hate crime monitoring conducted by NGOs. Also in March 2011, as part of European Testing Night, non-governmental organizations carried out a test examining discrimination in access to the Polish capital's entertainment venues. Responding to the discriminatory practice indicated by the test, Warsaw's city authorities, in cooperation with NGOs, and (to a lesser extent) Warsaw's clubs, started working on the introduction of anti-discrimination regulations in the clubs and pubs. As a result, the prohibition of discrimination (on various grounds) is to be included in new or renewed lease agreements. There are plans to introduce mandatory rules and regulations, visible to the customers, which will clearly determine the door selection rules. Non-governmental organizations are involved in the creation of the equality programme for Polish capital, entitled "Diverse Warsaw".

       


      Source: Letter of the Human Rights Defender http://www.rpo.gov.pl/index.php?md=9232&s=1&zaznacz=1#znalezione, Legal Intervention Assiaciation, Institute of Public Afairs.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities
      • Asylum seekers

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Anti-discrimination
      • Anti-racism

      External Url http://www.rpo.gov.pl/index.php?md=9232&s=1&zaznacz=1#znalezione

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Is there a direct participation of anti-racist, anti-discrimination and victim group organisations in consultation and development, promotion, implementation of anti-racist and anti-discrimination law and/or policies?

      Yes.

      Qualitative Info

      Non-governmental organizations are directly involved in the consultation and development, promotion, implementation of anti-racist and anti-discrimination law and / or policies. Among others, representatives of NGOs working in support of non-discrimination are meeting with the Human Rights Defender, which is one of the two equality bodies in Poland, in order to discuss solutions relating to a particular area of discrimination. The Coalition for Equal Opportunities, which brings together 48 organizations, has prepared opinions on successive versions of the Act on the implementation of certain provisions of the EU on equal treatment, and also organizes meetings with members of Parliament and the Human Right Defender. In November 2012, a proposal of amendment of the Act on the implementation of certain provisions of the EU in the field of equal treatment went to Sejm.


      Source:

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Muslims
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities
      • Asylum seekers
      • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
      • Persons with disability

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • On grounds of disability

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Anti-discrimination
      • Anti-racism

      External Url http://www.ptpa.org.pl/koalicja; http://www.interwencjaprawna.pl/docs/metodologia-przygotowania-bazy.pdf

      See other countriesSee indicator history
    • Are there NGOs - other civil society organisations supporting victims of discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnic origin and religion in court?

      Yes.

      Qualitative Info

      Organizations providing legal assistance – in particular, legal and integration assistance for foreigners (e.g. the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Legal Intervention Association) – support victims of discrimination or racism-related violence in dealing with law enforcement agencies and during legal proceedings. However, it should be noted that there are very few legal cases in this area.

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Roma & Travelers
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities
      • Asylum seekers

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Anti-discrimination
      • Anti-racism

      External Url http://www.hfhrpol.waw.pl/dyskryminacja/nasze-interwencje-rodzaje-dyskryminacji, http://www.interwencjaprawna.pl/precedensy.html

      See other countriesSee indicator history
  • Policing - Law Enforcement - Justice

    The issue of racism and discrimination is partially included in the trainings for future police officers. There are not any police professional associations that endorse anti-migrant/anti-minority agendas. Some immigrants report to the NGOs that they were mistreated by the police because of their ethnicity and the police is reluctant to investigate the racially motivated offences. The number of hate crimes may not be reported to law enforcement agencies or included in official statistics.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

    • 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

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    • Media: Frequency and relevance of hate speech incidents in public life (and media) and media representations against migrants and minorities?

      Racist and any-migrant speech is rather rare in official public life but it occurs from time to time. Hate speech is present in the Internet. It concerns mainly Jews, Russians, German, Muslims.

      Qualitative Info

      The situation has not changed much since 2011. Hate speech is still present on the Internet. For instance, a Border Guard officer on the Internet message boards (forums) regularly offended Chechens calling them „scum“, „Caucasian layabouts”, „a group of aggressive parasites”.

      In 2012, Wiedza Lokalna Foundation continued the project aimed to scan Internet content with regard to hate speech. It focused on verbal aggression against ethnic, sexual, religious and other minorities. In September 2012, another scan of the Internet users' statements was made. Among 4230 statements referring to minorities, 1525 contained negative emotions (approximately 36%). The majority of them – approximately 48% – was related to Jews. Next, they referred to Muslims (20%), Russians (17%) and Germans (14%). The texts bearing traits of violent language or hate speech featured the most negative emotions in reference to Muslims and Jews. Representatives of these minorities were most often victimized with hate speech, that is the highest level of intensity of negative emotions, including incitement to action (Muslims 64%; Jews 32%).


      Source:

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Refugees
      • Muslims

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Media
      • Internet
      • Political discourse -parties - orgs

      External Url http://www.raportmniejszosci.pl/

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    • Sport: Racism, racist violence and hate speech in sporting venues (and reporting and policing thereof)?

      Racist incidents are rare in most sports, except for football. Most of the positive initiatives regarding racism in sport are undertaken by the Never Again Association, which conducts its activities under the slogan Let’s Kick Racism out of Stadiums.

      Qualitative Info

      Racist incidents are rare in most sports, except for football, where they are much more common. In the case of other sports some single incidents have been observed (speed racing, basketball). Several types of racist incidents recurring at Polish football stadiums may be distinguished. The first one includes acts directed against players of darker skin colour which consist in making hooting sounds to imitate those produced by monkeys whenever they have the ball, throwing bananas at them and calling them names. Also, some several physical attacks on black players have been reported. Second type of incidents directed against all ‘foreign’ players consist in shouting racist slogans, hanging banners with such slogans as well as adding Nazi symbols and stylistics to the club flags and banners. Another type of incidents includes behaviour of anti-Semitic character (shouts, chants, notices).


      Most of the positive initiatives regarding racism in sport are undertaken by the Never Again Association, which conducts its activities under the slogan Let’s Kick Racism out of Stadiums. The association’s activities include, among others, printing and distributing, mainly during football matches, leaflets, booklets and posters containing anti-racist slogans, preparing shirts with the campaign’s slogans, as well as persuading players to put them on during the matches, organising the Polish Football Championships of Anti-racist Amateur Teams with the participation minorities and migrants. Never Again also conducts monitoring of racist incidents in football. Some actions against racism in sport have been undertaken by some public bodies.  For example, the annual  ‘Stop Racism in Sport’ journalist competition, was initiated by the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment. On 16 October 2009, the No – to racism in sports declaration was signed during a conference organized by the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, and the Polish Olympic Committee. In addition to the organizers, acclaimed Polish athletes and over 40 sport organizations signed the declaration.

      The fears of dangerous acts of racism occurring at the championship in Poland were not confirmed. Indeed, such incidents took place, yet they can be considered single hooligans incidents rather than a mass action against foreign teams. 

       

      The biggest sport venue in Poland in 2012 was football world cup – EURO 2012. One of the initiatives aiming at preventing racist or discriminatory practices during matches was the Respect Diversity project. It was implemented by the FARE network, co-ordinated by the Never Again Association. The initiative, launched at the start of the tournament, saw two FARE international observers present at every match, up to 2,500 public areas declared as Inclusive Zones to provide welcoming spaces across Poland and Ukraine, a fan zone in four languages and a tour of Streetkick, a mobile football game with an anti-discrimination message. Besides, over 80,000 police officers and stewards in Poland and Ukraine also received anti-discrimination training to help them identify and prevent discriminatory chants, symbols and behaviour.

       

      Sources:

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • Anti-semitism
      • Afrophobia
      • Nationalism

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Sport
      • Anti-racism

      External Url http://www.msw.gov.pl/portal/pl/2/8818/Nie__dla_rasizmu_w_sporcie.html, http://www.nigdywiecej.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27

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    • Sport: Is hate speech ground for sanctions to sport clubs and applied/applicable in practice?

      Yes.

      Qualitative Info

      There are no detailed national regulations related to the problem of hate speech during the sport events, but the Criminal Code penalises racial offences, including incitement of hatred on grounds of nationality, race, religion, as well as verbal and physical assaults on persons resulting from their race, nationality or denomination. Therefore, the laws in question apply to perpetrators of racist incidents occurring during or in connection with sports events.
      Apart from this, disciplinary codes of two sport associations impose penalties for racist incidents. Fines for the clubs are contained in the Speedway Racing Regulations for cases of spectators shouting slogans, which are of racist, fascist, anti-Semitic, nationalist, satanic or grossly unethical nature, advocate terrorism or incite feuds and hatred, as well as displaying signs or symbols of such content. The Polish Football Association’s Disciplinary Code sets out a number of specific penalties for football clubs and natural persons committing racist or discriminatory acts; the amounts and types of penalties depend on the type of act committed, circumstances, in which it has been committed, and the characteristics of the perpetrator. Various kinds of hate speech are subject to a penalty: shouting slogans which are of racist, fascist, anti-Semitic, nationalist nature, insulting or offending a group of persons or an individual because of their national, racial, or ethnic origin, displaying banners, flags and other similar objects containing discriminatory or offensive content. Sanctions for racist incidents are applicable in practice.

       


      Source: Polish Football Association, Disciplinary Code
      Speedway Racing Rules, Disciplinary Regulations
       

      Groups affected/interested

      • Migrants
      • Ethnic minorities
      • Religious minorities
      • Majority

      Type (R/D)

      • Anti-migrant/xenophobia
      • Anti-semitism
      • Afrophobia

      Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas

      • Sport

      External Url http://www.pzpn.pl/regulamin_dyscyp.php, http://www.pzm.pl/userfiles/file/regulaminy/zuzel/04RDysc2009popr.pdf

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