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Summary: The government of Poland recently submitted a mid-term UPR report, which documented their implementation progress on recommendations they accepted during their review. CRIN has highlighted the government's response to children's rights recommendations accepted.
States are encouraged to voluntarily submit update reports on the steps they are taking to implement the recommendations made to them during their reviews. In addition to posting the full mid-term report (see above), CRIN has extracted the children's rights recommendations accepted by Poland, together with the government's response on how they are implementing the recommendations. Poland commented on the following accepted recommendations: 1. Recommended to Poland to endorse the recommendations made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Human Rights Committee on the adoption of legislative measures to ensure compliance of national legislation with the principles and provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Angola); Polish national legislation ensuring protection of the rights of children complies with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 1) The Constitution of the Republic of Poland is the supreme source of human rights in Poland, one of which is the protection of the rights of the child (Article 72), and it lays down the fundamental principles governing family relations in our country. Under the Constitution, children have the right to demand special health care (Article 68. 3) and children deprived of parental care are guaranteed care and support which they obtain from public authorities (Article 72. 2). 2) The Family and Guardianship Code, which implements the fundamental principles enshrined in the Constitution that safeguard the good of the child and guarantee children equal rights, irrespective of whether they were born in or out of wedlock, is the principal legislative act governing family rights. 3) In July 2005, the Parliament of the Republic of Poland passed The Act on Counteracting Domestic Violence which was amended on June 10, 2010. It aims to enhance the protection provided to victims of domestic violence (banning corporal punishment of minors by persons who exercise parental or guardianship authority over them). The Act imposes an obligation on central as well as local government bodies to effect measures to counteract domestic violence, as well as to initiate and promote activities to raise social awareness about the causes and effects of domestic violence (for details: see response to Recommendation no. 2). 4) Polish legislation on sexual exploitation of children is fully consistent with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular its Art. 34, which obligates States Parties to protect the child against all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. Protection against child pornography under Polish law is wider than the one accorded under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. Since 2008, the Polish Criminal Code has been amended several times to enhance the protection of children against sexual violence. These amendments have resulted in the alignment of Polish law with international standards (for more information, please see response to Recommendation no. 2). 5) Article 40 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland prohibits all forms of torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. It also bans corporal punishment. This ban was also enacted through the "Family and Guardianship Code: "Persons exercising parental authority or guardianship over a minor are prohibited from administering corporal punishment" (Article 961 as amended in 2010). 6) Polish law guarantees the primacy of child rearing by his or her own family. The Act on Social Assistance of March 12, 2004 reflects the hierarchy of these values and sets out, respectively, the sequence of measures aimed at preserving the right of the child to be reared by his or her family, namely to receive support from his or her own biological family, then to obtain assistance, if the child cannot remain with his or her own family and – as a last resort measure – to be placed in residential child care facilities. 7) Contacts with a child were the subject of an amendment of the Family and Guardianship Code in 2008, whose aim was to facilitate such contacts. Under the amendment, maintaining contacts with a child is a right of a child and and, at the same time, an obligation of his parents. This regulation corresponds to Article 9.3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provides that a child has a right to maintain regular personal and direct contacts with both parents, except for cases, when it is against the best interest of the child. The amendment also incorporates Article 10 of the Convention, which provides that a child whose parents reside in different countries shall have the right to maintain regular (save for exceptional cases) personal relations and direct contacts with both parents. This Amendment also corresponds to the substance of the Council of Europe Convention on Contact concerning Children. 8) Pursuant to Article 91 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, international agreements that contain a definition of human trafficking, including primarily the Palermo Protocol and the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, are directly applicable by Polish judicial authorities. 9) Under the amended Act on General Obligation to Defend the Republic of Poland and the amended Act on Alternative Military Service, only persons over 18 years old may be called upon to perform obligatory or volunteer basic military service. 2. While noting the measures taken by Poland to address the continuing occurrence of violence against children, recommended that measures be taken by the Government to ensure the sufficient legal protection of the freedom of children from physical or mental violence (Sweden) On June 10, 2010, The Act on Counteracting Domestic Violence and some other Acts were amended. The amendments were intended to ensure: 1) the development of domestic violence prevention measures, 2) increasing the effectiveness of protection accorded to victims of domestic violence, esp children, 3) the creation of mechanisms facilitating isolating offenders from their victims, 4) change of the attitude of persons resorting to domestic violence by subjecting them to corrective and educational interactions. The Act amends the Family and Guardianship Code by banning corporate punishment and all forms of reprimand inflicting mental suffering on children that violates their dignity; the Criminal Code by requiring domestic violence offenders to participate in corrective and educational programmes, with or without their consent, and imposing new penal and probation measures: the restraining order and the order to leave the premises occupied jointly with the victim; and the Code of Criminal Procedure, by extending the catalogue of preventive measures to include a restraining order and an order to leave premises enforced under the civil law procedure, apart from criminal proceedings. In addition, the Act requires local authorities to develop local programs to counteract domestic violence and to effect preventive measures (including setting up interdisciplinary groups). Pursuant to the Act, social workers were granted the right to take a child away from his or her family in the event that his or her life or health is at risk due to acts of violence. On June 8, 2010, amendments to the Criminal Code and other acts went into effect introducing more effective measures to counteract paedophilia in the Internet. The purpose of the Act was to introduce harsher penalties for perpetrators of sex offences against children below the age of 15. The objective of the Criminal Code amendment was to align Polish law with the requirements of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and was dictated not only by the planned ratification of the Convention, but primarily by the need to guarantee effective action against sexual offences against minors. The amendment also ensured greater effectiveness of measures undertaken towards the perpetrators of such crimes, by subjecting them to therapy that tones down criminal sexual behaviour in the form of obligatory placement of a sentenced offender in a centre running pharmacological therapy or psychotherapy. 3. Encouraged Poland to continue its efforts to ensure compliance of its domestic legislation with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, specifically with regard to juvenile justice (Mexico) Polish law is compatible with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including those concerning juvenile justice. However, the concept of "criminal responsibility of juveniles" does not exist in the Polish legal system. The law on proceedings involving juveniles stipulates that courts competent in family matters may apply reformative measures to juveniles aged 13 to 17 who commit a punishable offense and educational measures to juveniles under 17 who display symptoms of demoralization. All these measures are meant to help parents bring up their children and prevent their demoralization. Further Information CRIN extracted all mentions of children's rights from Poland's UPR, including references in the pre-review reports submitted by the government, UN bodies, and also NGOs / NRHis. This report also details all the children's rights recommendations accepted and rejected by Poland. The page includes children's rights extract reports for all States reviewed to date, CRIN's "Status of Children's Rights in the UPR" report, and much more information on the UPR process and how can NGOs can engage with it. Including practical tips on reporting and lobbying, as well as follow-up methods. The guide is based on the findings of a comprehensive survey of experiences shared by NGOs, NHRIs, Ombudspersons, academic bodies, and so on.
What is a mid-term report?
Implementation progress on accepted recommendations