Poland: Situation of Roma and state protection (January 2005 - February 2006)

General Information

According to official statistics gathered during the General National Census of the Population and Homes in 2002, there were some 12,700 ethnic Roma in Poland (Poland 13 Jan. 2004; Polityka 30 Apr. 2005). Estimates of the number of Polish Roma run from 20,000 (ibid.) or 30,000 (Freedom House 2005) to over 50,000 (PAP 12 Feb. 2004; ibid. 7 Apr. 2004). Polish Roma are mostly found in Tarnow, Olsztyn, Wroclaw, Andrychow, and Ciechanow (ibid. 12 Feb. 2004), with the highest concentrations in Southern Poland (ibid. 7 Apr. 2004).

Discrimination

In September 2002, the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) published a report entitled The Limits of Solidarity: Roma in Poland After 1989 in which it spoke of racially motivated violence, a lack of protection of Roma who were victims of such crimes, police abuse, and discrimination, especially with regard to education, employment, health care, housing, and social welfare (ERRC 16 Sept. 2002). Country Reports 2004 noted that some Roma were subject to discrimination when they sought social assistance (28 Feb. 2005, Sec. 5).

Economic Conditions

In 2 December 2005 correspondence sent to the Research Directorate, a spokesperson for the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) of Poland said that between 2002 and the end of 2005, "the situation of Roma has generally improved," most successfully in the field of education and least in the fight against unemployment. This was corroborated by Country Reports 2004, which stated that unemployment remained disproportionately high among Roma (28 Feb. 2005, Sec. 5). Citing the HFHR, the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia's 2005 annual report stated that there were entire regions of Poland where the unemployment rate of Roma neared 100 per cent (EUMC 2005).

Government Attitudes

The Ministry of Interior and Administration is responsible for the implementation of Roma-related programs (PERRAC 6 Dec. 2005; HFHR 2 Dec. 2005), aided by local governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Romani organizations (ibid.).

Following the country's adoption of its first law on national minorities, the "Common Commission of Government," on which Roma are represented by two seats, was established to secure minorities' rights (PERRAC 6 Dec. 2005). And as of January 2006 there was to be a Roma sub-commission which would include these two members as well as 20 leaders of Romani organizations (ibid.), but information confirming its establishment could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within time constraints. The Website of the Ministry of Economy and Labour defines the Common Commission of Government and Territorial Self-Government as "a consultative and advisory body of the Council of Ministers, which is composed of the representatives of the biggest organisations of territorial self-governments" (Poland n.d.b).

The Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection receives complaints from any Polish citizen who requires assistance in the protection of his rights or feels that these rights have been violated by a State body (Poland n.d.a). Polityka magazine quoted a representative of the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection as stating "'[in 2004], we received 30 complaints from Roma.... We are attempting to assuage tensions, but it is clearly evident that we understand them, but they are not trying to understand us'" (30 Apr. 2005).

In 6 December 2005 correspondence sent to the Research Directorate, the co-chair of the Project on Ethnic Relations Romani Advisory Council (PERRAC) made reference to the Polish Government's 2003 adoption of the "Programme for the Roma Community in Poland" (Country Reports 2004 28 Feb. 2005, Sec. 5; PERRAC 6 Dec. 2005). A comprehensive description of the program can be found on the Website of the Ministry of Interior and Administration (please see the reference section for more details) (Poland Aug. 2003).

The "Programme for the Roma Community in Poland is" a decade-long state-run program with an annual budget of 10 million zlotys [approximately CAN$3,556,000 (Bank of Canada 19 Aug. 2003)] (PERRAC 6 Dec. 2005; PAP 7 Apr. 2004). The program will run from 2004 to 2013, with the possibility of extension (HFHR 2 Dec. 2005). Though the co-chair of PERRAC stated that the program's annual budget has not exceeded 6 million zlotys since its inception (6 Dec. 2005) [for instance, Country Reports 2004 and the Polska Agencja Prasowa (PAP) News Agency said the program's expenditures in 2004 amounted to roughly 5 million zlotys (Country Reports 2004 28 Feb. 2005, Sec. 5; PAP 7 Apr. 2004], he added that thanks to the program, "some positive changes [were] noticeable" by the end of 2005 (PERRAC 6 Dec. 2005). The representative from the HFHR, however, noted that since the educational component of the program was implemented at the beginning of the September 2004 school year, it was "too early to opine on [the program's] results" and research on the success of the program had yet to be conducted (HFHR 2 Dec. 2005).

While the "Programme for the Roma Community in Poland" emphasizes the improvement of the educational situation of Roma as its main priority, it also seeks to improve the quality of life for Polish Roma in other such areas as employment, health (ibid.; PAP 7 Apr. 2004), safety, culture, and Romani-related education (HFHR 2 Dec. 2005). The program's primary focus on education will allow for the provision of additional educational resources, including Roma assistants in community schools (Country Reports 2004 28 Feb. 2005, Sec. 5).

The particularly underprivileged status of Roma in the Voivodeship of Malopolska also encouraged the government – with prompting from NGOs, local self-government, international organizations, and Romani organizations – to create a "Pilot Government Programme for the Roma Community in the Voivodeship of Maloposka in the years 2001-2003" (Poland 13 Jan. 2004).

The Law

The rights of Roma in Poland are enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, which was adopted on 2 April 1997 (ibid. 2 Apr. 1997). The following are excerpts from

the official English translation:

Article 32

All persons shall be equal before the law. All persons shall have the right to equal treatment by public authorities.

No one shall be discriminated against in political, social or economic life for any reason whatsoever.

...

Article 35

The Republic of Poland shall ensure Polish citizens belonging to national or ethnic minorities the freedom to maintain and develop their own language, to maintain customs and traditions, and to develop their own culture.

National and ethnic minorities shall have the right to establish educational and cultural institutions, institutions designed to protect religious identity, as well as to participate in the resolution of matters connected with their cultural identity.

...

Article 233

...

2. Limitation of the freedoms and rights of persons and citizens only by reason of race, gender, language, faith or lack of it, social origin, ancestry or property shall be prohibited (Poland 2 Apr. 1997).

The 6 January 2005 Law on National and Ethnic Minorities and Regional Languages formally recognizes Roma as an ethnic minority, which confers several specific rights (PNB 16 Feb. 2005; see also IHF 2005). For example, one such right, pertaining to language, is spelled out by Article 8 of the Law, which stipulates that ethnic minorities have the right to use their language in both private and public spheres to "disseminate and exchange information" and to "place information of a private nature," as well as to be educated on or in minority languages (PNB 16 Feb. 2005).

Poles of various national, ethnic, racial or religious identities are legally protected from hate crimes by the Polish Criminal Code, which includes the following:

Article 256 punishes the public propagation of fascist or totalitarian systems of state and the incitation to hatred based on national, ethnic, racial or religious differences, while Article 257 punishes the public insult of a group or person because of their national, ethnic, racial, or religious affiliation.

Proposed amendment to Article 256 to include those who, acting with the aim of dissemination – prepare, gather, store, transport, acquire, transfer or send materials propagating fascist or other totalitarian national system or instigate hatred based on national, ethnic, racial or religious differences, or based on lack of religious affiliation.

...

Article 119 punishes the use of violence or threats towards a group of persons or an individual because of their national, ethnic, political or religious affiliation (OSCE Sept. 2005).

Law Enforcement

The police, in particular the Office of the Criminal Service of the National Headquarters of Police, cooperate with the Team for National Minorities to monitor racially motivated offences committed against Roma (Poland 13 Jan. 2004). According to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the government of Poland keeps records and statistics of racially motivated hate crimes, including the number of convictions and their corresponding sentences (ibid.).

In August 2005, the PAP News Agency reported on the arrest of five people accused of two racially motivated assaults against a Romani family in Krakow (10 Aug. 2005). The Association of Roma People in Poland reportedly felt that there was delayed police response to the assaults (PAP 10 Aug. 2005), but further or corroborating information to this effect could not be found within time constraints.

Societal Attitudes

Several sources noted widespread societal racism against Roma in Poland (Freedom House 2005; Polityka 30 Apr. 2005; Country Reports 2004 28 Feb. 2005, Sec. 5). Besides the pervasiveness of societal discrimination against Roma, Country Reports 2004 noted cases of racially motivated violence perpetrated by skinheads against members of the Romani community (ibid.). According to a poll conducted by the Public Opinion Research Centre (CBOS) at the end of 2004, 56 per cent of surveyed Poles held negative views of Roma, the highest percentage of any ethnic group (Polityka 30 Apr. 2005). However, the CBOS also found that 41 per cent of respondents said they agreed that national minorities were entitled to social welfare (PAP 6 May 2005).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Bank of Canada. 19 August 2003. "Currency Conversion Results." [Accessed 15 Dec. 2005]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004. 28 February 2005. "Poland." United States Department of State. [Accessed 8 Dec. 2005]

European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC). 2005. Racism and Xenophobia in the EU Member States: Trends, Developments and Good Practice. Annual Report 2005 – Part 2. [Accessed 16 Dec. 2005]

European Roma Rights Center (ERRC). 7 March 2003. "ERRC Actions on Roma Rights in Poland." [Accessed 7 Mar. 2003]
_____. 16 September 2002. "ERRC Publication Announcement: Report on Roma in Poland." [Accessed 7 Dec. 2005]

Freedom House. 2005. "Poland." Freedom in the World 2005. [Accessed 7 Dec. 2005]

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR), Warsaw. 2 December 2005. Correspondence sent by a representative.

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF). 2005. "Poland." Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2005 (Events of 2004). [Accessed 7 Dec. 2005]

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). September 2005. Combating Hate Crimes in the OSCE Region: An Overview of Statistics, Legislation, and National Initiatives. [Accessed 7 Dec. 2005]

Poland. 13 January 2004. In United Nations (UN). International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR). "Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 40 of the Covenant, Fifth Periodic Report: Poland." [Accessed 7 Dec. 2005]
_____. August 2003. Ministry of Interior and Administration. "Programme for the Roma Community in Poland." [Accessed 14 Dec. 2005]
_____. 2 April 1997. Constitution of the Republic of Poland. (United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) Refworld 2005)
_____. N.d.a. "Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection." [Accessed 16 Dec. 2005]
_____. N.d.b. Ministry of Economy and Labour. "Social Dialogue Institutions By Public Administration Offices." [Accessed 16 Dec. 2005]

Polish News Bulletin (PNB) [Warsaw]. 16 February 2005. The Law on National and Ethnic Minorities and Regional Languages. (Factiva)

Polityka [Warsaw, in Polish]. 30 April 2005. "Poland Enacts New National Minorities Law, Statistics Still Contentious." (Factiva/BBC)

Polska Agencja Prasowa (PAP) News Agency [Warsaw]. 11 August 2005. "Five Face Arrest for Attacks on Roma Family in Southern Poland." (Factiva/BBC)
_____. 8 May 2005. "Poles Say Ethnic Minorities Entitled to Language Classes at Schools – Poll." (Factiva/BBC)
_____. [Warsaw, in Polish]. 7 April 2004. "Disbursal of Subsidies for Polish Government Roma Programme Reduced by Half." (Factiva/BBC)
_____. [Warsaw, in Polish]. 12 February 2004. "Roma Couple Beaten-Up by Polish Skinheads in Southern Town." (Dialog/BBC)

Project on Ethnic Relations Romani Advisory Council (PERRAC). 6 December 2005. Correspondence sent by the co-chair.

Additional Sources Consulted

The Association of Roma in Poland [Oswiecim], the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) [Budapest], and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights [Warsaw] did not respond to requests for information within time constraints.

Internet Sites, including: Amnesty International (AI), The Economist [London], European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI), The European Union (EU), Human Rights Watch (HRW), The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights [Warsaw], The Open Society Institute, World News Connection (WNC).