Warsaw, 3 March 2006


The Honourable
Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland


OPEN LETTER


Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

It is with great concern that we note the news coming in from Strasbourg, according to which Poland – in the Art. 52 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) procedure initiated on 21 November 2005 by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr. Terry Davis, in connection with the reports alleging that certain States – Parties to the ECHR were involved in the unlawful detention of individuals suspected of terrorism and their transport across their territory by or on the initiative of foreign secret service agencies – has not presented a sufficiently complete report. In the opinion of the Secretary General the report received from Poland is “disappointing” and even “with the best of will it cannot be qualified as adequate in terms of the inquiry”.

As part of this procedure representatives of all countries, including Poland, were asked four specific and important questions requiring unconditionally truthful and precise explanations providing assurance that in this context the ECHR is effectively applied in the internal laws and practice. Under Art. 52 of the ECHR procedure it is necessary to establish real cooperation between governments and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, which may not be under any circumstances limited exclusively to general and formal replies.

The subject of this procedure, similarly to the investigations carried out at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe by the Swiss senator, Mr. Dick Marty, raises new issues of great significance for the effectiveness of safeguards of the fundamental rights guaranteed in the ECHR and their observance in any situation by all Council of Europe states, without exceptions.

The case of the “secret prisons” shows the undeniable necessity of holding a serious international debate on the type and limits of the States’ obligations in such situations, resulting from the requirement bestowed on them to effectively observe the rights guaranteed in the ECHR. Based on this, the State must ensure that nothing will happen under its jurisdiction (also within its airspace) that could in any way jeopardize these rights, even if the government is not directly involved in such activities. To this extent the government is responsible for everything that it had or should have had knowledge about. It must react appropriately and actively prevent all infringements, even if their perpetrators worked for a foreign secret service agency. Additional safeguards and guarantees, including international ones, as well as the extent of specific expectations from countries in an aim to reinforce them, should be the subject of further considerations and steps taken by the Council of Europe states to ensure that there is no weakening of the European standards in this area.

However, the important and essential introduction to this debate consists firstly, of the procedures taking place in the Council of Europe, and secondly, of the full cooperation of States, in accordance with the conditions and obligations resulting from membership in this organization and the commitments arising from the ECHR.

It is understandable that a given State may have certain difficulties associated with the delivery of information to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, since some of this information – if it were to be sufficiently detailed and substantiated – is probably treated by the State as confidential or secret. Each country however is obliged to find – if necessary in cooperation with the Council of Europe – an appropriate solution to this problem, while at the same time ensuring the effectiveness of the investigative procedures of the Council of Europe and safeguarding the interest of national security.

We address you, Mr. Prime Minister, to make certain that the Polish government provides the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, in the appropriate manner, with all the information required by and pertinent to the Art. 52 of the ECHR procedure, and that Poland actively participates in the essential work to clear the allegations of unlawful detention of individuals suspected of terrorism and their transport across the territories by or on the initiative of foreign secret service agencies, as well as to develop firm standards in this area for the future.

With the highest regards,


On behalf of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights


Marek Antoni Nowicki
President of the HFHR Board



Information to:

Mr. Terry Davis
Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Mr. Stefan Meller
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland