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On 26 September 2007 the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided to hold the ‘European Day against the Death Penalty’ every year on 10 October. However, the Day is not an official EU holiday. An international conference against the death penalty was held on Tuesday 9 October in Lisbon (Portugal) by the Council of Europe, the Portuguese presidency of the European Union and the European Commission. (11-OCT-07)

On 21 September, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MSZ) informed that Republic of Poland had refused to grant consent for OSCE/ODHIR observers to come to the Parliamentary elections that are scheduled for 21 October 2007. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anna Fotyga, assessed on that occasion that the note submitted to Republic of Poland regarding the observers’ arrival is an “inappropriate document”. As she emphasized, “Poland is a country with a stable democracy”. The OSCE itself considered the refusal as unprecedented. (04-OTC-07)

In March 2007, the European Court of Human Rights acknowledged the legitimacy of the complaint lodged by Alicja Tysiac against the refusal to perform an abortion and awarded her 25 thousand Euros compensation. In June, the Polish government appealed the verdict and called for renewed consideration of the complaint. The Court in Strasbourg dismissed the appeal and upheld the compensation awarded in March. (26-SEP-07)
 

Having Poland’s veto in prospect, Portugal, which heads the EU, has abandoned plans to establish the European Day Against the Death Penalty on 10 October. The decision regarding the Day was supposed to be taken during the session of the EU Justice Council on 18 September 2007. The item was taken off the agenda at the last moment. The Portuguese side decided that a confrontation between Republic of Poland and the remaining 26 EU countries is pointless. (20-SEP-07)
 

The ´Prom´ Foundation of Educators and Youth, the Association of Young Journalists POLIS and the Viridarium Polish Students Group against Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia – one of the member organisations of the Human Rights House in Warsaw – are the authors of the educational project ´Warsaw Diversified: Youth Program aimed at Accepting Differences´ [´Warszawa Roznolita: Mlodziezowy program akceptacji roznic´]. (14-SEP-07)
 

Republic of Poland, as the only European Union country, opposes the establishment of the Day Against the Death Penalty. Information about Poland’s position has been reported by diplomatic sources in Brussels. The idea of establishing this day was put forward by the European Commission. (08-SEP-07)

During the current school year in the Republic of Poland, the grade point average of a student participating in religion classes will include the grade from this subject. About 10% (according to the Roman Catholic Church 90% of all students from above elementary school level attend these classes) of students, e.g. grammar school students, will not have the opportunity to change (improve) their grade point average due to the lack of an alternative (e.g. ethics classes). (31-AUG-07)

Poles are now seeking help in Strasbourg in nearly every domain. As regards the number of cases, we are in second place, just behind the Russian Federation. Citizens most often complain about excessive duration of remand and proceedings that go on for years. In recent years, the number of complaints has risen: from 66 in 2004 to 256 in 2006. (23-AUG-07)
 

Recently, you might have read in the Polish press that the authorities of Denmark, which soon plans to withdraw its troops stationing in Iraq, have brought home around 60 Iraqi interpreters and other workers employed by the Danish armed forces in Iraq, along with their families. Most of these people are to receive refugee status in Denmark. (16-AUG-07)