Poland in the Council of Europe

“Human rights do not end in times of war. War crimes and other international crimes have a very specific human rights dimension and consequences. The Council of Europe has a particular mandate, but also experience, to act for the reparation of damage and redress for the suffering of individual victims of human rights violations,” Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk said in an opening address at the 14th Warsaw Human Rights Seminar. The event was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Council of Europe.

Held on 24 October 2023 under the auspices of Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić, this year’s conference was devoted to human rights in situations of crisis. Having gathered in Warsaw, numerous representatives of member states and the Secretariat of the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights, the United Nations, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, and Polish and foreign academic institutions, as well as members of the Committee for the European Court of Human Rights pondered the potential conclusions for better protection of human rights to be drawn from pending challenges and crises.

Based on the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic, a proposal was put forward for the states to adopt laws and institutional solutions aimed at ensuring that the extraordinary measures undertaken in crisis situations and affecting human rights comply with the principles of proportionality and necessity. A large part of the talks focused on the situation in Ukraine in connection with the Russian aggression and mass violations of human rights committed during warfare and occupation. Representatives of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine informed about the process of investigating war crimes. A representative of the Register of Damage for Ukraine introduced the proceedings of this new partial agreement of the Council of Europe, which deals with the documenting of human and material losses caused by the Russian aggression.

In his address, Deputy Minister Mularczyk identified five areas in which Poland sees a special role to be played by the Council of Europe. He found it essential that the Council of Europe continue to support the work on the creation of an effective and comprehensive compensation mechanism for Ukraine. He also called on the Council of Europe to establish a new permanent reconciliation mechanism to deal with problems arising from unresolved historical issues and current aspects ensuing from ongoing conflicts. In the current situation, the international community needs the same courage and visionary thinking as that shown by the creators of the international order after World War II, when key peace organisations were established and human rights treaties were adopted. Poland believes that all the specialised committees of the Council of Europe could foster the protection of human rights in the context of armed conflicts. The lessons in human rights from the consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine need to be taken into account in all areas of activity of the Council of Europe, but a broader and more general perspective must be adopted.

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The Warsaw Human Rights Seminar is a human rights event held annually by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with domestic and foreign institutions. The Seminar constitutes an international forum for debate and experience-sharing on subjects related to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. Each event in the series helps disseminate standards of human rights protection and inspires activities that enhance observance of these standards. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs prepares publications based on discussions held at the Seminars.