Poland and the Uncertainty for the LGBT Community

By: Konrad Starostka

The United States is not the only country with a divisive election that the world has been observing. Poland’s election was originally postponed because of the coronavirus[1], but Poland recently had its election between the previous president, Andrzej Duda of the Law and Justice Party (PiS), and Rafał Traszkowski of the Civic Platform party (PO).[2] PiS is about nationalism and social conservatism while PO is more liberal economically and “moderately conservative” socially.[3] In essence, PiS is right-wing while PO leans to the left, which is problematic for marginalized groups in Poland.

The result of the election was the “closest contest since the fall of communism in 1989” – Duda acquired 51.03% of the vote and Traszkowski acquired 48.97%.[4] Because of this slim victory, Polish voters and rights groups filed legal challenges to the Supreme Court to challenge the validity of the election.[5] This challenge was futile as the court upheld the results of the election because even though the “allegations were justified,” the violations did not affect the results of the election.[6] However, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) did have contentions with the media and its “biased coverage.”[7]

Despite all this, the results stand, and Poland now has a very conservative president that denounces any dangerous ideologies.[8] The problem is that the “dangerous ideological offensives” that he has referred to encompasses many things, including migrants, elites, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.[9] One such issue that occurred was Poland’s suppression of LGBT activists, which has become worse.[10] Last year, regional party officials pushed to have cities declare themselves as “LGBT free,” which PiS and its supporters encouraged.[11] More recently, Poland has again suppressed LGBT activists using the force of law.[12] The police arrested protestors linked to hanging rainbow flags on statutes in Warsaw.[13]

Poland’s constitution has protections for every citizen. The Constitution under Chapter II states that:

The inherent and inalienable dignity of the person shall constitute a source of freedoms and rights of persons and citizens. It shall be inviolable. The respect and protection thereof shall be the obligation of public authorities.

***

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.[14]

This Constitution should properly afford protection equally to all of its citizens. It clearly provides for equality, regardless of gender and equality, for all. Unfortunately, Poland’s government has been apprehensive towards anything related to the LGBT community. There are some within the government that support the LGBT community. The most outright, recently, was Robert Biedron who was the first openly gay politician and serves as a member of the European Parliament while advocating for the LGBT community in Poland.[15] Moreover, PiS’s opposition gained a lot of attention when a group of Polish officials who opposed Duda publicly wore rainbow masks and bright colors arranged in the rainbow flag to show their support for the LGBT community on the day of Duda’s inauguration.[16] Socially, Poland is regressing; however, there is a silver lining based on the support of the Poland’s officials. The suppression of the LGBT community is reminiscent of Poland during communism, so it is ironic that President Duda calls “LGBT ideology” worse than communism.[17]

The future for Poland is uncertain based on its history under PiS and what is likely to come. Based on one source, Poland ranks as the worst country in the European Union for the LGBT community.[18] This ranking is based on “how the laws and policies of each country impact” the LGBT community.[19] Partly because of this uncertainty with the re-election of Duda, many Poles in the LGBT community felt like they had to leave to places like Spain where same sex marriage is legal.[20] Moving forward, Duda will be president for five years, as the Constitution states.[21] Luckily, this is his second and final term.[22] Yet, five years under an overt opposition to LGBT communities is a long time.

There is no solution for the election that already took place. However, moving forward Poland’s officials can continue to show their support for the LGBT community. Through this avenue Poland’s LGBT movement will gain enough traction – as it did under PO – to make Poland better for the LGBT community. There is also pressure on the rest of the world to publicly denounce this anti-LGBT rhetoric. The Human Rights Watch actively opposes what Poland has been doing to LGBT communities.[23] One final option is for the European Union to crackdown on Poland’s LGBT treatment. Poland is a member of the European Union, and the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights explicitly states that: “Any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation shall be prohibited.”[24] Poland has opposed the European Union on LGBT issues, but at the current rate there is a need for stronger support of the LGBT community.[25]

#Poland #Starostka #LGBT #Election #International #Duda

[1] Joanna Berendt and Marc Santora, Pandemic Forces Poland to Delay Presidential Election, New York Times (May 11, 2020), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/world/europe/poland-presidential-election-coronavirus.html.

[2] Adam Easton, Duda vs Trzaskowski: The Fight for Poland’s Future, BBC News (July 11, 2020), https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53339992.

[3] Monika Prończuk, A short guide to the Polish political scene, Notes from Poland (Nov. 13, 2019), https://notesfrompoland.com/2019/11/13/a-short-guide-to-the-polish-political-scene/.

[4] Monika Prończuk, Poland’s Supreme Court Declares Presidential Election Valid, New York Times (Aug. 3, 2020), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/world/europe/poland-court-presidential-election.html.

[5] Marc Santora, Opposition Challenges Poland’s Presidential Election Results, New York Times (July 16, 2020), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/world/europe/poland-election.html.

[6] Poland’s top court rejects opposition claims of irregularities in July’s presidential election, Euronews (Aug. 2, 2020), https://www.euronews.com/2020/08/03/poland-s-supreme-court-to-rule-on-validity-of-july-presidential-election.

[7] Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Republic of Poland – Presidential Election, Second Round, 12 July 2020, https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/9/e/457210_0.pdf.

[8] Gregor Gowans, Kaczyński Calls on PiS Faithful to Win Over Wrocław, Wrocław Uncut (Sept. 16, 2019), https://wroclawuncut.com/2019/09/16/kaczynski-calls-on-pis-faithful-to-win-over-wroclaw/.

[9] Dariusz Kalan, A Tale of Two Poland’s, Foreign Policy (Oct. 11, 2019), https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/11/pis-centuries-old-divides-polands-east-west-elections/.

[10] Poland: Crackdown on LGBT Activists, Human Rights Watch (Aug. 7, 2020), https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/08/07/poland-crackdown-lgbt-activists.

[11] Rick Noack, Polish towns advocate ‘LGBT-free’ zones while the ruling party cheers them on, The Washington Post (July 21, 2019), https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/polands-right-wing-ruling-party-has-found-a-new-targetlgbt-ideology/2019/07/19/775f25c6-a4ad-11e9-a767-d7ab84aef3e9_story.html?noredirect=on.

[12] Danielle Christie and Rachel Savage, Timeline: How LGBT+ issues became a flashpoint in Poland, Reuters (Aug. 10, 2020), https://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-lgbt-politics-timeline/timeline-how-lgbt-issues-became-a-flashpoint-in-poland-idUSKCN2562GL.

[13] Jan Cienski, Polish police crack down on LGBTQ protestors, Politico (Aug. 5, 2020), https://www.politico.eu/article/polish-police-crack-down-on-lgbtq-protesters/.

[14] Tekst Konstytucji Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej ogłoszono w Dz.U. 1997, NR 78 poz. 483, Art. 30, 32, Rozdział II.

[15]Alex Cooper, Poland's opposition parties tap gay candidate to challenge president, NBC (Jan. 12, 2020), https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/poland-s-opposition-parties-tap-gay-candidate-challenge-president-n1114206; Danielle Christie and Rachel Savage, Timeline: How LGBT+ issues became a flashpoint in Poland, Reuters (Aug. 10, 2020), https://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-lgbt-politics-timeline/timeline-how-lgbt-issues-became-a-flashpoint-in-poland-idUSKCN2562GL.

[16] Josephine Walker, Polish Opposition MPs Wear LGBTW Flag in Protest Against President Duda, The Globe Post (Aug. 6, 2020), https://theglobepost.com/2020/08/06/lgbtq-poland-protest/.

[17] Vanessa Gera, Polish president calls LGBT ‘ideology’ worse than communism, Associated Press (June 13, 2020), https://apnews.com/72fab166f1cfd02794c9add62247960e.

[18] Country Ranking, Rainbow Europe, https://www.rainbow-europe.org/country-ranking#eu.

[19] Id.

[20] Associated Press, Amid growing hostility, some in Poland’s LGBTQ community make a difficult choice: Leave, Los Angeles Times (Aug. 6, 2020), https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-08-06/lgbt-people-poland-choosing-to-leave.

[21] Tekst Konstytucji Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej ogłoszono w Dz.U. 1997, NR 78 poz. 483, Art. 30, 32, Rozdział II.

[22] Id.

[23] Poland: Crackdown on LGBT Activists, Human Rights Watch (Aug. 7, 2020), https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/08/07/poland-crackdown-lgbt-activists.

[24] EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, Title III, Article 21.

[25] Hugo Greenhalgh, Poland threatens to challenge EU funding block in LGBT+ row, Reuters (Aug. 14, 2020), https://www.reuters.com/article/poland-lgbt-europe/poland-threatens-to-challenge-eu-funding-block-in-lgbt-row-idUSL8N2FG3IA.