e-3177 Foreign affairs
Paul Manly
Civil and human rights,Minorities,Poland,Women
March 20, 2021, at 1:55 p.m. (EDT)
Petition to the Government of Canada
  Whereas:
  
    Poland’s government faces international condemnation for threatening and violating human rights of women, LGTBQIA2S+ and ethnic minority constituents;
    In 2019, the United Nations identified an increase in racist and xenophobic “hate crimes and the use of hate speech and incitement to hatred within the political framework in Poland”;
    In 2020, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights memorandum on the stigmatization of LGBTQIA2S+ persons in Poland identified “Anti-LGBT declarations” and “Family Charters” in 94 local government entities, stigmatization by government officials, government funded homophobia, anti-LGTBQIA2S+ litigation and prosecution;
    In January 2021, Poland’s government put a near-total abortion ban into effect, after the country’s illegitimately-constituted constitutional court criminalized terminations for severe foetal impairment;
    Mass protests have erupted in Poland against the abortion ban and ongoing threats against LGBTQIA2S+ people, calling for democracy, inclusive governance, equality, diversity and respect for human rights; and
    Police have used excessive force against peaceful protesters including tear gas, pepper spray, metal batons, unlawful detainment and arrests, while far-right groups have violently attacked protesters.
  
  
    We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to urgently:
    
    1. Condemn stigmatization, violence and prosecution against women, ethnic minorities, and LGBTQIA2S+ persons in Poland;
    2. Raise the matter of human rights in Poland at the ministerial level;
    3. Call on Poland’s government to uphold its obligations under international human rights law and conventions;
    4. Engage bilaterally and multilaterally, including through the Equal Rights Coalition, to protect human rights in Poland; and
    5. Support civil-society groups defending human rights in Poland, including through Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy.