A/HRC/43/50/Add.3
the scope of its activity and did not relate to artistic or academic activity. This is why not
even the amendment substantiates the opinion expressed by the Special Rapporteur.
Museums and memorial sites fulfil their tasks in full respect for freedom of research and
discussion. After withdrawing the disputed articles 55a and 55b, the amended and final text
of the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance does not contain provisions that could
give rise to any concerns.
40.
With reference to the concerns expressed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur
in the field of cultural rights about the openness of historical debates in the light of the
complaint from voivodeship state officials in Lublin, it should be pointed out that Article 54
of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland guarantees everyone the freedom to express
their opinions, to acquire and to disseminate information. Constitutional provisions have also
secured the right of Polish citizens of different national and ethnic minorities to the freedom
of maintaining and developing their own language, culture and preserving customs and
traditions.
41.
However, it should be noted that in accordance with Article 32 of the Constitution of
the Republic of Poland, everyone is equal before the law. Everyone is entitled to equal
treatment by public authorities. This means that representatives of national and ethnic
minorities, on an equal footing with other citizens of the Republic of Poland, are obliged to
observe the law in force. They are subject to criminal law as well. It is therefore necessary to
make a clear distinction between the right of national and ethnic minorities to cultivate their
own traditions, including the assessment of historical events, and the behavior of individual
representatives of national and ethnic minorities, which must be in compliance with generally
applicable laws.
42.
Notification of the possibility of committing by the President of the Ukrainian Society
in Lublin, during a ceremony in Sahryn, an offence specified in Article 55 of the Act of 18
December 1988 on the Institute of National Remembrance - Commission for the Prosecution
of Crimes Against the Polish Nation (Journal of Laws of 2016, item 1575, as amended) and
the offence specified in Article 133 of the Act of 6 June 1997 - Criminal Code (Journal of
Laws of 2018, item 1600) did not in any case prejudge the fact that the statement exhausted
the features of the prohibited offences referred to in the recently cited criminal provisions.
43.
On the notification of the Lublin Voivode Przemysław Czarnek, the District
Prosecutor's Office in Zamość conducted preparatory proceedings and, by decision of 28
November 2018, discontinued the investigation in the case of public insult of the Republic
of Poland and the Nation in the town of Sahryń Naroń „On the basis of the evidence gathered
in the case, it was concluded that there are no grounds for assuming that public statements of
Grzegorz K. could have insulted the Nation or the Republic of Poland, and thus exhausted
the disposition of Article 133 of the Penal Code ”.
44.
No reasons were given as to why the Special Rapporteur chose these particular topics.
No specific information is available about what the Special Rapporteur learned while in
Poland. Neither do we know whether the Special Rapporteur was shown full record of
research conducted by historians from the Institute of National Remembrance and institutions
taking care of memorial sites.
Ad Part III C Identity and nationalism - paragraph 43
45.
The context is unclear and it can be assumed that the Special Rapporteur is thinking
about government policy that aims at a “monolithic” image of Polish culture. This is not true
because the government cares about the heritage of the multinational Polish Republic - the
best example is the donation by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of 100 million
zlotys to supplement the perpetual capital of the Cultural Heritage Foundation, the proceeds
of which will be used to permanently finance the cleaning and conservation works of the
Jewish Cemetery at Okopowa Street in Warsaw.
46.
The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage also undertakes a number of other
activities in the area of Polish-Jewish relations. In the previous term of office, new museums
have been established (the Warsaw Ghetto Museum, the Ulma Family Museum of Poles
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