A/HRC/43/50/Add.3 fulfillment of public benefit tasks. FIO since the beginning was administered by the Government and the only change is transfer of the fund management to different governmental body. The local governments distribute substantial public funds for NonGovernmental Organizations. 102. There is not any “new body attached to the prime minister's office” in order to change or centralize distribution of European Union grants or the EEA and Norway Grants for NonGovernmental Organizations. 103. Since the entry into force of the Act on the National Institute of Freedom - Centre for the Development of Civil Society there is no evidence of funding denial for civil society organizations that challenge government policy. The Act does not change anything in the procedures applied to public funds distribution in the Act on Public Benefit and Volunteer Work of 2003. The National Institute of Freedom is obliged fully operate in accordance with all the regulations of the Act on Public Benefit and Volunteer Work regarding the procedure of open competition used so far for several years. 104. The Act on the National Institute of Freedom - Centre for the Development of Civil Society does not imply any exclusion but on the opposite, it ensures mutual respect, state neutrality and pluralism so essential to Polish historical identity. The National Institute of Freedom regulations provide equal access to public funds, assuring non-discriminatory criteria for found distribution. These criteria likewise all the programs implemented by the National Institute of Freedom are set in co-operation with representative and pluralistic spectrum of the non–governmental sector. 105. The Chairman of the Committee for Public Benefit becomes the administrator of the Civil Society Support and Development Fund, created on 1 April 2017 under the Act of 15 December 2016 amending the Act on Gambling Games and certain other Acts. The new created fund's revenue is 4% of the proceeds from the game subsidies. The Civil Society Support and Development Fund is used to implement support and development programs run by the National Institute of Freedom. Ad Part IV Conclusions and recommendations 106. Final report of the Special Rapporteur in many instances does not take into account the extensive documents provided (Answers to additional questions of the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights with attachments 1. Information of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage on the Strategy and Changes Planned in the area of Culture and national heritage of 11 October 2016, 2. Expenditure on culture 2013-2019) which had been sent to her (upon her request) after the initial version of the report was drafted. The Special Rapporteur also repeats false information regarding the circumstances of the failed meeting with Prime Minister P. Gliński despite his letter of 23 January 2019, in which he explained that he was unable to meet on the proposed date due to lack of prior notification and insufficient time to adjust a schedule which is prepared many days in advance. Prime Minister P. Gliński expressed his readiness to meet and invited the Special Rapporteur to Poland. 107. Ministry of Culture’s manifold actions already provide systemic support for persons with disabilities to access culture. There is still an array of actions to be taken on the local government level, so who should invite the Special Rapporteur to Poland and for what purpose? 108. The recommendation regarding artistic independence of directors of cultural institutions: Special Rapporteur’s charges regarding independence of the directors of cultural institutions are vague and non-specific, which had been explained in the Ministry of Culture’s comments to the respective paragraphs of the report. Directors of cultural institutions enjoy their autonomy in running the institutions; their artistic and scientific freedom is not a problem in Poland; 109. The recommendation to abolish “prior-censorship”: the charges of censorship, selfcensorship or “prior-censorship” are formulated by the Special Rapporteur in a general 20

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