A/HRC/36/14 45. Australia was concerned that women in Poland faced difficulties in gaining access to safe and legal abortion. It was also concerned about rising hate speech and hate crimes, including incidents against immigrants. 46. Austria commended the ratification by Poland of the Istanbul Convention but remained concerned about the lack of effective legislation against discrimination and hate crimes. 47. Bangladesh appreciated initiatives to combat discrimination against women and the sexual exploitation of children and to enhance women’s participation in political and public life, and commended institutional changes in relation to the equality of treatment. 48. Belarus appreciated the improvement of the methodology to identify the victims of human trafficking but shared the concern of UNHCR regarding a sharp increase in xenophobic and discriminatory attitudes towards asylum seekers. 49. Belgium acknowledged the positive measures taken to implement previous recommendations, while noting a room for progress. It mentioned concerns raised within the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance regarding a draft law concerning the memory of the Holocaust. 50. Bosnia and Herzegovina noted the activities regarding children’s rights, including the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. 51. Botswana appreciated the ratification by Poland of several international conventions but was concerned about the continued prevalence of racial discrimination targeting persons of African, Arab or Asian descent, including refugees and asylum seekers. 52. Brazil was concerned about the counter-terrorism law that might affect the right to privacy. It welcomed the efforts towards poverty reduction among children and inquired about re-establishment of an institution to prevent racial discrimination and xenophobia. 53. The delegation of Poland emphasized that Polish law observed the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary. The National Judicial Council was not part of the judiciary and did not deal with individual cases. Furthermore, it was not a disciplinary body and did not decide on any accountability or sanctions against judges. It was a body that proposed to the President the candidates for judges. The draft law on the National Council of Judiciary did not change the power of the Council. 54. Regarding children, the Ombudsman for Children’s Rights was a constitutional body; a unique act of parliament had been passed on the treatment of children; criminal penalties were not applied to them; family courts could only adopt measures to influence their behaviour; and in 2012 Poland had amended the Family and Guardianship Code to prohibit corporal punishment within the family. 55. Freedom of expression was guaranteed in the Constitution, and the European Court of Human Rights had not identified violations of freedom of expression as systemic problems in Poland. The Government relied on a 2006 judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal that had invoked, inter alia, article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and had stated that the criminal accountability for defamation was an indispensable measure for the protection of the honour and good name of other people. 56. The Government had taken extensive steps to reduce the length of court proceedings, including by introducing a “managerial manner” that included training judges, reforming court procedures and passing an act on complaints against undue delays of court proceedings. 57. Concerning the legal protection granted to vulnerable groups, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons and persons with disabilities, anti-discrimination provisions should be considered as a system. Relevant provisions in the Civil Code guaranteed broad protection of personal goods. Provisions to protect such groups were contained in the Criminal Code and other regulations, as well as in the Act implementing certain European Union legislation on equal treatment. 6