A/HRC/41/33/Add.2 Labour Market Institutions; the Act on Mental Health Protection; the Act on Family Planning, Protection of the Foetus and Conditions for the Admissibility of Abortion; the Act on Social Assistance; the Act on the Education System; and the Act on Health-Care Services. 9. At present, Poland does not have a national strategy or plan for gender equality and women’s empowerment. The evaluation of the former National Action Plan for Equal Treatment (2013–2016) has still not been published. The absence, after more than two years, of a new plan with the appropriate accompanying budget allocations is indicative of the current lack of focus on gender equality. 10. Conversely, the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2018–2021, which builds on the country’s long-standing support for an international woman, peace and security agenda, was adopted in October 2018. Among other things, it aims to strengthen the position of women in uniformed services, increase the number of women heads of diplomatic missions and those serving abroad, provide training for mission staff on women’s rights and support victims of conflict-related violence who may apply for international protection in Poland. C. Institutional framework 11. Poland does not have a dedicated institution focusing on women’s empowerment and gender equality. Rather, the Government Plenipotentiary for Civil Society and Equal Treatment is responsible for promoting and enhancing equal treatment. The institution has undergone various structural changes, and equality issues are currently delegated to a small unit with a small budget. Moreover, there is no separate budget for activities to promote gender equality. The Government Plenipotentiary informed the experts that gender equality was only a narrow aspect of its work and that its mandate did not cover issues related to abortion and homosexuality. The Working Group notes the assessment by the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women that Poland has failed to implement the Committee’s recommendation on strengthening the mandate and authority of the Government Plenipotentiary for Civil Society and Equal Treatment. 3 12. Plenipotentiaries for equal treatment in voivodeship (regions) and coordinators for gender equality in ministries are officially in place, but, according to some interlocutors, they are not active in practice, their expertise varies, and their coordination should be improved. 13. The Commissioner for Human Rights, as a long-standing independent human rights institution, is the designated equal treatment body pursuant to the 2010 Act on Equal Treatment, together with the Government Plenipotentiary for Civil Society and Equal Treatment. In 2015, the Deputy Human Rights Commissioner for Equal Treatment was appointed and the Equal Treatment Team established. The Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights has been very active in promoting and protecting women’s rights and has gained international recognition. However, it is confronted with serious challenges of inadequate resources, as well as insufficient cooperation from some relevant governmental bodies. Moreover, it is facing increasing attacks, including by some politicians, which is of serious concern. 14. Some local authorities have developed their own models for equal treatment. Of particular note is the model in Gdańsk, which includes the grounds of sex, age, ethnic and national origin, religion or worldview, disability and sexual orientation and was developed through a broad consultation process. The Working Group considers this model to be a good practice that could be replicated by other municipalities and is concerned that it has been challenged by the regional governor. Local governments are also increasing funding 3 4 Letter of the Rapporteur on follow-up of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women dated 13 April 2018, available at https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CEDAW/Shared%20Documents/POL/INT_CEDAW_FUL_POL _30901_E.pdf.