The fear of refugees helped the Law and Justice to win the parliamentary elections of 2015. At that time, the party used to expressly promote its anti-immigration philosophy, which was soon reflected by the growing ratio of assaults on the grounds of racism and xenophobia.
The last five years have been a period of rapid changes on the political scene in Poland – in 2015, presidential and parliamentary elections were held, and the election campaigns often referred to the dangers of immigration, aroused fears of refugees or Islamists, and appealed to anti-Semitic and anti-Ukrainian sentiments. At the same time, Europe faced the challenge of receiving and integrating large groups of immigrants and refugees from Africa and the Middle East. Although this process was not visible in Poland, it became a subject of lively public debate, accompanied by real government action in this field.
Over 70 instances of hate crimes on racist, homophobic, anti-semitic, xenophobicand other grounds. This grim record is a result of Open Dialogue’s latest investigation into hate crimes in Poland. The report covers the period stretching from January to December 2019, and complements the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) annual reporting on “hate incidents” across the OSCE area. Most alarmingly, the report reveals a hate crime-conducive environment with the authorities turning a blind eye, or – worst still – being complicit in endorsing and spreading intolerance, stigmatisation, discrimination or even incitement to violence.
On 22 November 2019, Foundation representatives took part in the workshop ‘Addressing Intolerant Discourse, Hate Speech and Hate Crimes in the Visegrád Group’ in Prague. The aim of the meeting was to exchange experiences and views regarding combating hate speech in the countries of the Visegrád Group.
Due to the intensification of attacks on judges and prosecutors belonging to the Association of Polish Independent Prosecutors, Lex Super Omnia, we held a discussion on their current situation on 26 September 2019.
Judges Waldemar Żurek, Piotr Gąciarek and Dariusz Mazur, as well as prosecutor Krzysztof Parchimowicz, will participate in the event hosted by the Open Dialogue Foundation on 26 September, 2019, as part of OSCE’s conference on human rights.
During the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, ODF will be in Warsaw with a delegation of human rights defenders and activists. The first event will take place on Wednesday 18 at 8:15 in Meeting Room 1.
According to the analysis of the Ministry of Justice, in the first half of 2018, 890 cases of hate crimes were reported to Polish law enforcement agencies. Unfortunately, not all criminal acts motivated by racial, xenophobic, homophobic hatred, etc., are reported to law enforcement authorities.
On 8 May 2019 in Warsaw, we held a debate on the politics of hate and attacks in the public sphere in Poland. The attendance success of the event exceeded our expectations — the audience, including media representatives, numbered around 100 people, leaving the 50-seat hall bursting at the seams. We apologise most sincerely for […]
The event titled “The Politics of Hate and Harassment in the Public Sphere – How to Counter Them?” was held on 8 May this year at the Wilcza Conference Centre in Warsaw. The debate, which was organised and hosted by the Open Dialogue Foundation, attracted a sizable turnout, including about 90 people in the audience, […]
Watch our event online with Public Television Network Video-KOD. We invite all those who will not be able to meet us and our guests in person at the Wilcza Conference Centre to participate in the debate online. The broadcast will be available on 8 May from 17:40 on the FB channel Video-KOD at the link […]
The ODF statement of 14 August 2017 concerning the safety of its workers and donors
An extensive interview with Lyudmyla Kozlovska was released on 11 August this year. In this interview, the ODF President explained the rationale behind the Foundation’s statement on the current situation in Poland
In the published article, B.Kramek expressly emphasised the need to maintain the PEACEFUL nature of the protest actions. We agree that the presented postulates may be perceived as far-reaching and controversial, but the basic premise is articulated directly: LET’S ACT VERY DECISIVELY, BUT WITH NO…
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