Rights watchdog criticizes Polish leaders' rhetoric on gays

Rights watchdog criticizes Polish leaders' rhetoric on gays

Hammarberg was in the Polish capital to present a report on Poland's human rights performance to Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and to encourage Warsaw to do more on a number of issues, including overcrowded prisons and slow legal procedures.

"We feel that there is a problem of homophobia in several countries of Europe, including Poland, that one has to avoid statements, in particular from leading politicians that may be interpreted as justifying homophobic actions or opinions" Hammarberg said. "Because this is a minority which is under quite some pressure."

Poland's Education Minister Roman Giertych and members of his ministry are preparing a new law that would ban what they call "homosexual propaganda" in schools in order to protect traditional family values. Giertych is from the right-wing Roman Catholic League of Polish Families, which militantly opposes gay rights and abortion. His party supports the government led by Kaczynski's socially conservative Law and Justice party.

Kaczynski said in April that he backed the legislation. "It's not in the interest of any society to increase the number of homosexuals — that's obvious," he said at the time.

Kaczynski's twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski, refused to grant parade permits for gay rights marches while he served as mayor of Warsaw, although gatherings were held in defiance of those bans.

The rhetoric of Polish leaders on homosexuality has at times "been below the standards that we should have," Hammarberg said. "Leading politicians should really take responsibility to avoid that such discriminatory attitudes spread."