UN recommendations 'have no grounds in international law': Foreign Ministry
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
05.11.2016 15:13
Recommendations by UN Human Rights Committee regarding the issue of abortion in Poland have no basis in international law, a memo by the country's foreign ministry has said.
![Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Warsaw. Photo: Gnesener1900 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://external.polskieradio.pl/files/f64946bc-526a-43a8-b80f-f6a431c144fc.file "Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Warsaw. Photo: Gnesener1900 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons")
Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Warsaw. Photo: Gnesener1900 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The recommendations by the international Committee published on Friday expressed concern “about significant procedural and practical obstacles faced by women to access safe legal abortion, which prompt women to travel long distances or abroad to access safe legal abortion.”
The Polish ministry memo, which was obtained by the PAP news agency read: “In the course of dialogue, Poland provided exhaustive answers on all the issues which raised doubts in the Committee. We are disappointed that, despite extensive explanations and in-depth dialogue with the Polish delegation, the information was not understood by the Committee.”
The UN recommendations were in reply to an earlier Polish government report on the state of compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which Poland is a signatory.
In its observations, the Committee expressed concern, among other issues, over the dispute over the Constitutional Tribunal, respecting freedom of expression in public media and migration policies.(rg)