Council of Europe: Human rights in Poland under threat

"Recent changes to Poland's legal and institutional framework threaten human rights and undermine the rule of law," Nils Muižnieks, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement accompanying a report which follows his February visit to Warsaw. The commissioner's report touches on issues such as the judicial system, media freedom, women's rights and gender equality. Nils Muižnieks was particularly concerned by the "prolonged paralysis" of the constitutional court, reducing of the budget for Regional Operational Programmes (RPO), extending the powers for services, and the media issue. The Commissioner for Human Rights stated that Poland's lawmakers and the government should urgently change course.