The issue of the lack of reparations by Germany for Poland after World War II, compensation and legal proceedings for individuals, the lack of effective restitution for Poland and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe will be raised in all possible international fora posed. The UN, the Council of Europe and the US Congress are of crucial importance to us, and in the future to the EU, Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk told PAP.
“We will act consistently”
Germany should finally start thinking about how to solve this problem. We will act consistently. We will raise the issue in the forum of the Council of Europe, the UN, the US Congress and international organizations, and in the future also the forum of the European Union
– he said.
He added that the Polish authorities are actively conducting an informational, diplomatic and political campaign on this issue.
We sent more than 50 diplomatic notes to the countries of the EU, the Council of Europe and NATO, reporting on war losses. We can therefore assume that the ministries of foreign affairs of European countries, as well as the US and Canada, are aware of these matters. In addition, I have taken a number of actions at the international forum in recent weeks and months. I have submitted a draft resolution to the Council of Europe in which we propose to examine the issue of asymmetry in the treatment of civilian victims of the Second World War and the lack of justice for these victims in the context of violations of the European Convention on Rights from the human
– he said.
“Council of Europe resolutions are ‘soft law’”
As he added, it concerns the articles of this treaty on equal treatment, human dignity and the right to a fair trial. At the meeting of the Bureau of the Council of Europe in The Hague, the draft was referred for further consideration in the Legal Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe. Mularczyk expects that work will be done on this issue in the coming months and that a landmark report by the Council of Europe on the matter will subsequently be prepared.
If achieved, it will be a serious document of an international nature, analyzing the issue of the lack of compensation for civilian victims, namely whether there was post-World War II discrimination against some World War II victims, in particular those from Central and Eastern Europe by violating their dignity, their right to a fair trial and by violating discrimination and unequal treatment
– he said.
The resolutions of the Council of Europe are “soft law”, which are a kind of guidelines for the countries they concern. If this resolution shows a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, it could have a number of different international implications. It concerns the issue of possible lawsuits before the ECtHR, but also international pressure on the country in question. Such a country can be controlled by the Council of Europe
– added.
As he recalled, he also held a number of international meetings on reparations.
I visited Athens, Rome, Belgrade, but also several other capitals and met ambassadors from many countries. We have informed all Council of Europe delegations about this issue and the resolution. I believe that the matter will continue to be dealt with in the Council of Europe, although it may be very annoying not only for the Germans, but perhaps also for several other countries
he pointed it out.
Mularczyk held reparation talks at the United Nations in New York and Geneva.
We have briefed key UN representatives on the issue. In New York I met UN Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris, UN Deputy Chief for the Council of Europe Miroslav Jenca and UN SG Deputy Dicarlo Rosemary and Melissa Fleming, and in Geneva with UN Human Rights Council President Vaclav Balek and UN Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk
– he said.
“It’s becoming more and more public.”
As he added, he also addressed an intervention to UNESCO Secretary General Audrey Azoulay over Germany’s lack of proper return of cultural properties.
We will also prepare further activities in other international organizations. We took action in the US Congress and Senate, where I had a series of meetings with congressmen to educate them on this issue and solicit their support. I also met with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Dereck Hogan at the US State Department, who assured me that the State Department would carefully review the war loss report. I have also appealed to the Polish-American Congress for support and I know that this support will be provided in the form of activities in the US. The case is becoming more and more famous in Europe, but also in the world
– he said.
This is important because Germany is currently seeking to join the enlarged UN Security Council. Everyone at the UN should therefore know that Germany is evading compensation talks and has unpaid debts to Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries. They therefore have no moral mandate to hold such honorable positions
– he said.
kk/PAP
Source: wPolityce