UN Slams Poland Over Reports Of Mistreatment Of Rights Defenders At COP24

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2018) United Nations experts condemned the Polish authorities on Thursday over reports that several human right defenders have faced mistreatment by Warsaw at the 24th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24).

COP24 is taking place on December 2-14 in the Polish city of Katowice.

"UN human rights experts have expressed concerns at reports that several human rights defenders have been harassed, arbitrarily detained and questioned for several hours by the Polish authorities ... We are dismayed at the actions taken by the authorities to prevent free and unfettered public participation in these critical multilateral discussions," the UN experts said, as quoted by the Office of the United Nations High (OHCHR).

The UN experts went on to reiterate their calls on Warsaw to secure full access to COP24 to all stakeholders as well as provide freedom of expression and opinion.

In May, the United Nations expressed concern over Polish new law written specifically for the conference, saying that it could hamper the involvement of the civil society. In particular, the UN experts noted that the law prohibits spontaneous peaceful gathering at COP24 and grants "sweeping surveillance powers to the police and secret services to collect and process personal data about all COP24 participants."