Response by the Delegation of Poland to the Questionnaire on the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security

The OSCE Secretariat bears no responsibility for the content of this document FSC.EMI/64/25 and circulates it without altering its content. The distribution by OSCE 16 April 2025 Conference Services of this document is without prejudice to OSCE decisions, as set out in documents agreed by OSCE participating States. ENGLISH only  Exchange of Information on the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security POLAND 2024

SECTION I: External factors 1. Account of measures to prevent and combat terrorism 1.1. To which agreements and arrangements (universal, regional, subregional and bilateral) related to preventing and combating terrorism is your State a party? The Republic of Poland is Party to many international treaties related to preventing and combatting terrorism, inter alia: • European Convention on the suppression of terrorism, done in Strasbourg, 27 January 1977; the Convention entered into force in Poland on 1 May 1996; • International Convention for the suppression of the financing of terrorism, adopted by General Assembly of the United Nations on 9 December 1999; the Convention entered into force in Poland on 26 October 2003; • International Convention for the suppression of Terrorist Bombings, adopted by General Assembly of the United Nations on 15 December 1997; the Convention entered into force in Poland on 4 March 2004; • Council of Europe Convention on the prevention of terrorism, done at Warsaw, 16 May 2005; the Convention entered into force in Poland on 1 August 2008; • International Convention for the suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, adopted by General Assembly of the United Nations on 13 April 2005; the Convention entered into force in Poland on 8 May 2010. As a Member States of the European Union the Republic of Poland is automatically a party of anti- terrorist law of the EU, e.g. Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC (“the AML Directive”), Directive (EU) 2017/541 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on combating terrorism and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA and amending Council Decision 2005/671/JHA and the Regulation (EU) 2021/784 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online (“the TCO regulation”). Moreover, the Republic of Poland is a party to a number of bilateral agreements related to preventing and combating terrorism. However this field is not subject to the competences of the Ministry of National Defence, but of the Ministry of Interior and Administration.

1.2. What national legislation has been adopted in your State to implement the abovementioned agreements and arrangements?

1 Polish legislation has been repeatedly amended to comply with obligations under the signed and ratified conventions and protocols listed above, and other international agreements concerning identification, prevention and combating terrorism. The most important legal acts in that area are: • the Act of 6 June 1997, Criminal Code, penalizing acts of a terrorist nature (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2024, item 17, with further amendments; • the Act of 1 March 2018 on Counteracting Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2023, item 1124, with further amendments); • the Act of 26 April 2007 on Crisis Management (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2023, item 122, with further amendments); • the Act of 10 June 2016 on the Anti-terrorist Activities (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2025, item 194; • the Act of 12 October 1990 on the Protection of the State Border (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2025, item 184); • the Act of 4 September 2008 on the Protection of Shipping and Sea Ports (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2024, item 597); with amendment introduced by the Act of 7 July 2024 • the Act of 29 August 1997 on the Banking Law (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1646, with further amendments); • the Act of 3 July 2002 on the Aviation Law (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2023, item 2110, with further amendments); • the Act of 16 September 2011 on Information Exchange between Law Enforcement Authorities of the Member States of the European Union, , third countries, European Union Agencies and international organizations (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2023, item 783). Furthermore, legal regulations governing the recognition, prevention and combating of terrorism, and the division of powers in this area between the institutions of governmental and local authorities are included in acts or regulations (executive acts) issued by the Council of Ministers, in particular: • the Act of 6 April 1990 on the Police (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2024, Item 145, with further amendments); • the Act of 12 October 1990 on the Border Guard (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2024, item 915, with further amendments); • the Act of 24 May 2002 on the Internal Security Agency and Foreign Intelligence Agency (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2024, item 812, with further amendments); • the Act of 8 December 2017 on the State Protection Service (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2025, item 34); • the Act of 9 June 2006 on the Military Counterintelligence Service and the Military Intelligence Service (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1405, with further amendments); • the Act of 17 December 1998 on the principles of use and stay of the Polish Armed Forces abroad (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2023, Item 755); • the Act of 24 August 2001 on the the Military Police and Military Law Enforcement Bodies (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2025, item 12); • the Act of 29 November 2000 on Foreign Trade in Goods, Technologies and Services of Strategic Importance for National Security and the Maintenance of International Peace and Security (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2023, item 1582 );

2  • the Act of 12 December 2013 on Foreigners (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2024, item 769, with further amendments); • the Act of 13 June 2003 on Granting Protection to Foreigners within the Territory of the Republic of Poland (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2024, item 854. • the Act of 21 May 1999 on Arms and Munition (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2024, Item 485); • the Act of 13 April 2016 on the Safety of Trading in of Explosives Precursors (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2019, item 994); • the Act of 9 May 2018 on the Processing of Passenger Name Record Data (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2022, item 1441). • the Act of 1 December 2022 on the System of Financial Information (consolidated text - Journal of Laws of 2023, item 180). Considering the existing geopolitical situation, in order to strengthen the security of the gas terminal in Świnoujście, as a critical object for state security, new regulations were introduced to the Act on the protection of inland and sea port. It granted the voivode the right to prohibit the stay in a specific area within a distance of up to 200 m from the border of the property on which the terminal is located. The voivode may introduce such a ban at the request or after consulting the Border Guard and the Internal Security Agency, if deemed necessary to prevent, limit or remove a serious threat to this terminal or in case of terrorist threat. Exceptions to this ban, include people living, working or studying in the prohibited area. In order to sanction the violation of this prohibition, appropriate penal provisions providing for a fine were also introduced. As a result of the abovementioned, amendments to the Act on the Border Guard were introduced, giving the Border Guard rights to enforce this prohibition. Those new regulations were introduced by the Act of January 13, 2023 amending the Act on the Protection of Inland and Sea Ports, which entered into force on February 23, 2023. Moreover, the Act of July 7, 2023 amending the Act on the Protection of Shipping and Sea Ports (Journal of Laws of 2023, Item 1489), which entered into force on September 1, 2023, extended the scope of the Act to cover the protection of the interconnector Baltic Gas Pipeline (Baltic Pipe), which connects the transmission systems of the Republic of Poland and the Kingdom of Denmark, together with the infrastructure necessary for its operation in the maritime areas of the Republic of Poland, facilities, devices and installations that are part of the infrastructure providing access to ports of fundamental importance to national economy artificial islands used in the exclusive economic zone, all types of structures and devices intended for the exploration or exploitation of resources, as well as other projects related to the economic exploration and exploitation of the exclusive economic zone, in particular for energy purposes, including offshore wind farms and submarine power and fibre optic networks or pipelines and related infrastructure and also liquefied natural gas regasification terminal in Świnoujście. One of the effects of inserting the abovementioned objects in the Act on the Protection of Shipping and Sea Ports is creating the possibility that in order to prevent, limit or eliminate a serious or imminent danger the Minister of National Defence, at the request of the minister responsible for internal affairs, may decide on the use by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland in Polish maritime areas of the necessary measures, including sinking such a ship or floating object.

3 On December 3, 2024, the provisions of the Act of 18 October of 2024 amending the Act on the Anti- terrorist Activities entered into force. This amending has ensured the application of TCO Regulation according to which all EU Member State are obliged to designate a competent authority and a contact point to carry out tasks arising directly from this act such as: a. issue orders requiring hosting service providers to remove terrorist content or prevent access to such content, b. verify such orders issued by the competent authorities of other Member States and determine possible violations in this respect, c. issue decisions on hosting service providers exposed to terrorist content, • impose administrative penalties for violations of the Regulation. Under the amended Polish law, the Polish competent authority within the above meaning has become the Head of the Internal Security Agency, while the contact point was designated within the Anti- terrorist Centre of the Internal Security Agency. 1.3 What are the roles and missions of military, paramilitary and security forces and the police in preventing and combating terrorism in your State? The Internal Security Agency and Police are the main services responsible for identifying, preventing and combating the terrorism with the clear division of competences based on art 3 and art 18 of the Act on Anti-terrorist Activities of 10 June 2016. The Internal Security Agency is responsible for counteracting and preventing terrorist incidents. In case of the terrorist attack taking place, the Police is taking the leading role at the spot of the terrorist event. Pursuant to art. 22 of the Act on Anti- terrorist Activities, in case of third or fourth level alert is introduced and the Police do not have sufficient means to effectively react, the Polish Armed Forces can be used for the assistance (such case is foreseen also in the art. 18 of the Act on Police). In course of amending the respective legislation, the Military Police is designated as a specialized part of the Polish Armed Forces (PAF), responsible for counterterrorism actions at the premises supervised by the Ministry of National Defence. The Military Police assign and ensure readiness of the means prescribed by the Ministry of National Defence Crisis Management Plan to act in the specific timeframes. The PAF can use direct coercive measures or use firearms on the same rules as the Military Police. Wider competences are granted (on the basis of Homeland Defence Act of 11 March 2022) to the units of the Special Forces. The Head of the Internal Security Agency is responsible for preventing terrorist events, while the minister competent for internal affairs is responsible for preparation, response and reconstruction phase in the context of terrorist threats. The minister is a state authority appropriate for safeguarding security and public policy, state border surveillance, border traffic and foreigners’ control, coordination of actions related to the country’s migration policy, as well as crisis management, rescue and civil protection. In urgent cases, the minister competent for internal affairs is responsible for crisis management in the country, in substitution for the Council of Ministers. The minister performs his or her duties directly and through the actions of subordinate or supervised services: the Police, Border Guard, State Protection Service and National Fire Service, and in cooperation with other bodies, services and institutions. From the perspective of the coordination function of the minister competent for internal affairs within the counter-terrorism system, it is also important that the minister chairs the Interministerial Team for Terrorist Threats.

4 The Interministerial Team for Terrorist Threats, a subsidiary body of the Council of Ministers operating under the Minister of the Interior and Administration, is responsible for the country’s counter- terrorism policy-making. The Team was established pursuant to Ordinance of the Prime Minister No. 162 of 25 October 2006. The Team is composed of the Chairperson and Deputies: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, Minister of National Defence, Minister of Justice and a Minister-member of the Council of Ministers in charge of coordinating intelligence agencies, if appointed by the Prime Minister. Other members of the Team include: the Secretary or Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, Secretary of the Committee for Intelligence Agencies, Head of the Internal Security Agency, Head of the Foreign Intelligence Agency, Commander-in-Chief of the Police, Commander-in-Chief of the Border Guard, Commander-in-Chief of the State Fire Service, Commander- in-Chief of the State Protection Service, Chief of the Military Intelligence Service, Chief of the Military Counterintelligence Service, Commander-in-Chief of the Military Police, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, Operations Commander of Armed Forces, Head of the National Revenue Administration, General Inspector of Financial Information, and Director of the Government Centre for Security. The Head of the National Security Bureau and representative of the General Prosecutor’s Office are also invited to the meetings. The tasks of the Team include, i.a., monitoring, analysing and assessing terrorist threats, as well as giving opinions and drawing conclusions for the Council of Ministers. An important task of the Team is also to initiate, coordinate and monitor the actions taken by competent government administration agencies in the area of preventing, preparing for and responding to terrorist threat. As part of its tasks, it also prepares proposals aimed at streamlining the methods and forms of preventing terrorist threats, and it is authorised to request competent authorities to take up legislative work. The strategic level of the Polish counter-terrorism system includes also the Government Crisis Management Team, an opinion-giving and advisory body competent for initiating and coordinating activities related to crisis management. The Team is responsible, i.e., for: drawing proposals to use capabilities and resources necessary to restore control over crisis situations and offering advice on the coordination of activities by government administration agencies, state institutions and services in crises, and giving opinion on the needs related to reconstructing or restoring infrastructure. The Government Crisis Management Team is composed of: the Prime Minister as the chairperson, the Minister of National Defence and the minister competent for internal affairs, the minister competent for public administration, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister Coordinator of Intelligence Agencies (if appointed) and other government administration agencies, as needed. The Internal Security Agency (ABW) is statutorily obliged to identify terrorist threats and prevent terrorist acts. The Head of the Internal Security Agency was defined as a central government entity responsible for the overall process of preventing and combating terrorist incidents. In order to guarantee that the tasks within this sphere are being realized in a prompt and efficient manner the act introduced, inter alia, the following instruments:

• The Head of the ABW coordinates the analytical activities carried out by the intelligence services and the process of the exchange of information on terrorist threats and data on individuals who may be potentially associated with such threats, provided by the Police, Border Guard, Marshal’s Guard1, State Protection Service, National Fire Service, National Treasury Administration, the Military Police and the Government Centre for Security;

1 Marshal’s Guard is responsible for protection of the Parliament

5  • The Head of the ABW shall maintain a list of individuals who may be engaged in the activities carried out on behalf of the terrorist organizations, organizations associated with terrorism or members thereof. Such a list shall comprise as well data on persons wanted for terrorist activities or suspected of having committed a terrorist crime with respect to whom the relevant authorities of the Republic of Poland have issued a detention or search order on other individuals who may be deemed to constitute a terrorist threat; • The Head of the ABW coordinates the operational activities carried out by intelligence services, the Police, Border Guard, National Treasury Administration, and Military Police with respect to terrorist threats; • The Head of the ABW may be granted, without any charge, access to information stored in public registers and databases held by intelligence agencies, public administration bodies and other entities (specified in the act) as well as access to the image of events registered by devices place in public utility buildings, alongside public roads and in other public places; • The Head of the ABW may request to the court (after obtaining the written consent of the First Deputy Prosecutor General - National Prosecutor), a decision ordering blocking in the ICT system IT data or ICT services related to a terrorist event. In urgent cases, the Head of the Internal Security Agency is entitled to block or request the administrator of the ICT system to block the IT data or ICT services directly. Within the Agency’s structures the Counter-Terrorism Centre (CAT ABW) has been established. The Centre carried out tasks in the scope of recognising terrorist threats at operational level in the framework of the Polish Anti-Terrorist System. It continuously monitors and verifies indications of possible terrorist threats and coordinates information flow in this scope. Moreover, the duties of the CAT ABW include: assistance in decision making in case of real threat of a terrorist attack, carrying out and coordination of analytical-intelligence and operational-reconnaissance tasks as far as terrorist threats are concerned, participation in the process of creation and amending of reaction procedures, analytical and informative assistance for services and institutions carrying post attack tasks in Poland, international cooperation in the scope of countering and fighting terrorism. CAT ABW also provides trainings for the officers and employees of intelligence agencies, public administration bodies, and other entities, as well as disseminates knowledge on the means of preventing terrorist incidents. In turn, the minister competent for internal affairs, in order to perform tasks in the stages of preparation, response and resource recovery, is entitled to the following instruments: • submit the request for the use of units of the Polish Armed Forces to provide support for Police, Border Guard or the State Protection Service, • prohibit carrying any kind of weapon or some of its kind for a specified period of time, • introduce 24/7 duty in designated offices or other units of public administration bodies (in case of introducing the third alarm level). The Police is a uniformed and armed formation serving and protecting the society and maintaining public order. The Police comprises of the following kinds of services: criminal, investigative, internal affairs, preventive, counterterrorist, combating cybercrime and supporting. The Police is responsible for carrying out counterterrorist operations. In order to ensure their effectiveness on 5 April 2019 the counterterrorist service was established within the Police. It consists of Central Counterterrorist Unit “BOA” and autonomous (regional) counterterrorist Police units. The counterterrorist service

6 is responsible for carrying out counterterrorist actions and supporting other police units in situations when use of special weapons and tactics is required. According to the Act on Antiterrorist Activities, Police is the service responsible for managing counter- terrorist activities in the event of a terrorist incident. The Act provides for a number of competences for the Police officer managing activities. These are following: • ordering the evacuation of persons or property from the place of a terrorist event and its surroundings, • implement various restrictions in trafficking, including prohibiting any presence of third parties, • suspension of public transport, • requesting the suspension of air traffic (in situation the airport is being the place of a terrorist incident). In addition, the officer is entitled to demand the free use of the property or the free use of movable property, including means of transport, objects and devices, necessary to conduct counter-terrorist activities. He may also demand assistance from institutions, organizations, entrepreneurs or give them orders. If the Police does not have the capacity to effectively protect security of people and the public order, the assistance may be provided by the Polish Armed Forces (Art. 18, Act on the Police). The decision to use the Armed Forces is made by the President of the Republic of Poland at the request of the Prime Minister. In urgent cases, the decision to provide assistance is made by the Minister of National Defence at the request of the Minister of Internal Affairs, specifying its scope and form, immediately informing the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic of Poland of the measures taken. The President authorizes the decision or revokes it. Additionally, the 10 June 2016 Act on Anti-terrorist Activities introduced a simplified procedure of providing support of the Armed Forces, however, the application is limited to third of fourth level of alert. According to the Act, The Polish Armed Forces may be used to assist the Police by approval of a decision of the Minister for National Defence issued at request of the minister competent for internal affairs. In abovementioned procedure, the authorization of the decision by the President is not required. Nevertheless the President may overrule the decision or amend it. Border Guard and the Military Police can also be used to support the Police. Act of 26 April 2007 on Crisis Management is constituting the Polish Armed Forces tasks in terms of preventing and combating terrorism. Pursuant to the art. 25 of the act abovementioned, in case application of other forces or measures is not possible or they might prove to be insufficient, the Minister of National Defence (on the request of the voivode – provincial governor) might delegate specified units of the PAF to fulfil the crisis management tasks under the governor’s command. The decision to use the Polish Armed Forces is made by the President of the Republic of Poland on the request of Prime Minister. In case of urgent matters, decision on providing the assistance is made by the Minister of National Defence, acting on request of the Minister of the Interior and Administration. Decision sets up the scope and the form of assistance. President and Prime Minister should be promptly notified on the actions taken. In specific circumstances, a military operation may be declared on the territory of the Republic of Poland, during which the PAF conduct organized operations on the territory of the Republic of Poland aimed to ensure the external security of the state. The legal basis

7 for these organized operations is a resolution of the President of the Republic of Poland at the request of the Council of Ministers.The Minister of National Defence plays a crucial role in case of violation of the national airspace by non-Polish civil flying object or violation of Polish maritime areas by foreign vessel. In abovementioned cases the decision is taken, on behalf of the Minister of National Defence, by the Operational Commander of Armed Forces (pursuant to the Act of 12 October 1990 on the protection of the state border and the Act of 4 September 2008 on the protection of inland and sea ports). In case of extraordinary threat of a terrorist actions, which cannot be mitigated by the ordinary constitutional measures, the Council of Ministers request the President of the Republic of Poland to introduce a state of emergency. Presidential regulation should prescribe a definite period, no longer than 90 days and should be presented to the Parliament within 48 hours. State of emergency is effective from the promulgation the Regulation in the Journal of Laws. President, on the request of Prime Minister, may decide to use the PAF to restore state’s order if applied forces and means proved to be insufficient. In case of external threat to the country caused by the actions of terrorist character the President may, on request of the Council of Ministers, declare a state of martial law in a part of or upon the whole territory of the State. President’s regulation should be presented to the Parliament within 48 hours. The PAF are authorized to apply direct coercive measures, use firearms and other weapons if required by the needs and aim of the tasks assigned, in a manner adequate to the threat and within the provision of the ratified treaties and international customary law binding for Poland. Depending on a qualification of a situation, provisions of International Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts may also apply. The Foreign Intelligence Agency’s (AW) tasks include: conducting inquiries into international terrorism and extremism and organised crime groups and transnational links, as well as protecting foreign representations of the Republic of Poland and its employees from activities that could harm Polish interests. The Foreign Intelligence Agency is also in charge of electronic intelligence activities and forwards the information collected and processed to the key recipients in the country. The Agency’s operations in Poland may be carried out solely in relation to its activities outside the country, and the operational and inquiry activities may only be carried out through the Head of the ABW. The security of the Polish Armed Forces within the country is provided by the Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW), and abroad by the Military Intelligence Service (SWW). Within their competences, both services are obliged to take up actions related to counteracting terrorism. The SKW’s tasks include, e.g., the identification, prevention and detection of terrorist crimes committed by soldiers on active military duty, SKW and SWW officers and employees of the PAF as well as other organisational units of the Ministry of National Defence. The SWW’s tasks include the identification of and prevention of international terrorist threats related to national defence and security and the military capabilities of the PAF. SWW focuses on acquiring anticipative information to identify threats at an early stage. SWW may take up activities within the country only if these activities are related to those carried out abroad. The Military Police (ŻW), which functions as internal police within the army, also plays an important role in counter-terrorist and crisis management activities. Its mandate covers i.e. ensuring public policy protection at premises and buildings of military facilities and in public places, as well as carrying our activities to protect the personnel entitled to such protection as well as military property from attacks

8 (including combating terrorism physically). The Act of 24 August 2001 on the Military Police and military law enforcement bodies empowers the Military Police to conduct counterterrorism actions at the premises of or supervised by the Ministry of National Defence. The Military Police is also authorised to carry out investigation and prosecution as well as operation and inquiry activities which involve, i.e., identifying and combating terrorist threats. Moreover, at the request of the minister competent for internal affairs and as agreed with the Minister of National Defence, the Prime Minister is empowered to order the Military Police to assist the Police if security and public order are threatened. Cooperation with other bodies and services on identifying and countering threats of terrorism is also the statutory responsibility of the Border Guard. These activities involve: state border surveillance (including sea border), border traffic organisation and control, and prevention of illegal crossing of the national border by people and dangerous substances (including weapon, explosives and radioactive materials) and prosecution of perpetrators in this scope. The Board Guard also carries out activities related to ensuring international communication security, including on board aircrafts providing passenger air service. With regard to terrorist threats, the monitoring of crimes involving foreigner groups and communities remains an important task. Apart from that the Border Guard is responsible for the processing of Passenger Name Records (PNR). Therefore, the National Passenger Information Unit (PIU) has been established at the Border Guard Headquarters. The abovementioned services – ABW, the Police, AW, SWW, SKW, ŻW and the Border Guard – are authorised to perform operational, inquiry, analytical and informational functions within the scope of their counter-terrorism tasks. Furthermore, they also perform a number of other tasks, such as the identification of international trade of weapons, ammunition and explosives, or weapons of mass destruction, which are extremely important for national security. Within the Polish counter-terrorism system, security and prevention tasks are also performed by the State Protection Service (SOP), competent for the protection of persons and objects as defined by law that may become a potential target of terrorist attacks. At the request of the Prime Minister, SOP also provides protection for high-risk diplomatic institutions. The State Fire Service plays an important role in the Polish Counter-Terrorism System, as the main service responsible for conducting life rescue operations and protecting people’s health, property and the environment in the event of an emergency. The tasks of the State Fire Services include conducting activities in the field of risk identification, including the risk of contamination with chemical and radioactive substances, as well as initial operations related to biological identification. Entities undertaking rescue operations operate within the National Firefighting and Rescue System. All rescue operations in time of a terrorist threat are focused on maintaining the priority of saving lives and health and the technology actions aimed to minimise the consequences of a particular incident. An important role in the context of measures taken in the framework of crisis management is played by the Government Centre for Security, legally obliged to execute preventive measures, to counteract and eliminate the effects of terrorist events as well as to cooperate with the Head of the Internal Security Agency in preventing, counteracting and eliminating the effects of terrorist incidents. It performs tasks related to, i.e., substantive and organisational support for the Government Crisis Management Team, draws up government documents, provides opinions on crisis management plans of ministers, voivodes and heads of central offices and coordinates the planning processes relating to the protection of national and European critical infrastructure. It is also competent in matters relating to preparation for launching crisis management procedures – in the event of emergencies – and to

9 ensure information policy coordination between public administration during a crisis situation. The Government Centre for Security is also responsible for cooperating with NATO and European Union structures and other international organisations in the field of crisis management and protection of critical infrastructure. Organising, conducting and coordinating crisis management training and drills, including international exercises, remains just as important. The National Security Bureau (BBN) assists and supports the President of the Republic of Poland in carrying out and implementing his tasks in the field of security and protection. They result from the role of the President, stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, as the supreme Representative of the Republic of Poland and a guarantor of the continuity of state authority, the supreme head of the Polish Armed Forces and also as the person who watches over compliance with the Constitution, who uphold the sovereignty of the State’s security as well as inviolability and indivisibility of its territory. The BBN is not an entity towards which legal regulations concerning counteracting, identifying and combating terrorist threats directly refer. Activity in the above mentioned field results, however, indirectly from regulations included in the Homeland Defence Act of 11 March 2022. Their consequence was the determination by the President of the Republic of Poland of the action scope of the National Security Bureau which, in turn, was a basis for internal division of task and for defining the problem of terrorism as one of the area of interest of the Bureau. Furthermore, involvement of the BBN in initiatives concerning terrorist threats and at the same time regulating the functioning of special services results from the fact that the Head of the National Security Bureau on the basis of the Act on the Internal Security Agency and the Foreign Intelligence Agency is a member of the Security Services Board. This form of activity of the Bureau has a consultative and advisory character, inter alia in the field of directions of works of the security services or with reference to legal acts regulating their activities. The General Inspector of Financial Information (GIFI) and the Department of Financial Information which supports the GIFI in its statutory activities together form a Polish Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). One of the GIFI major task is to prevent a potential crime of financing terrorism stipulated in Article 165a of the Criminal Code. Under provision of the Act on countering money laundering and financing of terrorism the GIFI obtains, gathers, processes and analyses information which can be connected with financing terrorism. The GIFI exchanges information with its foreign counterparts on the basis of the said Act, and on the basis of the Act of 1 December 2022 on the System of Financial Information as well as on the basis of the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (Warsaw Convention), and the bilateral agreements signed by the GIFI with its foreign counterparts. Customs and Tax Service is a homogeneous uniformed formation established for the purpose of ensuring protection and security of the customs area of the European Community. Customs and Tax Service is in charge of performing customs policy with the regard to import and export of goods as well as performing other tasks resulting from separate provisions and in particular: identification, detection, prevention and combating crimes and offences connected with an infringement of provisions on importing to the territory of Poland and exporting from its territory goods covered by restrictions or bans on marketing due to security and public order or international security, in particular

10 such as chemical substances and preparations, nuclear and radioactive materials, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, arms, ammunition, explosives as well as strategic goods and technologies. Within the Polish Anti-Terrorist System, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs actively participates in activities aimed at preventing and combating terrorist threats. The Ministry is in charge of providing comprehensive and efficient consular care. It supports actions of Polish military and police units which take part in operations outside country. The Ministry is responsible for coordinating actions relating to assuring security of Polish institutions and their personnel abroad. All actions within this scope are taken in cooperation with the interested national institutions. Within the competences of the Ministry is also conducting analysis of terrorist acts which have occurred worldwide and preparing political assessment of the effects of the foregoing incidents. The Ministry is in charge of cooperating with other countries and international organizations and also of presenting in international forums Polish positions in the field of counteracting and combating terrorism. ➢ The Minister of National Defence The Minister of National Defence supports other services in counteracting and combating terrorist threats and removing it effects. The Polish Armed Forces are directly responsible for protecting the national airspace, and also maintain readiness to support anti-terrorist activities of the Police and the Border Guard in combating terrorist threats in Polish maritime areas. The PAF participate in stabilization and peacekeeping missions and international antiterrorist coalition. ➢ The Military Police The Military Police is a law enforcement body of the Polish Anti-Terrorist System that cooperates with services such as the Police, Border Guard, Military Counter intelligence Service, and the Military Intelligence Service. It carries out tasks of counteracting terrorist threats within the scope of its statutory competences. The indicated tasks of the formation include: preventing, preparing to take control, reacting to and eliminating effects of terrorist incidents. These tasks are carried out in compliance with the legal regulations in the specific area. Simultaneously, the applicable legal regulations enable the Military Police to assist the Police and Border Guard when there is a threat to public safety and order, if the available forces of the Police or Border Guard are or might be insufficient.

1.4 Provide additional information on national efforts to prevent and combat terrorism, e.g. pertaining, inter alia, to financing of terrorism, border controls, security of radioactive sources, use of the Internet and other information networks and legal cooperation. The basic legal act regarding the Polish Anti-Terrorist System is the Act of 10 June 2016 on Anti-terrorist activities, which comprehensively solves the issues of counteracting, combating and responding to threats. First of all, it should be noted that the Minister of National Defence serves as the key service provider in activities to counteract and combat dangerous threats and mitigate them. Consequently, the Polish Armed Forces are directly responsible for the protection of the state border in the airspace, and also support the anti-terrorist activities of the Police and the activities of the Border Guard in combating terrorist threats in the Polish maritime area. The PAF also participate in stabilization and peacekeeping missions and international anti-terrorist coalitions. The increase in the number of attempts to illegally cross the border of the Republic of Poland with the Republic of Belarus, the increase in hybrid activities of the Russian Federation in the border area with the Republic of Belarus may have the potential for destabilization of the situation on the border of the Republic of Poland with the Republic of Belarus in the Podlasie and Lublin voivodeships in the near

11 future. In particular, the possible involvement of subversive and terrorist groups may lead to armed escalation with low intensity of activities. In order to prevent this situation, it became necessary to demonstrate the ability to counteract such a threat, and should this occur, to achieve and maintain the ability to immediately neutralize destabilizing activities. The Border Guard Service and the PAF in order to ensure an appropriate level of safety of external state border launched the operation “SAFE PODLASIE” on the 1 August 2024. For this purpose the soldiers of the armed forces have been entitled to perform some tasks designated to Border Guards. The operation “SAFE PODLASIE” is still continued and the development of the operation is determined by the situation at the PL-BY border. The protection of radiation sources is exercised according to the Atomic Law, updated in 2021. In the PAF, nuclear law is implemented based on the Order of the Minister of National Defence. The implementation of international standards (including IAEA standards) in the field of radiological protection, including the safety of ionizing radiation sources and the protection of radioactive materials, is carried out in Poland by the National Atomic Energy Agency. The tasks associated with the threats analysis, prevention and combating terrorism are in particular carried out by: • the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, together with the Police, the Border Guard, the State Protection Service; • the Ministry of National Defence, together with the Military Intelligence Service, the Military Counterintelligence Service, the Military Police, and the National Atomic Energy Agency; • the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; • the Ministry of Finance, together with the General Inspector of Financial Information, the National Revenue Administration; • the Internal Security Agency; • the Foreign Intelligence Agency; Coordination and advisory functions in terms of terrorism prevention are rendered by the Interministerial Team for Terrorist Threats (reporting to Prime Minister). It is chaired by the Minister of the Interior and Administration with ministers responsible for public finances and financial institutions, minister responsible for foreign affairs, Minister of Justice, Minister of Defence and Minister – Member of the Council of the Ministers, Coordinator of the Intelligence Agencies as a deputies. Among the members of the Task Force are: Commanders in Chief of the Police and Border Guard, Heads of the Internal Security Agency and the Foreign Intelligence Agency, Chief of General Staff and Commander of the Military Police, Commander-Chef-of the State Protection Service. Creating a stable international security environment in the regional and global context and fortifying state’s defence capabilities are main objectives of the National Security System Development Strategy. National Security Strategy is approved by the President on the request of the Council of Ministers. 12 May 2020 President signed the approval of the Strategy. It comprises current assessment of the security measures, priorities and proposals of the long-term action in the sphere of security and defence. Preventing the financing of terrorism The main piece of legislation used to counter the financing of terrorism is the act of 1 March 2018 on counteracting money laundering and financing of terrorism (further referred to as the AML/CFT Act).

12 The act implements i.a. the Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing. On 15 May 2021 the Act of 30 March 2021 amending the AML/CFT Act and certain other laws entered into force and implemented to the Polish legal system the amendments to the Directive (EU) 2015/849 (in line with the Directive (EU) 2018/843). It must also be highlighted, that in 2017 an amendment of Article 165a of the Criminal Code, concerning the terrorist financing offence, was introduced, in order to guarantee the full criminalization of terrorist activities conducted by persons referred to as “lone wolves” – in line with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations. Poland has a mature and reliable AML/CFT system. As a member of the MONEYVAL Committee, Poland is subject to regular evaluation of its domestic system of combating money laundering and terrorism financing (AML/CFT system) conducted according to the framework of MONEYVAL mutual evaluations. In 2020/2021 Poland was evaluated within MONEYVAL 5. round of mutual evaluation process. The Polish AML/CFT system was evaluated in terms of its compliance with international standards (FATF Recommendations) as well as of its effectiveness. The compliance was evaluated according to FATF Methodology. The evaluation process checks the legal compliance and the effectiveness of the national AML/CFT systems and results in providing recommendations that shall be realized by the assessed country in order to provide the security of national financial system and to contribute to the security of the international financial system. The latest evaluation report was published at MONEYVAL’s website in December 2021.2 Since then 2 follow-up reports were presented to MONEYVAL and adopted: first enhanced follow-up report was adopted in December 2023 and the second enhanced follow-up report was adopted in October 2024. The leading role in the Polish system of combating financial crime and terrorist financing is played by the General Inspector of Financial Information (GIFI). His tasks include carrying out the procedure of transaction suspension or account blocking; sharing and requesting information about transactions, transferring documents justifying the suspicion of committing a crime to the competent authorities; exercising control over the compliance with regulations on counteracting money laundering and terrorist financing; cooperation with foreign institutions and international organizations. In August 2018, the new Financial Security Committee (working under the new AML/CFT Act) became operational. In the performance of his tasks, the GIFI is supported by the Department of Financial Information of the Ministry of Finance. GIFI performs the tasks of the Financial Intelligence Unit (PFIU) within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2015/849. The PFIU verifies the reported suspected cases of money laundering and financing of terrorism on the grounds of information gathered from obligated institutions, cooperating units, as well as foreign financial intelligence units. In case of justified suspicion of money laundering or terrorism financing, it forwards it to the Prosecutor’s Office, which in cooperation with the law enforcement authorities undertakes actions aiming at completing the indictment against the suspects. In August 2018, the first session of the Financial Security Committee was convened. The Committee has a consultative and advisory function with regard to the use of specific restrictive measures against persons, groups and entities, such as freezing of assets in order to combat terrorism and prevent its

2 https://www.coe.int/en/web/moneyval/jurisdictions/poland

13 financing. It is also responsible for providing opinions on the national assessment of the money laundering and terrorist financing risk along with the strategy to mitigate the identified risks. The Committee convenes regularly a few times a year. In 2019, the first National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism was developed by the GIFI in cooperation with the Financial Security Committee, the cooperating units and the obligated institutions. Annex 3 to the National Risk Assessment covers terrorism financing risk scenarios. In response to the risks identified in the National Risk Assessment, in 2021, the "Strategy for counteracting money laundering and financing of terrorism" was adopted by resolution of the Council of Ministers. The Strategy contains action plan in which actions for years 2021-2023 are planned aimed at reducing the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. In December 2023, the GIFI published the new National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (NRA), replacing the previous assessment issued in 2019. The document indicates i.e. the level of risk of money laundering and terrorist financing, along with justifications and conclusions. The annexes to the document estimate, among others, the level of terrorism financing risk for specific risk scenarios divided into areas, such as physical transportation of values property by border, crowdfunding, banking, services payment (offered by other entities than banks) and other. In line with both NRAs conducted so far the estimate of the overall terrorism financing risk and money laundering risk is in Poland at an average level. At the end of September 2023 GIFI issued decisions on designating two individuals to the national sanction list of persons suspected of being related to terrorism or terrorism financing. In accordance with the provisions of the AML/CFT Act, the Financial Security Committee regularly evaluates the circumstances justifying the continued need to apply specific restrictive measures to individuals and entities included in the sanction list maintained by the GIFI. The legal possibility of including entities in the national sanctions list is the fulfilment of Poland's obligations arising from the UN Security Council Resolutions issued on the basis of Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, regarding threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts. The decisions on listing were made on the basis of applications submitted by foreign authorities and were preceded by interinstitutional consultations with members of the Financial Security Committee. In line with AML/CFT Act obligated institutions apply specific restrictive measures (which consist of freezing assets and withholding from making them available to listed persons) to persons included in the list and provide information on their application to the GIFI. The above mentioned designations were made as first designations in Poland. The PFIU participates in the work of MONEYVAL, the Egmont Group and some other international fora. Recognizing threats that affect the world today, the PFIU has committed itself to activities related to the prevention of terrorism, i.e. taking part in the Counter-ISIS Finance Group (CIFG), functioning within the framework of the Global Coalition against the Islamic State (Counter-ISIL Coalition). Poland hosted a CIFG meeting in Warsaw in September 2018, where delegations from over 30 countries along with representatives of international organizations discussed how to combat Daesh more efficiently. ➢ Border Guard Border control in Poland is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Schengen Borders Code and the Act of 12 October 1990 on the state border protection. It is carried out by the Border Guard cooperating with the Customs and Tax Service and special services. The Border Guard is also working

14 with other national and international partners (including the European Border and Coast Guard Agency - FRONTEX). ➢ Protection of radioactive materials Poland is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (International Atomic Energy Agency - IAEA) and the European Atomic Energy Community (European Atomic Energy Community - EURATOM). It implements the documents and regulations of these organizations. Poland has a well-developed legislation and a nuclear safety system, under which supervision operations are exercised involving the use of nuclear materials and sources of ionizing radiation. Technical solutions for nuclear safety involve mainly the monitoring and controlling radioactive contamination and keeping records of nuclear materials and radioactive sources. The main body dealing with issues related to radioactivity in Poland is the National Atomic Energy Agency. This body reports directly to the Minister of Climate and Environment and is responsible for nuclear safety and radiological protection. The principal document in Polish legislation regulating nuclear safety is the Act of 29 November 2000, the Atomic Energy Law. The act regulates, among others: • conduct of business rules in the field of peaceful use of atomic energy; • actions taken in the event of radiological emergencies; • specific rules for the protection of individuals against the dangers arising from the use of ionizing radiation for medical purposes. On 20 July 2017, an Agreement was concluded between the President of the State Atomic Energy Agency and the General Commander of the Armed Forces on cooperation in the field of radiological protection and in the field of response in situations of radiation events on the territory of the country. The cooperation concerns:

• counselling connected with counteracting the effects of radioactive contamination in facilities subordinate to the Minister of National Defence, • measuring equipment for detecting and identifying radioactive contamination, • individual protection measures against contamination, • a mobile radiometric laboratory and airborne contamination identification equipment with their services. Moreover, current cooperation is realised through: • participation in trainings and exercises, • consultations and exchange of experience concerning preparation and action during elimination of effects of radiological incidents, • consultations within the scope of functioning and modernisation of the military automated measurement network, consultations on developing projects of new or verifying existing methodologies and procedures concerning radiological protection. ➢ Use of the Internet and other computer networks for terrorist purposes The CSIRT GOV Computer Security Incident Response Team led by the Head of the Internal Security Agency acts as a National Level CSIRT Team responsible for coordinating the process of responding to computer incidents occurring in the area indicated in Article 26.7 of the Act of 5 July 2018 on the

15 National Cyber Security System. One of its basic tasks is to identify, prevent and detect threats compromising the security, relevant to the continuity of the state's functioning of the systems of governmental administration bodies or the system of ICT networks covered by the uniform list of objects, installations, devices and services constituting critical infrastructure. The CSIRT GOV team is a part of the IT Security Department at the Internal Security Agency that as the intelligence service also covers area of the internal security of Poland in the civil field. The Agency itself has dedicated powers to carry out tasks in the area of the cybersecurity that regards the same scope of entities that are within the CSIRT GOV constituency, namely public administration bodies and the systems of ICT networks enlisted as critical infrastructure. The CSIRT GOV is one of three national Computer Security Incident Response Teams in Poland. The other two are: CSIRT MON responsible for the sphere of national defence, according to Article 26.5 of the Act of 5 July 2018 on the National Cyber Security System and the CSIRT NASK which handles incidents reported by other public entities (including local administration) and business entities as well as private citizens. CSIRT MON, CSIRT NASK and CSIRT GOV cooperate, with cybersecurity competent authorities, providing a coherent and complete system of risk management at national level, carrying out tasks to counter cross-sectoral and cross-border cybersecurity threats, and ensuring coordination of handling reported incidents. In the context of continuous challenges related to the construction of security systems in this sphere, special supervision is given to cybersecurity in its broadest sense (including legislative, strategic, organisational matters). The Cyber Defence Forces was established on 23 April 2022 under the Homeland Defence Act. On 3 December 2024 the Act of 18 October 2024 on amending the Act on Anti-terrorist Activities and the Act on the Internal Security Agency and Foreign Intelligence Agency (Journal of Laws of 2024, Item 1684) entered into force. The purpose of this Act was the implementation of the Regulation (EU) 2021/784 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online and the Directive (EU) 2017/541 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on combating terrorism and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA and amending Council Decision 2005/671/JHA. This act introduced the new Chapter 5a „Counteracting the dissemination of terrorist content on the Internet” into the Act on the Anti-terrorist activities. According to this new provisions the Head of the ABW is the competent authority within the meaning of the provisions of the Regulation (EU) 2021/784. The Head of the ABW shall designate the contact point under the regulation of Art. 12.2 of the Regulation (EU) 2021/784, shall supervise the introducement of specific measures according the Art. 5 of the abovementioned Regulation, and shall issue the removal orders under Article 4 of the Regulation (EU) 2021/784 in the form of the administrative decision. The Head of the Internal Security Agency is also entitled to initiate the procedure of removal or blocking of access in the ICT system of specific IT data or IT services related to an incident of a terrorist or espionage nature provided for in the provision of the Article 32c Act of 24 May 2002 on the Internal Security Agency and Foreign Intelligence Agency. The abovementioned provision, introduced by the Act of 10 June 2016 on the Anti-terrorist Activities, has been changed recently by the Act of 18 October 2024 on amending the Act on Anti-terrorist Activities and the Act on the Internal Security Agency and Foreign Intelligence Agency. The new wording of this provision, which came into force on 3 December

16 2024, provides, that In order to prevent, counteract and detect crimes of a terrorist nature or espionage and prosecute their perpetrators, the court, upon a written request of the Head of the Internal Security Agency, filed after obtaining the written consent of the First Deputy Prosecutor General, the National Prosecutor, by way of a ruling, may order removal or blocking of accessibility in the IT system by the service provider providing services electronically blocking of access in the IT system by the telecommunications entrepreneur specified computer data related to an event of a terrorist nature or an event that makes it probable that an offence of espionage has been committed or specified telecommunications services used or used to cause an event of a terrorist nature or an event that makes it probable that an offence of espionage has been committed. Blocking of accessibility in the IT system is ordered for a period not longer than 30 days. In addition, in urgent cases, in order to prevent an incident of a terrorist nature or one that may make it probable that an espionage offence has been committed, the Head of the Internal Security Agency is entitled to request the administrator of the ICT system to block the availability of specific IT data or ICT services related to a terrorist event in the ICT system, after obtaining the written consent of the First Deputy Prosecutor General – National Prosecutor. Simultaneously with issuing the above-mentioned request, the Head of the Internal Security Agency is obliged to submit a written request to the District Court in Warsaw for issuing a decision in this case. The court may, upon a written request of the Head of the Internal Security Agency, submitted after obtaining the written consent of the First Deputy Prosecutor General – National Prosecutor, for a period not longer than 3 months, issue a decision to extend the blocking of the availability of IT data or ICT services, if the reasons for ordering these activities have not ceased to exist. Blocking the availability of IT data is terminated if the court does not grant consent to blocking the availability of certain IT data within 5 days or the court does not consent to the extension of the blocking of data availability, or after the period for which it was introduced has expired. On 22 October 2019, the Council of Ministers adopted a resolution on the Cybersecurity Strategy of the Republic of Poland for 2019-2024. The document has been in force since 31 October 2019 and replaces the National Framework for Cybersecurity Policy of the Republic of Poland for 2017-2022. The adoption of the Strategy results from the Act on the national cybersecurity system. By 30 March each year, the minister responsible for digitalization, in cooperation with other Members of the Council of Ministers, is obliged to present information on the implementation of the Cybersecurity Strategy. Currently, Ministry of Digital Affairs is working on the next version of the Polish Cyber Security Strategy for 2025-2029. The work is planned to be completed in second quarter 2025 r. ➢ Prevention of violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism The main acts related to extremism are penalised in the Act of 6 June 1997, the Criminal Code, especially in the articles:

• Article 119, referring to using violence or unlawful threat because of the victim national, ethnic, racial, political or religious affiliation or because of a lack of any religious denomination of a victim; • Article 256, referring to propagating fascism and totalitarism, racism and intolerance; • Article 257, referring to public insulting of a group of people of different worldview, national or racial affiliation.

17  2. Stationing of the Polish Armed Forces on foreign territory 2.1. Provide information on stationing of your State’s armed forces on the territory of other participating States in accordance with freely negotiated agreements as well as in accordance with international law. The PAF have been participating in international missions since 1953, and in 2024, we delegated personnel to operations: No. International mission / operation Troops number

1. NATO Baltic air-policing mission: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia up do 150 soldiers and four F-16 planes

2. Air-policing mission in Slovakia up to 10 soldiers

3. Coalition operation INHERENT SUPPORT Iraq, Jordan, Qatar and up to 350 soldiers Kuwait and NATO Mission in Iraq

4. NATO tailored Forward Presence in Romania and Bulgaria up to 300 soldiers

5. NATO enhanced Forward Presence in Latvia up to 260 soldiers

6. NATO Tailored Assurance Measures for Turkey in Turkey up to 95 soldiers

7. Kosovo Force (KFOR) in Kosovo up to 300 soldiers

8. United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon up to 250 soldiers

9. EU Military Advisory Mission in Central African Republic (EUMAM RCA) up to 2 soldiers

10. European Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (operation ALTHEA) up to 50 soldiers

11. The European Union Naval Force Mediterranean Operation IRINI up to 80 soldiers (EUNAVFOR MED IRINI)

12. Reinforcement of the Armed Forces of the French Republic in securing up to 20 soldiers the Summer Olympic Games in Paris

13. Evacuation of Polish citizens residing in Gaza Strip up do 150 soldiers and 2xC130, 1xC295

3. Implementation of other international commitments related to the Code of Conduct 3.1. Provide information on how your State ensures that commitments in the field of arms control, disarmament and confidence and security-building as an element of indivisible security are implemented in good faith. Poland is committed to the UN-developed concept of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which is the basis for agreements reducing the peace threats, both in the global as in the regional dimension. We recognize that the compliance with the principle

18 of transparency, reciprocity and equivalence of the fulfilment of obligations ensures international security at the lowest possible level of military arsenals. Poland adopts relevant provisions to provide proper implementation of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation agreements, existing on both global and regional level. Poland is a party to the vast majority of multilateral treaties, conventions and agreements, including: • The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (the CFE Treaty); • The Treaty on Open Skies (TOS); • The Vienna Document 2011 (VD’11); • All agreements on confidence and security building measures agreed upon in the OSCE (CDBM); • The Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT); • The Comprehensive Nuclear Test - Ban Treaty (CTBT); • The Arms Trade Treaty; • The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Storage and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (CWC); • The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Storage and Use of Biological and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (BTWC); • The Convention on the Prohibition or Restriction of the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons, which may be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects (CCW), and all its Protocols; • The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Storage, Production and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and on Their Destruction; • The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). In the area of disarmament and non-proliferation, Poland implements treaties and agreements, as well as other international instruments and initiatives, such as: • UN Security Council Resolution No. 1540; • The UN Plan of actions concerning Small Arms and Light Armament; • The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT); • Initiative for the Non-proliferation of WMD (Proliferation Security Initiative – PSI). Furthermore, Poland is an active member of the following export control regimes: • The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG); • The Zangger Committee (ZC); • The Australia Group (AG); • The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies(WA).

3.2 Provide information on how your State pursues arms control, disarmament and confidence and security-building measures with a view to enhancing security and stability in the OSCE area. Polish arms control policy is focused on international cooperation for the prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means of their delivery. We are active participants of the control regimes. We follow the guidelines of the EU Strategy on the Weapons of Mass Destruction (The EU's WMD Strategy).

19 On December 14, 2012 Poland ratified the Convention on the Prohibition and the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (the so-called the Ottava Convention). The Convention went into effect as of 1 June 2013. On 07 November 2023, Poland issued a statement concerning formal steps to suspend The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (the CFE Treaty) indefinitely and in its entirely, in respect to all of its provisions. This means that the Republic of Poland will not be legally or practically obliged to fulfil the provisions of the CFE Treaty, including those relating to limitations for the PAF. This decision is the implements the NATO member states statement from 07 November 2023 informing about their intent to suspend the CFE Treaty.

Section II: Intra-State factors 1. National planning and decision-making process 1.1 What is the national planning and decision-making process in determining/approving military posture and defence expenditures in your State? Expenditures on national defence are planned in accordance with the limit specified in Homeland Defence Act dated 11 March 2022. Expenditures from the state budget in the amount not lower than 3% of gross domestic product are allocated annually to finance the state's defence needs. Expenditures include budget expenses in the "national defence" part of the budget and expenses in the "national defence" section in other parts of the state budget. In addition to determining the minimum level of defence expenditure, the Homeland Defence Act also establishes the minimum level of capital expenditure. They must constitute at least 20% of defence expenditure. ➢ Budget planning and execution. The basic principles and procedures regarding the budget are regulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Legislative initiative regarding the budget act, including its amendments, is vested exclusively in the Council of Ministers. At the stage of government work, the Minister of National Defence prepares the draft budget of the Ministry of National Defence for the next year and the following three years (based on the long-term macroeconomic assumptions approved by the Council of Ministers) and submits it to the Minister of Finance, who prepares the draft budget act. The Council of Ministers is obliged to submit the draft budget act to the Parliament no later than 3 months before the beginning of the budget year. The Parliament adopts the state budget for the financial year in the form of a budget act. If, within 4 months from the date of submission of the draft budget bill to the parliament, it is not presented to the President of the Republic of Poland for signature, the President of the Republic of Poland may order the shortening of the term of office of the Parliament within 14 days. The President signs the budget act or the act on the provisional budget presented by the Speaker of the Sejm within 7 days. Defence expenditure constitutes an element of the state budget and is therefore subject, in principle, to the same planning, implementation and reporting principles as other funds in the state budget. The Council of Ministers, within 5 months from the end of the budget year, submits to the Parliament a report on the implementation of the Budget Act together with information on the state's debt. The Sejm considers the submitted report and, after hearing the opinion of the Supreme Audit Office, adopts a resolution to grant or refuse to discharge the Council of Ministers within 90 days from the date of submission of the report.

20 The Minister of National Defence on the basis of “Specific guidelines for restructuring and modernization of Armed Forces” approved by Council of Ministers and in line with NATO Defence Planning Process introduces – “The Program for the Development of the Polish Armed Forces” – a classified document intended for 15 – years planning period. The document is updated and re-issued every four years. In accordance with the provisions of Article 39 of Homeland Defence Act, the PAF Development Program’s funding sources include among others: • State Budget – appropriations for Poland’s defence requirements for 2024 and following years amount to 3% of GDP at least; • Support Fund. From these funding sources equipment acquisitions are financed. The Homeland Defence Act, among other things, established the Armed Forces Support Fund (Fund), which is to enable accelerated and wider modernization of the PAF in a short period of time, via additional sources of revenue that are external to the defence budget. The role of the Fund is to complement basic budgetary process of contracting and financing procurement activities of military equipment. The requirement for additional financing solutions/mechanisms emerged to mitigate significant accumulation of payments in the same time period, resulting from urgent needs to backfill and enhance critical capability areas of the PAF. These revenues can be spent on goals that are approved in the PAF Development Programme and to cover financial costs of the Fund. The Annual Financial Plan of the Fund is approved by the Minister of National Defence in prior agreement with the Minister of Finance and opinion of the Parliamentary Committee competent for national defence. Procedures related to processing of financial plans of the Armed Forces Support Fund: - The Ministry of National Defence provides Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) with data within the competence of the Ministry of National Defence to prepare the Financial Plan of the Fund. - BGK is responsible for developing financial plans of the Fund and submitting them to the minister responsible for public finances in order to agree on. - after approving financial plans of the Fund by the minister abovementioned, they are submitted for opinion to the Parliamentary Committee competent for state defence, - after obtaining reviewed financial plans of the Fund, Minister of National Defence approves them. Approved financial plans constitute the basis for making payments from the Fund. 1.2 How does your State ensure that its military capabilities take into account the legitimate security concerns of other States as well as the need to contribute to international security and stability? The main task of the security and foreign policy of Poland is to ensure the independence, territorial integrity, as well as security and civil liberties of its citizens. For this purpose, in accordance with the strategic documents and decisions of the democratically elected government, Poland maintains and develops the Armed Forces and defence capabilities at such a level that is necessary for the defence and independence of its territory and to fulfil its allied and international commitments. As a member of the European Union and NATO, Poland belongs to the group of countries that share common democratic values and a common goal of building a zone of stability and security. It is a part of these activities, and promotes them. This is accomplished through political dialogue, crisis response,

21 and close co-operation with neighbouring countries. Poland is developing strong cooperation and friendly relations with all its neighbours, as well as cooperation with other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, seeing it as a chance to strengthen the zone of stability and security in this part of the continent. Poland aims to strengthen the cooperation within the Weimar Triangle and the Visegrad Group, and supports the development of other sub-regional institutions, contributing to greater security and stability. Poland is actively seeking opportunities to increase international cooperation and to strengthen cross- border dialogue to resolve the most pressing threats to international security. These activities are implemented mainly through international forums and organizations, including the UN, NATO, the EU and the OSCE. In the case of military involvement abroad the legal basis for the use of and stay of the Polish Armed Forces in other countries are the UN Security Council resolutions, decisions of international organizations engaged in international missions and/or relevant international agreements.

2. Existing structures and procedures 2.1 What are the constitutionally established procedures for ensuring democratic control over the military, paramilitary and internal security forces, and the police? The Polish Armed forces remain neutral in political matters and are subject to civil and democratic control pursuant to Article 26(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Democratic control is ensured by constitutional bodies of the legislative and executive powers - Parliament, President, Council of Ministers, Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence. Detailed competences of the executive and legislative authorities in terms of exercising democratic control over the Polish Armed Forces are as follows: ➢ The President of the Republic of Poland The President is the highest representative of the Republic of Poland and the guarantor of the continuity of state power. The President, within the framework of the powers specified in the Constitution, ensures compliance with the Constitution and safeguards the sovereignty and security of the state as well as the inviolability and indivisibility of its territory. He is the principal superior of the PAF, and in peacetime he exercises this authority through the Minister of National Defence. The President appoints the Chief of the General Staff and commanders of the branches of the PAF for a specified period. For the duration of the war, at the request of the Prime Minister, he appoints the Supreme Commander of the PAF. The competences of the President related to the authority and control over the PAF are regulated in the Homeland Defence Act. The President of the Republic of Poland, in particular: • determines, at the request of the Minister of National Defence, the main directions of development of the PAF and their preparations for state defence; • may participate in briefings of the Ministry of National Defence and the PAF; • approves, at the request of the Prime Minister, the national security strategy; • issues, at the request of the Prime Minister, the Political and Strategic Defence Directive of the Republic of Poland and other implementing documents for the national security strategy; • approves, at the request of the Council of Ministers, plans for national defence system exercises and manages their course; • decides, at the request of the Council of Ministers, to introduce or change a specific state of defence readiness of the state;

22 • when the Parliament (Sejm) cannot convene, he declares a state of war; • has the competence to introduce martial law and a state of emergency; • has the ability to enact generally applicable law during martial law if the conditions specified in the Constitution are met (if the Sejm cannot convene during martial law, the President, at the request of the Council of Ministers, may issue regulations with the force of law); decides on the use of the PAF outside the country's borders. ➢ The Council of Ministers The Council of Ministers (The Council) conducts the internal and foreign policy of the Republic of Poland. To the extent and under the principles specified in the Constitution and laws, it ensures the internal security of the state and public order, ensures the external security of the state, exercises general management in the field of national defence and determines annually the number of citizens called up for active military service. The Council requests the President to: • introduce of martial law; • introduce the state of emergency; • issue a regulation with the force of law when the Sejm cannot meet during martial law. The tasks of The Council in terms of control over the Armed Forces include: • developing draft national security strategies; • planning and implementation of state defence preparations ensuring its functioning in the event of an external security threat and during war; • preparing the national security management system, including state defence, and public authorities to function in management positions; • maintaining constant defence readiness of the state, requesting the President of the Republic of Poland to increase it in the event of an external security threat and during war, and to lower it according to the reduction of the level of threat; • during martial law, it orders the activation of the state defence management system, orders the transition to martial principles of operation of public authorities, may suspend the functioning of public authorities in the zone of direct war operations, and may also delegate to military authorities certain competences of public authorities in the zone of direct war operations. ➢ The Prime Minister Pursuant to the Act of Martial Law and on the competences of the Supreme Commander of the PAF and the principles of his subordination to the constitutional bodies of the Republic of Poland, if during martial law the Council of Ministers cannot meet, the constitutional competences of the Council of Ministers shall be exercised by the Prime Minister. During a state of emergency, the Prime Minister may request the President to use military units of the PAF to restore the normal functioning of the state if the forces and means used so far have been exhausted. In the same procedure, in the event of a threat to public security or disruption of public order, pursuant to the Police Act, the Prime Minister submits to the President a request for a resolution on the use of military units of the PAF to assist armed units and subunits of the Police if their use proves to be insufficient. ➢ The Minister of National Defence The competences of the Minister of National Defence in the field of democratic control over the PAF include: • managing all activities of the PAF in peacetime;

23 • preparing state defence assumptions; • forming, reforming and disbanding military units; • implementing general assumptions, decisions and guidelines of the Council of Ministers in the field of state defence and coordinating the implementation of the resulting tasks; • exercising general management in matters of performing the universal duty of defence; • managing the administration of personnel reserves for the purposes of the general defence obligation; • implementing the decisions of the Council of Ministers regarding the participation of the Republic of Poland in military undertakings of international organizations and the fulfillment of military obligations arising from international agreements; • concluding international agreements resulting from decisions of the Council of Ministers regarding the participation of Polish Military Contingents in international peacekeeping missions and humanitarian actions, as well as military exercises conducted jointly with other countries or international organizations. In times of peace the Minister of National Defence mediates in the President's exercise of authority over the PAF. ➢ The Parliament The Sejm and the Senate, in exercising legislative power in terms of democratic control over the PAF: • shape the amount of funds for the security and defence of the state, including the maintenance and development of the PAF; • make decisions on behalf of the Republic of Poland about the state of war and the conclusion of peace; • define the rules for the use of the PAF outside the borders of the Republic of Poland; • define the rules for the stay of foreign troops on the territory of the Republic of Poland and the rules for their movement through this territory; • determine the duration of the term of office of the Chief of the General Staff of the PAF and commanders of the PAF Branches, as well as the procedure and conditions for their dismissal before its expiry; • define the competences of the Supreme Commander of the PAF and the principles of his subordination to the constitutional bodies of the Republic of Poland; • define the competences of the President related to the authority over the PAF; • define the principles of operation of public authorities and the scope to which human and citizen freedoms and rights may be limited during individual states of emergency. ➢ The Military Police The Military Police, as a separate and specialized service part of the PAF, execute tasks specified in several national legal acts. The Military Police Commander, who reports directly to the Minister of National Defence, is responsible for commanding the organizational units of the Military Police and managing the overall activities of the Military Police HQ. The personnel of the Military Police, carrying out the activities of military law enforcement agencies, have statutory duties regarding, among others: • ensuring compliance with military discipline; • protecting public order on the premises and facilities of military units, and in public places; • protect the life and health of people and military property against attacks violating these goods; • detecting crimes and offenses, including fiscal ones, committed by persons;

24 • prosecuting perpetrators and securing evidence of identified crimes and offenses. 2.2 How is the fulfilment of these procedures ensured? Which constitutionally established body/institution bears responsibility for the implementation of these procedures? In addition to its legislative, budgetary and appointments functions, Parliament also performs control functions in national defence matters. As part of the work of Parliament, these functions are performed by the national defence committees of the Sejm and the Senate, as well as directly by MPs and senators who submit interpellations, questions and interventions. The Sejm National Defence Committee and the Sejm Committee for Special Services are active in this field, as is the Senate National Defence Committee. The scope of the Sejm Committee for National Defence includes matters relating to the activities of the PAF, the system and functioning of the country's territorial defence and civil defence, the strengthening of defence by state bodies, cooperative and social organisations and citizens, as well as defence industry plants. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers and other members of the Council of Ministers, in accordance with art. 157 of the Constitution, are jointly and individually responsible before the Sejm for their activities, including the implementation of tasks concerning democratic control over the PAF. 2.3 What are the roles and missions of the military, paramilitary and security forces, and how does your State control such forces so they act solely within the constitutional framework? The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland are the bedrock of national security. The tasks of the PAF are directly related to the goal of guarding the independence and territorial integrity of the state, and shall ensuring the security and inviolability of its borders.

The key role of paramilitary organizations is to bolster the country’s defence by means of: • activities for the defence of the country and countering aggression: − propagating skills and knowledge, important for the defence of the country, among society with the emphasis on school and academic youth; − increasing defensive capabilities of the Polish society. • cooperation with military units of the PAF: − education in schools, conducting projects of the Ministry of National Defence which are the responsibility of commanders of military units assigned by the Minister of National Defence, on request of said commanders; − support for military units in their everyday activities in terms of equipment and instructors. • supporting internal security and providing help to society: − conducting SAR operations. Pursuant to the art. 1 of the Act on the Internal Security Agency and the Foreign Intelligence Agency the mission of the Internal Security Agency shall be the protection of the internal security of the state and its constitutional order, whereas according to the art. 2 of the abovementioned act the Foreign Intelligence Agency shall be competent in matters of the external security of the state. The Heads of the both Agencies are directly subordinated to the President of the Council of Ministers (the Prime Minister), and the activities of both Agencies are also subject to parliamentary control. The Prime Minister may appoint a minister to coordinate the activities of intelligence and security services and transfer some of his/her supervision powers to this person.

25 There is also an important advisory and opinion body of the Council of Ministers called “Security Services Board”, which has competences in the matters of programming, monitoring and coordination of activities of intelligence and security services, i.e. Internal Security Agency. According to the Article 13.1 of the Act on the Internal Security Agency and the Foreign Intelligence Agency, to coordinate actions in the field of security and defence the Prime Minister shall issue binding guidelines and shall request information and opinions from the Heads of the Internal Security Agency and the Foreign Intelligence Agency. The guidelines of the Prime Minister are subject to an opinion of the President and the Security Services Board. The parliamentary control over the activities of special services is exercised by the Sejm Committee for Special Services. This body is entitled to getting acquainted with the information of the security and intelligence services on particularly important events in their activities, including suspicions of irregularities in the activities of the services and suspicions of violations of the law by these services, through access and insight into information, documents and materials obtained as a result of the performance of statutory tasks, in accordance with the provisions of the Act on the Protection of Classified Information and the acts regulating the activities of secret services. The judicial control over the activities of intelligence services includes issuing prior approvals of using special means of interception by those services, by the First Deputy Prosecutor General – National Prosecutor and the court, after verification of their legality.

3. Procedures related to the personnel of various forces 3.1 What kind of procedures does your State use for the recruitment and drafting of personnel for service in the armed forces? ➢ Professional military service In order to optimize recruitment and calling-up personnel for service in the Polish Armed Forces, the Central Military Recruitment Centre (CMRC) has been created. Military Recruitment Centres (MRCs), which are subordinate to CMRC, carry out recruitment activities with the active support of military units located within their administered terrain. The main goal is to present candidates with the possibility to apply for military service in any MRC or garrison selected by them, including military units located near their place of residence. The candidates can choose the type of military service they apply for: professional military service, voluntary basic military service (VBMS), territorial military service (TMS), active reserve (AR). The aforementioned forms of military service were introduced by the Homeland Defence Act. VBMS is performed for 12 months. During the course of VBMS, candidates undergo basic training for 28 days, afterwards they take the military oath and proceed to specialized training connected with performing duties on an assigned post, specialized training lasts up to 11 months (cadets perform basic and specialized training during their first year of study at a military academy). While performing the specialized training portion of VBMS, soldiers can apply for professional service (personnel needs of the armed forces determine the outcome). TMS can be performed by people (on their own request) who are members of the reserve or have no military experience (provided they meet the necessary requirements). TMS lasts between 1 and 6 years, it can however be extended on request by the soldier. Service in AR is performed in military units for a minimum of 2 consecutive days quarterly (during weekends) and 14 consecutive days once every 3 years. An interesting phenomenon observed in the process of recruitment for the PAF is the increasing number of female candidates. There are

26 no divisions in terms of positions that can be occupied based on sex and female soldiers can perform both combat and support roles. Legal regulations on the whole range of issues related to professional military service, including appointment to professional military service (along with the definition of procedures), are contained in the Homeland Defence Act of 11 March 2022 and in the Ordinance of the Minister of Defence of 27 June 2022 on the Appointment to Professional Military Service (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 1384). A professional soldier may be a person who meets the following conditions: • is a Polish citizen; • of good reputation; • has appropriate qualifications with physical and mental capacity for professional military service; • is at least 18 years old; • with no criminal record; • is not scheduled for the alternative civilian service; • is not exempt for performing active military service in case of declaring the military mobilization and in the war time; • hasn’t received the duty assignment to the military unit; • has at least: o a higher education – in case of military service in the officer corps o a high school education or secondary technical education – in case of military service in the non-commissioned officer corps o an elementary education – in case of military service in private corps – if there is need to replenish the PAF. Additionally, the assignment to the military service can depend on:

• particular qualifications required to serve at this post; • medical certificate confirming no contradictions to perform military service at the post requiring specific physical and mental capacities; • submitting a questionnaire for personnel security clearance certificate; • is determined by a military medical commission. The professional personnel of the PAF are divided into the corps of professional officers, professional non-commissioned officers and professional privates. 3.2 What kind of exemptions or alternatives to military service does your State have?

The Homeland Defence Act provides a few exemptions / alternatives to compulsory military service in the PAF during times of crisis or war. Such exemptions are granted ex officio to Members of Parliament, city council members or other state positions vital for national security. Exemptions from the compulsory military service can also be granted on request made by institutions and companies essential for national security. This refers to people, working for institutions and companies, where enlistment could cause serious disruption or endanger their operation. For people whose religious beliefs or moral views prohibit them from becoming a member of the armed forces, an alternative in the form of “substitute service” is available. Substitute service can be conducted in agencies or institutions connected to environmental protection, fire protection, healthcare, social services, public administration. Additionally, people can perform substitute service in armed formations such as the police, border guards, etc.

27 3.3 What are the legal and administrative procedures to protect the rights of the entire armed forces personnel? Professional soldiers of the PAF have all the constitutional rights vested in civilian citizens of the Republic of Poland, with the exception of the possibility of combining the service relationship of a professional soldier with the function of a deputy, including to the European Parliament, senator, elected state managerial post and authority or member of the executive body of a local government, as well as the right to associate in political parties and the right to associate in trade unions. In the event of violation of the rights granted by virtue of military service, a soldier has the right to appeal, provided for in the relevant regulations on the pragmatics of professional military service. This subject matter is also regulated by a number of other legal acts concerning, among others, soldiers' property liability, benefits due in case of accidents and illnesses in connection with military service, accommodation of the PAF, etc. The decisions concerning soldiers can appeal to the higher institution, following the regulations of the Administrative Procedure Code or make complaint to the appropriate administrative court, in accordance with Law on Proceedings Before Administrative Courts. The above doesn’t apply to cases concerning: • appointment to the military rank; • transfer to the other corps or unit; • delegation to perform duties outside of the military unit; • temporary transfer to another post.

4. Implementation of other political norms, principles, decisions and international humanitarian law 4.1 How does your State ensure that International Humanitarian Law and Law of War are made widely available e.g. through military training programs and regulations? At the Ministry of National Defence, the dissemination of knowledge in the area of the law of armed conflicts, including the protection of civilians and cultural property, is carried out by specialized institutions: five military universities and the Military Civic Education Centre located in Warsaw and the International Centre for Training and Research on Cultural Heritage in Danger located in Wrocław. According to Art. 82 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) , State Parties at all times shall ensure that legal advisers are available, when necessary, to advise military commanders at the appropriate level on the application of the Conventions and this Protocol and on the appropriate instruction to be given to the armed forces on this subject. Based on applicable normative documents, the courses on International Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts and the protection of cultural property in armed conflicts and crisis situations were developed and introduced into the military professional education system. The courses were implemented since 2023 and are planned to be implemented in the following years. In addition, the Guidelines of the Minister of National Defence are issued annually, detailing the tasks for educational activities that regulate: dissemination of international humanitarian law of armed conflicts, including the protection of cultural property and this translates into training plans and programs. Participation in national and international military exercises and joint ventures with public administration raise participants awareness of the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict or crisis situations. As part of military exercises, a database of cultural assets (No Strike

28 List - NSL) is used, which should protect cultural assets from destruction and increase commanders' awareness of the decisions they make. Officers of the PAF systematically participate in international seminars and courses devoted to this field of law, organized, among others, by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in San Remo or the International Association of Military and War Law. The topic of international humanitarian law of armed conflicts is included in the curricula for candidates for professional soldiers and courses conducted as part of the professional development system for professional soldiers of the PAF by 5 military universities and 3 military training centres. In addition, all soldiers going on peacekeeping and stabilization missions undergo mandatory training in LOAC and the cultural and legal conditions applicable in a given country. In terms of planning and organizing training, in the Military Police training curricula we have adopted training objectives and defined the scope of training effectiveness in accordance with the Guidelines of the Organizer of the Functional Training System of July 4, 2016 for the amendment and development of basic, specialized and professional subunit training curricula for all branches of armed and services. Additionally, in accordance with the Training Doctrine of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, educational activities include among others, civic education of soldiers, popularization of military traditions and ceremonies and international law of armed conflicts. 4.2. What has been done to ensure that armed forces personnel are aware of being individually accountable under national and international law for their actions? As part of the education, legal cases in the field of IHLLW are used, thus ensuring the possibility of analysing actual events and determining the rules of conduct in the event of similar situations, and the forms and methods of training are improved using the Experience Utilization System in the Armed Forces. Pursuant to the Polish Criminal Code, personal liability for committed acts means full responsibility of military personnel for acts illegal under Polish law and consists in the substantive prosecution of the MP and the prosecutor's office responsible for military matters, as well as the jurisprudence of military courts. Moreover, providing legal services within the meaning of Art. 82 of the Protocol I, including the transfer of substantive knowledge regarding individual responsibility for one's activities in accordance with national and international law, should be in the competences of legal advisors. The PAF ensure the dissemination of knowledge on international humanitarian law, by including these issues in study curricula, postgraduate studies and professional development courses conducted at 5 military universities. The issues are included in the form of separate, dedicated educational subjects for candidates for first officer positions, as well as courses for candidates for positions from captain to brigadier general. Legal issues in armed conflicts and crisis response are the subject of separate improvement courses intended for: • professional soldiers holding positions in the legal service corps, planned to participate in missions abroad or for service positions in international structures; • commanders of land forces battalions; • officers and non-commissioned officers of the Navy. In 2024 International Centre for Training and Research on Cultural Heritage in Danger located in Wrocław trained 140 professional soldiers in stationary forms, and also in the framework of e-learning training, preparation of the Polish Military Contingents.

29 A particularly important element related to shaping awareness is education in military education units. Education of cadets (candidates for professional soldiers) and training of soldiers as part of the professional development system at home and abroad, meets the needs of the PAF in this area. In order to familiarize soldiers and military employees with the principles and obligations contained in international humanitarian law and the issues of individual responsibility for actions taken, other events are organized, e.g. cyclical training of soldiers and army employees in the supplementary training system, conferences, meetings within the framework of cooperation with international organizations and the dissemination of training and information materials. The scope of knowledge provided during education is supplemented on an ongoing basis with information on international agreements to which the Republic of Poland is a party, as well as with the experience gained from conducted operations. Education at every level is supported by legal advisors. The education which is given to all soldiers and employees of the Ministry of National Defence is conducted in 6 subsystems: • training of legal advisers of the commanders, professors and instructors; • education at the military higher education institutions; • education at the training centres; • training at the units and departments of the Ministry of National Defence; • training for subdivision of the military; • training for the personnel reserve.

4.3 How does your State ensure that armed forces are not used to limit the peaceful and lawful exercise of human and civil rights and to deprive them of national, religious, cultural, linguistic or ethnic identity? The PAF conduct activities contributing to the dissemination of the issues of international humanitarian law. The effect of these activities was to raise the importance of the law of war in the practical training of soldiers, to intensify training for commands and staffs of military units, as well as to prepare instructors for the law of war. Officers of the PAF routinely participate in international seminars and courses devoted to this field of law, organized, among others, by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Institute of Humanitarian Law and the International Association for the Law of Military and War. Part of the training in international humanitarian law of armed conflicts is the issue of co-application of international humanitarian law and human rights during armed conflicts, detailing the issue of respect for freedoms and human rights, including respect for national, religious, cultural, linguistic or ethnic identity during armed conflicts. Moreover, Art. 85 para. 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland indicates that a citizen whose religious beliefs or moral principles do not allow him to perform military service may be obliged to perform alternative service on the terms specified in the act. The regulations adopted in the PAF do not restrict peace and lawful observance of human and civil rights, and do not deprive persons of their national, religious, cultural, linguistic or ethnic identity. The scope of preparation of the personnel of the PAF for service in international military structures, and in particular in the Polish Military Contingents (PMC), includes training on increasing cultural, religious and historical awareness adapted to the tasks of a given PMC. Achieving the capabilities of the PAF as part of the implementation of the NATO goal S 1106 N “Training of own staff for stabilization and reconstruction activities” covers a number of issues, including in particular the issues of a comprehensive approach and cultural awareness and knowledge of the Geneva Conventions, Additional Protocols to Conventions or other documents relating to the protection of cultural property.

30 Moreover, the International Centre for Training and Research on Cultural Heritage in Danger was the initiator of the creation of a NATO-certified improvement course in the protection of cultural property for NATO personnel. Preparations and work in this area went on throughout 2024. Additional commitment of the International Training Centre and Research on Cultural Heritage at Risk in building the international security of the European Union is achieving the ability to carry out tasks in the area of protection of cultural property within the framework of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). Research projects implemented using the scientific potential of military universities are aimed at increasing the effectiveness of cultural heritage protection and to implement the National Integrated ICT System for the Security of Monuments, covering the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, voivodeship offices for the protection of monuments, rescue services, the PAF, the Police, and the all types of administration as well as owners and managers of monuments. 4.4 What has been done to provide for the individual service member’s exercise of his or her civil rights and how does your State ensure that the country’s armed forces are politically neutral? The principle of neutrality of the PAF in political matters stems from the Art. 26 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. The requirement for the PAF to be "subject to civilian and democratic control" is closely linked to the requirement for neutrality in political matters. The Constitutional Tribunal pointed to this connection, deriving both principles from the principle of a democratic state of law referred to in Art. 2 of the Constitution. The Constitutional Tribunal also noted that "the political neutrality of the PAF has two aspects - firstly, it means that the Polish Armed Forces cannot constitute an autonomous entity in the political structure of the state, capable of influencing the political decisions of the constitutional bodies of the state. The guarantee of this aspect of the political neutrality of the PAF is civilian control, ensuring the subordination the constitutional bodies of the Republic of Poland. The second aspect of the political neutrality of the PAF is the exclusion of this state structure from the sphere of direct influence of political parties. Restrictions on civil liberties and rights are specified in Homeland Defence Act which, among others: regulates restrictions on the public activities of professional soldiers. A professional soldier cannot, for example, take part in political meetings or conduct political activities. However, a professional soldier has the right to participate in meetings related to the elections of state authorities and local government rallies, i.e. in election rallies, but provided that when participating in such rallies, a professional soldier will not be in uniform or be wearing military badges and insignia. Moreover, on the day of commencement of professional military service, membership in a political party, association, organization or civic movement, if they pursue political goals, ceases. A professional soldier can stand as a candidate in elections to the Sejm, Senate, and the European Parliament. This person may also apply for managerial positions in the state, filled on the basis of election, and for local government bodies. However, he is obliged to immediately inform the commander of the military unit about such actions. An additional entitlement of a professional soldier is an unpaid leave for the duration of the election campaign. At the same time, the applicable regulations introducing restrictions on professional soldiers in the scope of public activities do not violate the right of professional soldiers to belong to churches and other religious associations with legal personality. The rule is that a professional soldier is entitled to belong to any type of association or organization (which, however, involves the obligation of the professional soldier to inform the commander of the military unit about this fact in writing, in which he holds an official position in the case of a domestic

31 association or organization or the consent of the Minister of National Defence at the request of a soldier - in the case of a foreign or international organization). Professional soldiers are not allowed to form trade unions or associate with trade unions. Nevertheless, the there is a possibility for soldiers to create individual corps of professional staff by electing representative bodies. 4.5 How does your State ensure that its defence policy and doctrine are consistent with international law? Pursuant to Art. 9 of the Constitution, the Republic of Poland shall respect international law binding upon, and Art. 7 of the Constitution indicates that public authorities function on the basis and within the limits of the law. These principles oblige public authorities that are responsible for shaping defence policy and its doctrine to respect international law. Compliance of defence policy and doctrine with international law is also one of the requirements for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Shaping a stable international security environment may be achieved, among other things, by increasing the effectiveness of international law through: striving for the development legal norms at the international level, taking actions aimed at ensuring full universalization of adopted legal and treaty norms and agreements, implementing acts of international law into the internal legal order (creating appropriate enforcement mechanisms at the national level). In this Security Strategy, strengthening international law is treated as an opportunity for achieving regional and global security.

SECTION III: Public access and contact information 1. Public access 1.1 How is the public informed about the provisions of the Code of Conduct? This information is available at the internet website www.osce.org/forum-for-security-cooperation. 1.2 What additional information related to the Code of Conduct, e.g. replies to the Questionnaire on the Code of Conduct, is made publicly available in your State? In addition to the Code of Conduct, there are no additional publications on the subject, apart from specialist or academic documents, publicly available, for example, via the Internet. 1.3 How does your State ensure public access to information related to your State’s armed forces? The Republic of Poland shall offer its citizens the right to obtain information about the activities of public authorities and public office holders, which is referred to in Art. 61 of the Constitution. These constitutional provisions were defined in the statutes. Among others in the Act of 6 September 2001 on the access to public information and the Act of 26 January 1984 - Press Law. Public access to information may be restricted only in cases of the necessity to protect national security or in the cases provided by law, for example, relating to classifying information and documents and dealing with them. Public access to information concerning the PAF is ensured by the implementation of the information policy of the Government and the Ministry of National Defence. Public information that has not been published on the website of the Public Information Bulletin is made available upon request. Requests for public information directed to the Ministry of National Defence should be addressed to section of the Public Information and Data. A request for access to public information may be submitted to the Operations Centre of the Ministry of National Defence: bip.wniosek@mon.gov.pl. In the case of

32 submitting a request by phone, the information will be received immediately, or – if it is not possible, the applicant will be informed on the need to submit a request in other way. A written reply is given within 14 days from the date of receipt. If the information cannot be made available within this deadline, deadline may be prolonged up to 2 months from the date of receipt of the request and the applicant is informed about reasons of such delay. The Ministry of National Defence implements information policy with the application of a number of modern tools, social campaigns and organisation of the events accessible to public. Ongoing information of the public and the personnel of the PAF is provided by means of official websites. The main sources of information are: the official website of the Ministry of National Defence at www.gov.pl/web/obrona-narodowa and at the portal www.wojsko-polskie.pl. Accounts of the Ministry of National Defence in social media are run on Facebook (official account + ones with ZOOM photos), X (former Twitter official accounts in both Polish and English languages + one for veterans), Flickr, Instagram, and YouTube. Every soldier has access to the application “Żołnierz RP” (“Soldier of the Republic of Poland”) and candidates for military service can consult the recruitment webpage “Zostań Żonierzem” https://www.wojsko-polskie.pl/zostanzolnierzem/ (“Become Soldier”).

2.Contact information 2.1 Provide information on the national point of contact for the implementation of the Code of Conduct The National Focal Point for the implementation of the Code of Conduct is the Security Policy Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Al. J. Ch. Szucha 23, 00-580 Warsaw, telephone no.: + 48 22 523 9205; fax: +48 22 523 8749; e-mail: dpb.sekretariat@msz.gov.pl).

SECTION IV Additional information on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, submitted in accordance with the provisions of the OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality, in accordance with Ministerial Decision 14/04, as well as No. 14/5 on Women In Conflict Prevention, Crisis Management and Post Conflict Rehabilitation.

➢ Women’s professional military service The UN Security Council unanimously passed the resolution no 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, which topic has been successively developed in further 10 resolutions adopted since then. The Ministry of National Defence actively participates in the implementation of the so-called Women, Peace and Security Agenda (WPS Agenda), in particular implementation of the Polish National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2018 – 2023 (NAP WPS). The Plan was prepared jointly by the Ministry of National Defence, MFA, Ministry of Interior and Administration, Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment, Police and Border Guard and has 4 main objectives:

33 • meaningful participation of women in conflict prevention and peacekeeping; • implementation of the WPS Agenda through the Polish humanitarian and development aid; • protection and support of the victims of conflict – related sexual violence; • promotion and development of the WPS Agenda in Poland and in the framework of international cooperation. In addition to the above, National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2018-2023 foresees that Poland will strive to:

• strengthen women position in the uniformed services through increasing their representation at the management and commend structures • increase the number of women in the foreign service and in uniformed services and the number of women serving in foreign missions and operations; • support women’s participation in mediation and conflict prevention and resolution; • implement the WPS Agenda as element of the security sector support through international missions and operation; • implement the WPS Agenda as element of the peace processes support through international missions and operations. The National Action Plan for the implementation of the UN Agenda on Women, Peace and Security has been extended until 2024. ➢ Women’s contribution in the Polish Armed Forces Women have been serving in the PAF for over 30 years. In 2024, women made up 14 % of the army's personnel. The percentage of women in the army is systematically increasing. Women's interest in military service was the result of proper information about the possibilities of pursuing a professional career in the Polish Army. They occupy command positions from the squad to battalion level. In addition to positions in medical and other logistical services, women have also occupied specialist positions (pilot, sapper, diver, etc.). Military colleges and schools remain the main source of female recruitment.

➢ Participation of women in peace and stabilization missions The are many campaigns run aiming at enhancing women’s participation in the stabilization and peace missions. Increasing its number is enlisted as one of the priorities of the Polish National Action Plan on WPS. The need to implement the 1325 resolution is also emphasized in the National Security Strategy of 2020, referring to women’s participation in the international missions and operations. The majority of women in the missions are assigned to the medical, financial, logistical and general corps, but in Polish Military Contingents (PMC) KOSOVO, LATVIA and ROMANIA they have as well training and operational tasks. The following number of women soldiers have been deployed to missions within PMC in 2024: • PMC KFOR, Kosovo – 17, • PMC IRAQ – 15, • PMC LATVIA: – 16, • PMC ROMANIA – 42, • PMC EUFOR, BOSNIA AND HERCEGOVINA – 5, • PMC ORLIK, Baltic Air Policing – 12,

34 • PMC TÜRKIYE – 8, • PMC UNIFIL, Lebanon – 44, • PMC IRINI – 20, • PMC CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC – 1.

➢ Council for Women's Military Service The Ministry of National Defence has a Women's Affairs Council as a representative of female soldiers, which is a consultative and advisory body to the Minister of National Defence. The activity of the Council is supervised by the Minister of National Defence (Decision No. 120/MON of the Minister of National Defence of 31 October 2023 on the functioning of the Council for Women).

The tasks of the Council shall include: 1) presenting the position to the Minister of National Defence, in the form of resolutions, on matters related to the performance of military service by women; 2) preparing analyzes on the performance of military service by female soldiers; 3) identifying factors affecting the performance of military service by female soldiers; 4) conducting educational activities; 5) constant cooperation with the Coordinator for Equal Treatment in the Ministry of National Defence in matters related to the performance of military service by female soldiers, including by: organizing joint community meetings, conducting thematic training, educational and informational activities and promotional activities for the Polish Armed Forces; 6) cooperation with military units, representative bodies of professional soldiers, non-governmental organizations, state institutions; 7) and international, together with their specialized agencies in matters arising from the performance of military service by female soldiers; 8) developing proposals for legal solutions related to the military service of female soldiers; 9) informing female soldiers about the activities undertaken by the Council in matters arising from the performance of military service by female soldiers; 10) promoting the professional military service of female soldiers.

The Council is represented by the Chairwoman of the Council for Women's Affairs, whose position was established in the Operational Centre of the Minister of National Defence. The tasks of the Chairman of the Council include, among others: 1) developing and initiating training and education projects as well as Ministry of National Defence programs to raise the level of collective awareness in the field of women's military service; 2) participation in trainings, conferences, workshops and other forms of experience exchange on the national and international forum in the field of women's military service; 3) constant cooperation with the Coordinator for Equal Treatment in the Ministry of National Defence in the scope of tasks specified in § 7 point 5 and the Chairman of the Presidium of Representative Bodies of Professional Soldiers in the scope of tasks performed by the Council; 4) representing female soldiers before the Minister of National Defence, other public authorities and non-governmental organizations; 5) assessing the state of observance of the rights of female soldiers; 6) analysis and collection of data on the situation of female soldiers in the service environment; 7) giving opinions on draft legal acts concerning the military service of female soldiers;

35 8) cooperation with state and international institutions and their specialized agencies in matters arising from the performance of military service by female soldiers; 9) disseminating and coordinating in the Ministry of National Defence tasks resulting from national and international regulations concerning the military service of women; 10) promotional activities for women's military service. In addition, the Chairwoman of the Council for Women's Affairs is the coordinator on behalf of the Ministry of National Defence for the implementation of the National Action Plan for the implementation of the WPS AGENDA and a member of the inter-ministerial team creating the National Action Plan of the WPS. The objectives of the National Action Plan include the tasks of the Council and its Chairperson, which are implemented on an ongoing basis and supplemented with knowledge in the field of Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and other resolutions. The Ministry of National Defence has a Coordinator for Equal Treatment, whose area of activity includes both female and male soldiers and civilian employees of the Ministry of National Defence. The coordinator focuses on counteracting discrimination, pathological actions, mobbing and promoting equality. ➢ Implementation of the UN WPS Agenda by the National Revenue Administration

In the National Revenue Administration (hereinafter: NRA) the implementation of the UN WPS Agenda is ensured by the Plenipotentiary of the Head of the National Revenue Administration for equal treatment of women and men in NRA organizational units.

In 2024, NRA deployed 3 women to serve in two EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions – EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (as the liaison officer and as the observer) and EU Mission in Armenia (as the observer and deputy team leader), which constituted on-third of NRA’s representatives in foreign missions.

NRA continued to carry out awareness and outreach activities to increase knowledge on the UN WPS Agenda and promote participation of the NRA representatives, including women, in foreign missions, as well as provided training courses on topics related to the UN WPS Agenda, on the protection and support of victims of gender-based violence and victims of sexual violence in armed conflicts, on the recruitment process for foreign missions, as well as training courses dedicated to participants and candidates for foreign missions.

➢ Implementation of the National Action Plan on WPS for the years 2018-2023 by the Polish Police

The Polish Police has demonstrated a strong commitment to implementing the WPS objectives in its legal framework. It is noteworthy that by the end of 2023, all vocational trainings for officers preparing for deployment to serve in UN and EU peacekeeping missions included the WPS agenda, anti- discrimination policies, and measures to combat gender-based violence.

Additionally, as of the end of 2024, 118 Polish Police officers were serving abroad in Kosovo, Georgia and Armenia. Poland has a notable presence in CSDP missions, with 118 participants. Within that number, one women holds an executive position.

It is worth noting that in 2023, the Polish Police released and approved the Gender Equality Plan for 2023-2026, which is a significant step towards promoting gender equality within the service. It presents current statistics on gender balance for both police officers and civilian staff, as well as current trends in gender balance in positions of power. It also outlines goals for the coming years and emphasizes the importance of anti-discrimination procedures within the organization. As of the

36 end of 2023, it was noted that one in every five officers was a woman. It is hoped that achievement of goals set in said plan will improve gender equality within the police even further.

➢ Women in Polish Border Guard activities

The position of women in the Border Guard is increasing year by year, both in the total number of officers and in the share of women in management positions.

As of December 31, 2019, women constituted 27.44% of the total number of officers. Managerial positions were held by 421 women (18.81%).

At the end of 2024, women constituted 32.90% of the total number of officers. Over the last 5 years, a slight increase in the number of women officers in the total number of employees can be observed (an increase of 5,46%). In 2024 (as of December 31), managerial positions were held by 568 women (22.83%). Since 2019, the percentage increase of women officers holding managerial positions has been 4.02%.

With regard to information campaigns showing opportunities for career development and combining professional service and family life, since 2018, individual BG regional units have been conducting regular promotional activities in the media and on the occasion of various types of events. It can be concluded that, based on the data presented above, the number and proportions of employment and promotion of women Border Guard officers have an increasing tendency, which is consistent with the implementation of one of the key objectives of the National Action Plan for the UN Agenda on Women, Peace and Security for 2018-2023 (actions to strengthen the position of women in the uniformed services and foreign service).

The priority action under the National Action Plan for the UN Agenda on Women, Peace and Security for 2018-2023 was to increase women's participation in conflict prevention and peacekeeping activities. This priority is implemented by increasing the number of women in UN, EU, NATO and OSCE missions and operations. The implementation of this task in the Border Guard in 2023 was mainly reflected in the participation of the officers in joint foreign operations of the Frontex Agency.

Number of women delegated to foreign missions and operations in 2024:

-joint operations coordinated by the Frontex Agency - 61 women (18%),

• long-term deployments 9 women (18%) • short-term - 45 52 women (18%);

-seconded national experts (SNE) in the Frontex Agency - 3 women (25%);

Number of liaison officers:

-liaison officers at the Embassies of the Republic of Poland in Berlin (Germany) and Tbilisi (Georgia) – 2 women;

-European Return Liaison Officers in Hanoi (Vietnam) and Tashkent (Uzbekistan, accredited for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) – 2 women;

-Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium – 1 woman.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that out of all 8 Border Guard liaison officers, the majority are women (5, i.e. 62%).

37 Information on recruitment for positions in EU agencies, bodies and missions is available to every officer on the Border Guard intranet website. Along with the job specification and available application forms, there is also a note about the special need for women's involvement in the mentioned activities.

It should also be noted that the full-scale Russian war against Ukraine and the resulting influx of refugees as well as systematic hybrid attacks by the Belarusian side related to the instrumental use of illegal migrants on a common section of the state border result in the forces and resources of the Border Guard being used primarily to secure the borders of the Republic of Poland. In the field of legal regulations and practice regarding the application of the principle of equal treatment (non- discrimination) in the Border Guard, Decision No. 121 of the Commander-in-Chief of the Border Guard of May 30, 2014 on the introduction of a procedure in the Border Guard in cases of violation of the principle of equal treatment has been in force since 2014 (Journal of Laws KGSG of 2014, item 86).

Another priority entitled "Protection and support for victims of gender-based violence and sexual violence in armed conflicts", in the area of activity "Training of people preparing to participate to foreign missions and operations, as well as people interested in participating in them in the field of protection and support for victims gender-based violence and sexual violence in armed conflicts" in the period from 2019 to 2023, a number of training activities were carried out in the Border Guard training centres detailed in the annual reports on the implementation of the National Action Plan.

Educational projects carried out in 2024 are presented below.

In 2024, the Border Guard Training Centre in Kętrzyn carried out the following courses and training:

- "Preparation of the Border Guard officers to participate in civilian missions abroad", 7-day course- 3 Border Guard officers and 5 National Revenue Administration officers (incl. 1 woman) were trained.

In 2024, Border Guard Specialist Training Centre in Lubań conducted the e-learning course “UN Women, Peace and Security Agenda”, in which 363 Border Guard officers took part, including 138 women.

Moreover, Border Guard officers take part also in the annual online training organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for candidates for CSDP missions. In 2024, 22 Border Guard officers took part in it, including 10 women.

It is also worth to mention that in 2024, one representative (a woman) of the Border Guard Training Centre in Kętrzyn took place in the International Scientific and Practical Conference "Implementation of the gender equality policy at the contemporary stage of development of the security and defence sector: status, problems, prospects", organized online by the Academy of the State Border Service Ukraine and related to the implementation of UN resolution 1325 "Women, peace and security" and gender policy in the educational process in the security and defence sector of Ukraine.

38  ANNEX – List of international agreements and arrangements Please indicate if your State is party to the following universal and regional legal instruments relevant to preventing and combating terrorism and related co-operation in criminal matters. If your State is not a party to a treaty, but considers becoming a party, kindly indicate at which stage is such consideration (e.g. undergoing inter-ministerial coordination, approved by government and sent to parliament, approved by parliament and awaiting enactment by president, etc.). Name of the treaty Party by: Date of Data of the Data of the Comments raticificatio ratification exchange entry in life (R), by the of for Poland accession President documents PL (a), or approval succession PL (S), acceptance (A), approval (AA), or not party

Legal instruments of universal character

1 Convention on Offences PL (R) 09.01.1971 19.03.1971 17.06.1971- and Certain Others Acts Committed on Board Aircraft (1963) 2 Nuclear Non-Proliferation PL (R) 03.05.1969 12.06.1969 05.03.1970 Treaty (1968) 3 Convention for the PL (R) 12.02.1972 21.03.1972 20.04.1972 Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft (1970) 4 Convention for the PL (R) 14.11.1974 28.01.1975- 27.02.1975 Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation (1971) 5 Convention on the PL (R) 11.12.1972 25.01.1973 26.03.1975 Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (1972) 6 Convention on the PL (R) 12.10.1982 14.12.1982 13.01.1983 Prevention and Punishment of Crimes  against Internationally Protected Persons (1973) 7 International Convention PL (R) 13.09.2000 25.05.2000 24.06.2000 against the Taking of Hostages (1979) 8 Convention on the PL (R) 08.09.1983 05.10.1983 08.02.1987 Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (1979) 9 Convention on PL (R) 24.02.1983 02.06.1983 02.12.1983 Prohibition or Restriction on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or Have Indiscriminate Effects (1980) 10 Protocol for the PL (R) 31.05.2004 12.08.2004 11.09.2004 Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving International Civil Aviation (1988) 11 Convention for the PL (R) 08.04.1991 25.06.1991 01.03.1992 Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (1988) 12 Protocol for the PL (R) 08.04.1991 25.06.1991 01.03.1992 Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf (1988) 13 Convention on the PL (R) 07.07.2006 26.09.2006 25.11.2006 Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Identification (1991) 14 Convention on the PL (R) 27.07.1995 23.08.1995 29.04.1997 Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (1993) 15 International Convention PL (R) 31.12.2003 03.02.2004 04.03.2004 for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (1997) 16 International Convention PL (R) 10.07.2003 26.09.2003 26.10.2003 for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (1999) 17 United Nations PL (R) 02.10.2001 12.11.2001 29.09.2003 Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000) 18 Protocol Against the Illicit PL (R) 21.02.2005 04.04.2005 03.07.2005 Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition (2001) 19 Protocol on Explosive PL (R) 24.02.1983 02.06.1983 02.12.1983 Poland Remnants of War to ratified it Convention on together Prohibitions or with the Restrictions on the Use of Convention. Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects (1980) 20 Protocol on Prohibitions PL (R) 23.07.2003 14.10.2003 15.04.2004 or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices as Amended on 3 May 1996 to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have indiscriminate effects (1996) 21 Protocol on Prohibitions PL (R) 24.02.1983 02.06.1983 02.12.1983 Poland or Restrictions on the Use ratified it of Incendiary Weapons to together the Convention on with the Prohibition or Restrictions Convention. on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons  which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects (1980) 22 Protocol on dazzle laser PL (R) 31.07.2004 23.09.2004 23.03.2005 weapons to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects (1995) 23 Protocol on Explosive PL (R) 01.07.2011 26.09.2011 26.03.2012 Remnants of War to the – Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects (2003) 24 Convention on the PL (R) 14.12.2012. 27.12.2012 01.06.2013 Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti- Personnel Mines and on their Destruction 25 International Convention PL (R) 22.03.2010 08.04.2010 08.05.2010 for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (2005) 26 Amendment to the PL (R) 20.04.2007 01.06.2007 08.05.2016 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (2005) 27 Protocol to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety or Maritime Navigation (2005) 28 Protocol to the Protocol for the Suppression of  Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixes Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf (2005) 29 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Relating to International Civil Aviation (2010) 30 Convention on the Cluster Munitions (2010) 31 Protocol Supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft (2010)

The Council of Europe legal instruments

32 European Convention on PL (R) 06.07.1994 the Suppression of Terrorism (1957) 33 European Convention on PL (R) 13.12.1955 30.01.1996 01.05.1996 the Suppression of Terrorism (1977) 34 European Convention on PL (R) 10.11.2000 20.12.2000 01.04.2001 Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime (1990) 35 Convention on PL (R) 29.01.2015 20.02.2015 01.06.2015 Cybercrime (2001) 36 Additional Protocol to the PL (R) 29.01.2015 20.02.2015 01.06.2015 Convention on Cybercrime, concerning the criminalisation of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems (2003) 37 Protocol amending the PL (R) 25.10.2004 10.11.2004 European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism (2003) 38 Council of Europe PL (R) 03.03.2008 03.04.2008 01.08.2008 Convention on the  Prevention of Terrorism (2005) 39 Council of Europe PL (R) 30.05.2007 08.08.2007 01.05.2008 Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (2005) 40 European Convention on PL (R) 30.04.1993 15.06.1993 13.09.1993 Extradition (1957) 41 Additional Protocol to the PL (R) 30.04.1993 15.06.1993 13.09.1993 European Convention on Extradition (1975) 42 Second Additional PL (R) 30.04.1993 15.06.1993 13.09.1993 Protocol to the European Convention on Extradition (1978) 43 European Convention on PL (R) 17.06.1996 Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (1959) 44 Additional Protocol to the PL (R) 17.06.1996 European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (1978) 45 Second Additional PL (R) 01.02.2004 Protocol to the European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (2001) 46 European Parliament and PL (R) 01.01.2010 EU Council Decision of May 11, 2016 on establishing European Police Office (Europol)

Export control regimes

47 The Nuclear Supliers PL (R) 1978 Group 48 The Australian Group PL (R) 1985 49 The Wassenaar PL (Z) 19.11.1996 12.07.1996 Arrangement 50 The Zangger Committee 2006 51 The Arms Trade Treaty PL (R) 15.12.2014 17.12.2014 24.12.2014

Please list below any other regional, sub-regional, or bilateral agreements or arrangements relevant to preventing and combating terrorism and related co- operation in criminal matters, to which your country is a party. 52 Agreement between the PL (Z) 05.12.1996 14.05.1998 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Hungary on cooperation in combating terrorism, illegal trafficking in drugs and organized crime (1996) 53 Agreement between the PL (Z) 02.12.1996 06.04.1998 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on cooperation in combating terrorism, organized crime, illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors (1996) 54 Agreement between the PL (Z) 02.12.1996 01.03.1998 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the French Republic on cooperation in internal affairs (1996) 55 Agreement between the PL (R) 14.10.2003 26.11.2003 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Kingdom of Spain on cooperation in combating organized crime and other serious crimes (2000) 56 Agreement between the PL (R) 05.05.2003 27.08.2003 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of Romania on cooperation in combating organized crime, terrorism and other types of crimes (2001) 57 Agreement between the PL (R) 14.10.2003 18.03.2006 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Ireland on cooperation in combating organized crime and other serious crimes (2001) 58 Agreement between the PL (R) 14.10.2003 28.11.2003 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria on cooperation in combating crime (2002) 59 Agreement between the PL (R) 14.10.2003 27.11.2003 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the United Mexican States on cooperation in combating organized crime and other types crimes (2002) 60 PL (R) Agreement between the 30.03.2015 09.07.2015 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Germany on cooperation of police, border guard and custom services 61 Agreement between the PL (R) 24.04.2003 30.03.2005 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on cooperation in combating organized  crime and other types of crimes (2002) 62 Agreement between the PL (R) 21.01.2004 02.04.2004 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan on cooperation in combating crime (2003) 63 Agreement between the PL (R) 28.02.2004 09.12.2004 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of India on cooperation in combating organized crime and international terrorism (2003) 64 Agreement between the PL (R) 08.12.2003 25.07.2004 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Turkey on cooperation in combating terrorism, organized crime and other types of crimes (2003) 65 Agreement between the PL (R) 08.12.2003 07.02.2004 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Estonia on cooperation in combating organized crime and other types of crimes (2003) 66 Agreement between the PL (R) 31.12.2003 26.04.2004 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on cooperation in combating organized crime (2003) 67 Agreement between the PL (R) 09.06.2004 26.07.2004 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Moldova on  cooperation in combating organized crime and other types of crimes (2003) 68 Agreement between the PL (R) 20.09.2004 05.03.2005 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Belarus on cooperation in combating crime (2003) 69 Agreement between the PL (R) 14.02.2005 07.04.2005 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on cooperation in combating crime (2004) 70 Agreement between the PL (R) 26.06.2006 20.09.2006 18.12.2006 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Slovak Republic on cooperation in combating crime and joint actions in border regions (2004) 71 Agreement between the PL (R) 17.09.2005 04.11.2005 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden on cooperation in combating serious crime (2005) 72 Agreement between the PL (R) 19.07.2007 12.09.2007 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Chile on cooperation in combating organized crime (2006) 73 Agreement between the PL (R) 28.11.2008 21.02.2009 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Macedonia on cooperation in combating organized crime and  other types of crimes (2008) 74 Agreement between the PL (Z) 20.09.2001 13.10.2010 Minister of National Defence of the Republic of Poland and the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Lithuania on cooperation in the field of defence, signed on June 16, 2010

75 Amendment to the PL (R) 31.01.2011 30.06.2011 31.07.2011 Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Slovak Republic on cooperation in combating crime and joint actions in border regions, signed in Warsaw on 23 March, 2004 (2010) 76 Agreement between the PL (R) 07.02.2008 09.07.2008 09.08.2008 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on cooperation in the fight against crime (2007) 77 Agreement between the PL (R) 12.09.2003 01.12.2003 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Austria on cooperation in preventing and combating crime (2002) 78 Agreement between the PL (R) 22.09.2003 01.01.2004 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium on cooperation in combating organized crime (2000) 79 Agreement between the PL (R) 29.09.2005 17.02.2006 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the  Republic of Cyprus on cooperation in combating organized and other forms of crime (2005) 80 Agreement between the PL (R) 06.03.2007 03.07.2007 02.08.2007 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Czech Republic on cooperation in combating crime, protection of public order and collaboration in border regions (2006) 81 Agreement between the PL (R) 22.09.2003 20.11.2003 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Finland on co- operation in prevention of and combating against organized crime and other crimes (1999) 82 Agreement between the PL (R) 19.03.2008 03.05.2008 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of Georgia on the co- operation in the fight against organized crime and other types of crime (2007) 83 Agreement between the PL (R) 26.02.2007 08.07.2007 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on cooperation of police and border guard forces in border regions and in combating crime (2006) 84 Agreement between the PL (R) 03.06.2003 24.08.2003 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Ukraine on the cooperation in combating organized crime (1999) 85 Agreement between the PL (R) 07.10.2003 22.11.2003 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Uzbek Republic on the cooperation in combating organized crime (2002) 86 Agreement between the PL (R) 07.02.2008 25.06.2009 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Italy on the cooperation in combating organized crime (2007) 87 Agreement between the PL (R) 15.07.2008 23.07.2016 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Federal Republic of Brazil on cooperation in combating organized crime and other crime, signed on October 9, 2006. 88 Agreement between the PL (R) 05.12.2014 27.01.2015 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Croatia on cooperation in the fight crime, signed on July 9, 2010. 89 Agreement between the PL (R) 15.12.2008 22.05.2015 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan on cooperation in combating international terrorism, organized crime and other forms of crime, signed on June 4, 2008. 90 Agreement between the PL (R) 21.07.2015 15.07.2017 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Serbia in cooperation on combating organized  crime and other forms of crime, signed on November 7, 2011. 91 Agreement between the PL (R) 30.01.2006 08.10.2016 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia in cooperation on combating organized crime and other forms of crime, signed on July 2, 2005. 92 Agreement between the PL (Z) 25.02.1997 31.12.1998 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt on security matters (1996) 93 Agreement between the PL 08.07.2007 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on cooperation in combating organised crime and other crimes and on cooperation in border areas, signed on March 14, 2006. 94 Memorandum of PL 04.02.2008 understanding between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran on cooperation in combating illicit traffic in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors, signed on June 11,2005. 95 Agreement between the PL 03.09.2019 Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the United States of America on enhancing cooperation in preventing and combating serious crime, signed on June 12,2019.  Attachement

April 2025

ANSWERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND TO THE INDICATIVE LIST OF ISSUES PERTAINING TO CHILDREN AND ARMED COFLICT ISSUED BY GOF ON CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT

A. International legal framework and commitments

Yes No Reservations/Statements Convention on the rights of the child x 1 Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the x Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography Optional Protocol to the Convention on the rights of the x 2 child on the involvement of children in armed conflict Optional Protocol to the Convention on the rights of the x child on a communication procedure ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour x Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, x Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction Safe Schools Declaration x Paris Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated x with Armed Forces or Armed Groups Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the x Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers Political Declaration on EWIPA (Explosive Weapons in x Populated Areas)

1. Convention on the rights of the child: 2. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the rights of the child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts: - Reservations: • According to art. 3 section 4 of the Protocol, the Government of the Republic of Poland declares that in the case of compulsory conscription of Polish citizens for military service in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, the minimal age limit is determined by law and is eighteen (18) years old; • in the case of voluntary service into the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, the minimal age limit is determined by law and is eighteen (18) years old. The candidate is obliged to submit a document confirming his/her age. B. National measures to end and prevent CAAC violation 1. What is the minimum legal age for recruitment (including voluntary recruitment) for service in military, paramilitary and security forces in your State? In the Republic of Poland the minimal age for recruitment is 18 years old, without exceptions. 2. If the legal age for recruitment is set below 18 years, what measures are taken to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, with particular regard to the obligation that children do not directly participate in hostilities and are not subject to mandatory recruitment? Not applicable, the legal age for recruitment is 18 years old. 3. Please indicate if your State has any national reference document (for example in the form of laws, regulations, policies or action plans) on issues related to the protection of children in armed conflicts.

4. Do the military doctrine and guidance of your State include issues related to children and armed conflict, with particular regard to the six grave violations identified by the UN Security Council: recruitment and use of children, killing and maiming, abduction, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, attacks on schools and hospitals and military use of schools and hospitals, denial of humanitarian access to children?

5. How is the protection of children – especially with regard to the above-mentioned six grave violations - included in military planning and other operational considerations, including rules of engagement as relevant? Are there mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the implementation of such specific child protection procedures into operations?

If relevant, please also indicate if your States has: YES NO

reporting mechanisms specifically related to incidents involving children from operations to chiefs of defence or military planners and between forces leading multi-national missions and forces providing personnel to such missions mechanisms to collect and monitor reported cases of exploitation and abuse allegedly perpetrated by military, para-military and security forces mechanism to assess risk of abuse of small arms to commit or facilitate serious acts against children mechanisms to collect within military operations, humanitarian activities or development cooperation projects disaggregated information per sex, age, religion, and ethnicity of children affected by armed conflicts mechanisms to protect the anonymity and personal data of children affected by armed conflicts collected during military operations, humanitarian activities or development cooperation projects

If yes, please add any relevant information or comments with the view of sharing/identifying best practices.

6. How does the protection of schools in situations of armed conflicts feature in the military planning and other operational considerations of your State, including rules of engagement as relevant?

C. Education and training activities for troops on CAAC issues – not applicable, the details have been discussed in current edition of THE CODE OF CONDUCT ON POLITICO-MILITARY ASPECTS OF SECURITY.

D. International partnership

1. In case of collaboration and training programmes of your State with other States, to what extent are issues related to children and armed conflict addressed and included in such programmes, in particular for those countries that are mentioned in the UN Secretary General annual report on children and armed conflict? The issue of children in armed conflicts is included in the training programs of subunits of the Polish Armed Forces and conducted as part of classes with the International Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts. At the  same time, the professional development system includes regular training courses on this topic (10 editions of courses on this topic are planned in 2025, including utilization of e-learning platforms).

2. Does your State support capacity-building initiatives in the security and other sectors of other States, in particular those in conflict or post-conflict situations, which include the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and respect of international humanitarian law? If yes, to what extent are issues related to children and armed conflict addressed in these initiatives? Poland fully supports all international community’s activities in order to global and European security improvement. Due to this Poland very actively engages into missions, operations and initiatives under the auspices of NATO, UE and UN, and the Global Coalition to fight the so-called Islamic State.  Attachment

April 2025

ANSWER OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND TO THE VOLUNTARY ATTACHMENT CONSERNING ISSUES PERTAINING TO WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE OSCE CODE OF CONDUCT

.

3.1. PREVENTION A. Checklist of key commitments taken by participating States

LIST OF INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND ARRANGEMENTS Please indicate if your State is party to the following universal and regional legal instruments relevant to protecting women, peace and security. If your State is not a party to a treaty, but considers becoming a party, kindly indicate at which stage is such consideration (e.g., undergoing inter-ministerial co- ordination, approved by government and sent to parliament, approved by parliament and awaiting enactment by president, etc.)

Party by: Law and date of ratificatio ratification, n P(R), accession, accession succession, P(a), acceptance, Name of the treaty succession or approval P(s), acceptance P(A), approval P(AA), or Not party Universal legal instruments 1. Protocol Supplementary to the United Nations P(R) 26/09/2003 Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (2000)

2. United Nations Convention on All Forms of Discrimination P (R) 30/07/1980 Against Women (1979)  The Council of Europe legal instruments 3. European Convention Against Trafficking in Human Beings P (R) 17/11/2008 (2005) CETS No: 197 4. European Convention on Preventing and Combatting P (R) 27/04/2015 Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (2011) CETS No: 210 Other arrangements Yes No 5. National Action Plan on Women, Peace & Security x 6. National legislation to implement the UN CEDAW x convention (if a party), with particular reference to (i.e. National combating discrimination in employment, education, access Action Program to health services and participation in institutions ensuring for Equal democratic oversight and public scrutiny of the security Treatment 2022- sector. 2030)

7. Other related information, clarification or details to share:

B. Checklist of key measures taken by participating States Please indicate if your State has the following preventative measures in place. More detailed information of the preventative measures can be included in Part B below.

Type of Measure Yes No

1. Mechanism to assess risk of abuse of small arms to commit or facilitate serious acts of gender-based violence and violence against women and children x

2. Inclusion of women’s organisations and women in religious, ethnic minority or community groups in measures x - to counter and prevent terrorism and violent extremism - to raise awareness of the potential risks of exploitation and radicalization1

3. Inclusion of gender perspective and special needs of women and girls in a national counter-terrorism strategy x

4. Inclusion of specific matters related to the protection of women’s and girls’ rights in the basic education of armed forces. x

5. Availability of specialised in-service training for armed forces personnel on the protection of women’s and girls’ rights. x

6. Inclusion of specific matters related to the protection of women’s and girls’ rights in the pre-deployment training for international peacekeeping missions. x  7. Plans to address and gather information from local women’s x populations in areas at risk of conflicts.

8. Mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the implementation of gender x mainstreaming into operations 9. Feedback mechanisms: - from operations to chiefs of defence or military planners x - between forces leading multi-national missions and forces providing personnel to such missions

10. Membership of a regional network or leadership network such as the WPS Chiefs x of Defence Network

11. Other related information, clarification or details to share:

C. More detailed information for sharing good practice between participating States

1 National Action Plan on Women, Peace & Security 1.1 In case you have a National Action Plan on WPS, how is your NAP developed, implemented and its impact assessed, including involvement of women’s organisations and other civil society organisations and coordination across government? Polish National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security was adopted in 2018, initially for 3 years (2018-2021). On 26th of January 2022 Council of Ministers extended NAP WPS for additional 2 years, until the end of 2023. Polish NAP WPS was the result of cooperation between ministries and uniformed services responsible for internal and external security and institutions in charge of equal treatment policy, including: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of National Defence, Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment, Polish Police and Polish Border Guards. Non-governmental organisation (Women in International Security Poland – WIIS) and representatives of the academia (Warsaw University) were involved in the process of preparing NAP. The assumptions of the Plan were also consulted on the working bases with UN Women and EU. The project of the Plan was subject to public consultation before approval by the Council of Ministers. NAP WPS constituted a base on which the cooperation between implementing institutions and ministries was established, with MFA as a coordinator of the implementation process. Coordination and monitoring of the Plan implementation is carried out as part of the work of inter-ministerial team consisting of the representatives of ministries and uniformed formations subordinate to them at expert level. In 2021, the National Revenue Administration and Prison Service joined the group of institutions implementing NAP WPS. In each implementing institution a focal point for WPS Agenda implementation was established in charge of planning the implementation process, monitoring progress, preparing annual reports. In some institutions, sectoral annual or multiannual plans for implementation of NAP commitments have been prepared. Priorities of Polish NAP WPS:

− meaningful participation of women in conflict prevention and peacekeeping, − implementation of WPS Agenda through the Polish humanitarian and development aid, − protection and support of the victims of conflict-related sexual violence, − promotion and development of WPS Agenda in Poland and through international cooperation.

The implementation of first edition of the NAP WPS focused on activities at national level: − participation of women and empowerment of women in uniformed services, armed forces and foreign service, − increasing the number of women in peacekeeping missions and operations led by international organisations, − promotion and raising awareness related to WPS Agenda and gender equality training activities, − promotional campaigns by publication of leaflets, articles in the trade press („Police newspaper”), workshops, conferences, information on websites of MFA and other ministries and uniformed formations, films. Main achievements and good practices:

− enlarging the group of ministries and institutions participating in the implementation of NAP WPS, in 2021 National Revenue Administration, Customs Service, Penitentiary Service and Ministry of Finance have joined NAP WPS implementation, − inclusion of WPS Agenda as obligatory component of training and educational activities for personnel (uniformed and civilian) preparing to join foreign missions, − inclusion of WPS Agenda into training activities in all uniformed services; a unified e-learning training on WPS Agenda was elaborated as a result of cooperation of MFA, Border Guard and National Revenue Administration, − inclusion of the obligations of WPS Agenda and NAP WPS in national and ministerial strategic documents, i.e. the Security Strategy adopted in 2020; annual and long-term strategies for the development of uniformed formations, − increasing the number of women in peace-keeping missions, including UN missions and CSDP missions (100% increase between 2019 and 2021), − launching a strategy encouraging women to participate in peacekeeping missions in National Revenue Administration, − launching training program for decision-making and managerial level in National Revenue Administration on WPS Agenda and CSDP missions which positively influenced the number of candidates for foreign missions. The new Action Plan on WPS Agenda for 2024-2029 is currently being drafted. Non- governmental organisations, think-tanks and representatives of academia are widely involved in the preparation of the draft. 1.2 In case you have a National Action Plan on WPS, who takes the lead and owns the budget? What contribution is made by your defence ministry and security forces? The separate budget line in the state budget to finance NAP WPS implementation is not provided. Activities within implementation of NAP WPS are financed from the own resources of each implementing institutions. The Ministry of National Defence does not have a separate budget for this matter. 1.3 In case you have a National Action Plan on WPS, how does the NAP support enhancement of institutional capacity in defence and security?

1.4 In case you have a National Action Plan on WPS, how do you publicise progress on implementation of your NAP? Based on annual reports prepared by the implementing institutions the information on progress in the NAP WPS implementation is published on the MFA website. The information on the activities taken to implement NAP WPS is regularly presented and discussed by the ministries and uniformed services at the meeting of interministerial team for WPS Agenda. The representatives of the MFA as the coordinator of implementation process, present the results achieved during national and international conferences (with participation of NGOs and academia) as well as official meetings of  international organisations (i.e. UN focal points network meetings, meetings of EU Task Force for WPS Agenda).

2 Measures to prevent sexual and gender-based harm

2.1 Horizon scanning, intelligence and risk?

- How do you include systematic gender analysis of areas at risk of conflict, including gender disaggregated socio-economic indicators, power over resources and decision-making, increases in sexual and gender-based violence, on-line and other threats of violence against women in public life, journalists and those providing humanitarian assistance? The key personnel of Polish Military Contingents (PMCs) undergo pre-deployment training to consider Protection of Civilians (PoC) including gender perspective, protection of women and children in armed conflicts in the planning process. This training is conducted by experts and covers comprehensive picture of situation in the Area of Operation. Moreover, OPLANs of the PMCs address these issues and the commanding officers, the staff and the troops are well aware of this issue. The PMCs usually have organic elements dedicated to civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) and other like Province Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) that proved to be very effective in Afghanistan. The CIMIC units collect data, assess risk for women and provide constant advise to PMC’s commander in everyday activity in the Area of Operation. Furthermore, POL Armed Forces Operational Command (POL AFOC) constantly monitores this process and is in direct link with the PMC commanders to adjust operational planning process if necessary. This is also proper occasion to mention Lessons Learned process, which POL AFOC exercises and updates for better preparation of next rotations of PMCs, and for other elements of the Polish Armed Forces. - How do you incorporate a gender perspective into actions preventing and combatting the tensions, which lead to conflict, such as increases in sexual and gender-based violence, terrorism, violent extremism and human trafficking? - Poland make every effort to combat human trafficking by implementing robust preventive measures, providing comprehensive support to victims, and ensuring the conviction of perpetrators through effective law enforcement and judicial actions. To systematize measures and actions taken, Poland every three years develops National Action Plan Against Trafficking in Human Beings (NAP). NAP is a government document that obliges its recipients to implement specific actions in the area of combating human trafficking. These actions are nationwide and include both the work of central institutions in the creation of commonly implemented legal regulations or model practices, as well as those undertaken in all regions through appropriate units. The NAP includes activities aimed at: coordination of cooperation, preventive measures to increase public awareness about human trafficking, including informational meetings in schools and among youth, improving the qualifications of professionals involved in combating human trafficking, support of victims, legislative changes and strengthening international cooperation. - Activities to support victims of trafficking, are provided in Poland by the National Consulting and Intervention Centre for the Victims of Trafficking (KCIK) to all victims of human trafficking – both Polish citizens and foreigners, adults and minors, regardless of gender, age, disability, race, nationality, political beliefs, union membership, ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation or any other legally protected characteristic, and to provide assistance to people at risk of trafficking. The task includes full support, including accommodation, medical and psychological care, and legal consultation. The assistance is provided free of charge. Each case is thoroughly analysed, treated individually and the subsequent steps are planned and organized by the case manager who provides the assistance. Children identified as victims of trafficking or children travelling unaccompanied are appointed a guardian through judicial proceedings. Formal identification is carried out on the basis of Algorithm  of Conduct of Law Enforcement Officers in Case of Revealing a Crime of THB and Algorithm for Identifying and Dealing with a Minor Victim of Human Trafficking for the Police and Border Guard officers. - Noteworthy is that the newly developed National Action Plan Against Trafficking in Human Beings for 2025-2027 includes conducting trainings for law enforcement and justice authorities in particular in accordance with the principle of victim centered approach. - The statutory tasks of the police include, among others, protecting human life and health, initiating, and organizing activities aimed at preventing crimes as well as detecting and prosecuting their perpetrators. This also includes protection of people, including women and children, exposed to violence during conflicts and humanitarian crises, including sexual violence. All persons in Poland, including minors, and especially those who are victims of sex crimes, are protected regardless of race, gender, nationality, religion or place of origin, and are equally entitled to seek support and protection from the state, including in particular from the Police, who provide comprehensive protection in this regard. - The Polish Police, acting in the fight against human trafficking, performs its tasks on the basis of Article 14 of the Police Act of April 6, 1990. According to this article, the Police may carry out operational and exploratory and investigative activities in order to recognize, prevent and detect crimes and offenses. In order to combat human exploitation, the Police undertake activities such as monitoring websites with offers of foreign labor and sexual services. Information on the practice is provided by both witnesses and the victims themselves. Prosecuting the crime of human trafficking is a complicated process, as we are usually dealing with the activities of international organized crime groups, which use a variety of actions characteristic of this type of crime, such as physical and psychological violence, intimidation, blackmail, deprivation of liberty and threats. On the other hand, the victims are usually women and children. It is often difficult for law enforcement officials to identify potential victims, which makes it difficult to make correct decisions on how to proceed further. - What is the role of your military, police and other security personnel in such activities? One of the tasks of PMC is to deliver assistance to women and children in the regions of armed conflicts. For example, female officers have been serving in Province Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), CIMIC, Training and Advising Teams, Liaisoning and Observations Teamts, etc. The presence of women during patrol activities or other operations conducted in the areas of operations softens the image of uniformed formations in the eyes of local populations. This allows for better contact with children and women, and better collection of information about local needs and problems. The police also benefits a lot from the presence of female servicepersons – as of April 2024, approx. 20 000 of them. Female police officers serve in the prevention units, investigation cells, training departments, etc.

When carrying out activities in cases of sexual offenses Police officers use the "Procedures for Police Handling of a Person Who Has Experienced Sexual Violence" guidelines available, among others, on the previously mentioned Internet Police Service. The procedure was developed by the Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment on the basis of material prepared by the Feminoteka Foundation as part of the "Stop Rape" project co-financed by the S. Batory Foundation. According to the aforementioned procedure, as well as Polish legislation, the standard in the performance of tasks by Polish police officers is to ensure conditions for the protection of the victim's privacy by, among other things, taking actions in a place inaccessible to outsiders and by an officer of the same sex. It should be mentioned that the procedures for crimes against sexual freedom and working with its victims are presented as part of professional training and in service training in human rights and psychology classes to all new recruits.  Persons affected by sexual offenses in Poland are under a special procedure for dealing with them by police officers. At the same time, it should be underlined, that these actions are carried out with due care in respecting the personal rights of the a/m person, which is the same as the guidelines from the Police Procedure concerning with a person who became the victim of sexual violence. The officer conducting the activity should show empathy and be aware of the particular emotional condition of the victim. Whenever possible, the victim is interviewed by the trained police officer of the same sex, unless the victim requests otherwise. If necessary, the victim is informed about the possibility of using of institutions for specialized counselling, including legal, psychological and family counselling from the governmental register for an assistance and a support. In addition, a police officer, if there is such need, is obliged to enable contact with the nearest unit implementing tasks from the Fund for Victims' Aid and Post- Penitentiary Assistance or another institution providing assistance in an analogous field for the purpose of obtaining the legal assistance. Contact with the victim is carried out at every stage in the conditions that ensure his/her privacy. This includes, providing the person with a sense of security and what is highly important in the case of a minor, immediate notification of the prosecutor and the juvenile court. Implementation of the procedure leads to the improvement of the law and its use in the field of sexual violence prevention. In the Border Guard knowledge on the principles of the WPS Agenda is delivered during in-service training course preparing officers for participation in civilian missions abroad. It includes promotion of gender balance, the empowerment of women in social and professional life and the prevention of gender-based violence and sharing good practices in this domain In addition, Polish Border Guard has a network of human rights and equal treatment advisers whose task is to promote equal treatment and counter undesirable behaviour and practices in this area.

2.2 Planning. - How do you incorporate a gender perspective into operational planning? Gender perspective is not a subject of separate planning process itself. All individuals/groups are adressed equally in national planning processess. However, gender perspective is addressed in many aspects, like: the equal rights for the personnel, the obligation to protect everybody in the conlict areas. For example, during operations in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Africa, PMCs planned and conducted several operations/activities focused on delivering the aid for women and children (White Sundays – when Polish military paramedics provided assistance to local populations, especially in remoted areas).

- How do you plan to address and gather information from local women’s populations in areas at risk of conflict? This is conducted mainly by CIMIC units. These units are composed of male and female troops, and the CIMIC personnel contact women in areas at risk conflict during the presence in the Area of Operation. The Lessons Learned records indicate that when uniformed formations approach local population, children and women talk to female troops first. The reports from these contacts are analysed and disseminated among the PMC personnel to have better awareness of the situation in the Area of Operation. One of the most important issues is the personal security of women.

2.3 Awareness and understanding of WPS at all levels and types of security personnel.  - What training do you give on incorporating a gender perspective and protecting the rights of women and girls to security personnel at basic education, officer training and specialised in-service training? The scope of activities of the Council for Women's Military Service in the Ministry of National Defense is based primarily on identifying factors affecting the performance of professional military service by women, and thus constantly improving the conditions favorable to women's service, eliminating behaviors of discrimination based on gender and conducting educational activities undertaken to equalize development opportunities for women in the military environment. The Council for Women's Military Service has introduced training on the UN Women, Peace and Security agenda as mandatory for all military personnel and civilian employees of the military, regardless of gender. The training is an online course that raises the level of collective awareness in the protection of women's rights. In the basic vocational training program (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2023, items 81 and 89, and of 2024, items 23 and 59), which is mandatory for all newly recruited police officers, the organizational and programmatic guidelines include a provision requiring police instructors to refer during didactic classes to the principles of professional ethics, human rights, and equal treatment, as well as the prohibition of discrimination based on factors such as gender. Additionally, they must address the obligation to ensure accessibility for people with special needs, including communication principles for persons with disabilities, and the topic of combating corruption. Furthermore, in Module Unit 01, Determining the Circumstances of Incidents and Securing the Scene, History of the Police, Human Rights, Combating Corruption, and Cooperation with the Media, Training Unit 09 covers topics including the history of the Police, human rights and freedoms, police professional ethics, the principle of equal treatment and prohibition of discrimination, communication with persons with disabilities, and corruption-related issues. The basic vocational training program, structured in a modular format, dedicates individual units to the specific professional tasks of a police officer. This means that beyond the content of Module Unit JM01, the aforementioned topics are covered multiple times and from various perspectives throughout the training, particularly in relation to learning specific police procedures, such as identity checks, arrests, interventions involving different categories of people, and the use of direct coercive measures. The vocational training programs for non-commissioned officers (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2023, item 70, and of 2024, item 58) and for aspirants (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2023, item 69, and of 2024, item 57) also include recommendations for police instructors to emphasize the need for equal treatment and the prohibition of discrimination during didactic classes. Additionally, they address human rights topics, including content related to the prohibition of discrimination in the context of police activities and selected ethical issues in police service. In the officer vocational training program (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2023, item 82), human rights issues are included in Thematic Block No. 8, Service Pragmatics, specifically in Topic No. 8, Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms in Police Service. This topic covers the protection of individual rights and freedoms under the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, legal aspects of anti-discrimination measures, and the relationship between police activities and the protection of human rights and freedoms. Moreover, these subjects are included in central professional development training, particularly in the following specialist courses:  • Training on disciplinary responsibility for police officers, aimed at preventing human rights violations by police officers (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2016, item 28, and of 2021, item 179), • Training on the prevention and combating of hate crimes (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2017, item 5, and of 2022, item 237), • Training for officers working in detention facilities, sobering-up rooms, and police child detention centers (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2016, item 1, and of 2022, item 77), • Training for police officers conducting investigative and procedural activities (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2024, item 43), • Training for police officers conducting operational and reconnaissance activities (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2024, item 44), • Training for commanders of police contingents (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2008, item 37), • Practical training for police officers serving as experts in police contingents (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2018, item 58, and of 2020, item 17), • Training for police officers in preventing juvenile delinquency and initiatives for minors (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2023, item 98), • Training for officers responsible for escorting and transporting detainees, as well as escorting and securing special postal materials (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2020, item 26, and of 2022, item 78), • Training for middle-level commanders of riot police units and independent riot control subunits (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2015, item 34, of 2020, item 13, and of 2022, item 212), • Training for duty officers of police organizational units (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2025, item 2). The UN Agenda on Women, Peace, and Security is explicitly mentioned in the following central professional development programs conducted in the form of specialist courses: • Practical training for police officers applying for the position of police liaison officer (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2024, item 4), • Training for police officers serving in the Polish Police Special Unit in Kosovo (Official Journal of the National Police Headquarters of 2023, item 22). In 2024, two editions of the latter program were conducted, training 239 officers. Additionally, local professional development programs addressing the aforementioned topics are implemented through educational initiatives led by police human rights protection officers. - How do you train security personnel to protect women and girls, men and boys from sexual and gender-based violence?

2.4 Vetting of security personnel, especially pre-deployment - What measures do you take to vet and prevent the recruitment, retention, promotion and deployment of security personnel with a record of sexual or gender- based violence or other violations of human rights? Two authorities are responsible for the vetting of Police officers or Police employees before they are deployed abroad as part of a UN or EU CSDP missions/operations. Firstly, the Bureau of Police Internal Affairs checks internal databases containing information on publicly prosecuted crimes for which there is reasonable suspicion that they were committed by or with the participation of police officers or police employees, as well as police officers or police employees suspected of committing them, also operational and investigative activities carried out in connection with these offenses. The verification is then carried out by the Inspector of Internal Affairs, the body through which the  minister responsible for internal affairs supervises police officers and employees. The Internal Affairs Inspector analyzes information regarding violations of the law within the police force and takes measures to recognize, prevent and detect certain categories of offenses specified by law. 2.5 Other preventative measures - What other preventative measures do you have, for example to prevent sexual abuse or sexual exploitation on deployments and other forms of engagement of security forces abroad? The Military Training Centre For Foreign Operations conducts specialized training for personel who is engaged to participate in missions abroad. Polish Police pre-deployment training for police officers - experts serving in police contingents covers the wide range of knowledge and skills necessary for service in peacekeeping missions and operations. During training students learn about the principles of professional ethics for police officers, based on international standards, with a particular emphasis on the principle of non- discrimination and the prohibition of racist and sexist behaviour as well as sexual abuse or sexual exploitation prevention. In addition, the students learn about the principles of working in a multicultural and multi-ethnic environment, taking into account cultural differences, ethnic and religious issues, where they learn the rules of conduct enabling them to perform their duties and function on a mission. Within the framework of the topic related to human rights and humanitarian law, the National Action Plan for the implementation of the UN Agenda on Women, Peace and Security is presented, where human rights violations occurring on missions, including racial and ethnic crimes and violence against women and children, is presented in the form of exercises. In 2023, the specialist training for police officers serving in the Formed Police Unit in Kosovo (EULEX) was also modified. As part of the implementation of the NAP WPS, a lecture on the UN Agenda on Women, Peace and Security was included in its program. According to mission needs training also includes community policing, gender sensitivity, cultural awareness, and human rights topics.

3 Leadership, accountability and assurance 3.1 Integrating WPS into the command climate - How do you integrate a gender perspective and WPS into your policy and operational framework, including military manuals, national security policy frameworks, codes of conduct, protocols, standard operating procedures and command directives? 3.2 Accountability and Performance assessment - What measures, systems or procedures do you have on individual and collective accountability for acting in accordance with such policies or directives? The disciplinary liability of police officers is regulated by the provisions of the Act of April 6, 1990 on the Police (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 145, as amended). Police officers are subject to disciplinary action for committing a disciplinary offense consisting of a breach of official discipline or failure to comply with the rules of professional ethics, as specified in the appendix to Order No. 805 of the Chief of Police dated December 31, 2003, regarding the “Rules of Professional Ethics for Police Officers” (Official Journal of the Police Headquarters of 2004, item 3). Among these principles, there is an obligation for a police officer to respect human dignity in all actions taken and to respect and protect human rights, in particular expressed in respecting everyone's right to life and the prohibition to initiate, apply or tolerate torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. A police officer's conduct in dealing with people should be characterized by kindness and impartiality, excluding racial, national, religious, political, ideological or other prejudices. When performing their duties, police officers should adapt their behavior to the situation and characteristics of the persons involved in the incident, in particular their age, gender, nationality, and religion, and should also take into account the legitimate needs of these persons. Furthermore,  they should be particularly sensitive and tactful towards the victims of a crime or other incident, provide them with as much assistance as possible, and ensure discretion. Police employees who are members of the civil service, on the other hand, bear disciplinary responsibility for violating the duties of a member of that service, in accordance with the Act of November 21, 2008 on the civil service (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 409) – disciplinary liability for violating the duties of a member of this corps, including failure to comply with the order to protect human and civil rights. Members of the civil service are also bound by the ethical principles set out in Ordinance No. 70 of the Prime Minister of October 6, 2011 on guidelines for compliance with the principles of the civil service and on the ethical principles of the civil service (M.P. item 953), including the principle of dignified behavior consisting in performing work with respect for the rules of social coexistence and personal culture, respect for the dignity of other people and the principle of public service, expressed in particular in the servile nature of work towards citizens, aimed at realizing the values underlying the law of the Republic of Poland. The severity of the punishment for police officers and employees depends, among other things, on the type and degree of violation of their duties and the resulting consequences or motives. It should be noted that collective responsibility is not recognized in the Polish legal system, as the principle of individual responsibility applies.

3.3 Assurance - How do you provide specialist advice to operational commanders on WPS? The operational commander needs to have knowledge and expertise about the situation in the Area of Operation, and the WPS is one of the most important aspects as the military operation is not military operation only, but also involves the activity and presence of several civilian Institutions (e.g. ICRC). An advice to operational commanders on WPS is provided by trained CIMIC personel. - What systems or measures do you use to co-ordinate specialist advice on WPS throughout your security forces and to provide democratic oversight?

4 Sharing of good practice 4.1 How do you share good practice and learn from others? Representatives of the Council for Women's Military Service participate in meetings, seminars, conferences and training courses on good practices of equal treatment, equal perspective and protection of women's rights. The knowledge gained is introduced to thematic meetings on the national stage.

3.2 PARTICIPATION A. Checklist of key measures taken by participating States Please indicate if your State has the following measures in place to increase women’s participation in security forces and decision making, including at all stages of any peace-making process. More detailed information of such measures can be included in Part B below.

Yes No Type of Measure

1. Collection and monitoring of sex disaggregated statistics on X applicants to armed forces  2. Policies to attract female candidates (targeted campaigns, review of accession X tests etc.) 3. Policies to promote equal opportunities for women and men across the security X sector 4. Collection and monitoring of sex disaggregated statistics of armed forces personnel: - By rank X - By promotion - By retention 5. Collection and monitoring of sex disaggregated statistics of complaints by armed forces personnel of: - Discrimination - sexual harassment X - gender based harassment - sexual violence - gender-based violence 6. Collection and monitoring of sex disaggregated statistics of complaints by civilian personnel in the security sector of: - discrimination - sexual harassment - gender based harassment - sexual violence - gender-based violence 7. Anonymous staff surveys/climate assessment surveys or similar (monitoring incidences of behaviour contrary to military standards of conduct) X

8. Collection and monitoring of sex-disaggregated statistics of: - personnel deployed on operations and peace-keeping missions X - and by rank

9. Collection and monitoring of sex-disaggregated statistics of decision makers in X the security sector 10. Other related information, clarification or details to share:

B. More detailed information for sharing good practice on participative measures between participating States

1 Measures to increase the number of women in general and in decision- making positions in the armed forces and the ministry of defence (and other security forces- optional). 1.1 What are the numbers and percentages of women and men applying for and recruited to your military forces? The percentage of applying for and recruited to the Polish Armed Forces: female - 19%, male - 81%. As for the Voluntary Military Service Dobrowolna Zasadnicza Służba Wojskowa the percentage of recruited women is estimated at the level of 24,85%. At the same time, the relatively high level of women is noticed in Academic Legion (Legia Akademicka), the form of training dedicated especially  for students (to be trained both as Reserve NCO’s and Reserve Officers level). The percentage of women recruited for this form of training achieved 37.95% of total participants.

1.2 What are the numbers and percentages of women and men in your military forces, disaggregated by rank? Please find the aggregated numbers and the percentages:

Polish Armed Forces:

In service Females Males

Officers 3 635 (15 %) 20 345

NCOs 4 816 (9 %) 51 065

Privates 15 038 (19%) 52 70

1.3 What are the numbers and percentages of women and men in your other security forces (police), disaggregated by rank?

Police:

Corps e Warra Non- Commisio Police % nt commisio % ned % *2 % *3 % *4 %*6 Privat % *7 %*8 TOTAL *1 officer ned *5 officers es s officers Sex

15,11 100,00 43,85 100,00 23,09 100,00 17,95 100,00 Total 14692 42650 22464 17450 97256 100% % % % % % % % %

Wom 3,20 21,15 7,40 16,87 5,14 22,26 5,16 28,73 20,90 3108 7198 5002 5015 20323 en % % % % % % % % %

11,91 78,85 36,45 83,13 17,95 77,74 12,79 71,27 79,10 Men 11584 35452 17462 12435 76933 % % % % % % % % %

*1 Percentage commisioned officers in relation to the total employment

*2 Percentage of female commisioned officers in relation to male commisioned officers

*3 Percentage of warrant officers in relation to the total employment

*4 Percentage of female warrant officers in relation to male warrant officers

*6 Percentage of female non-commisioned officers in relation to male non-commisioned officers

*5 Percentage of non-commisioned officers in relation to the total employment

*7 Percentage of Police Privates in relation to the total employment

*8 Percentage of female Police Privates in relation to male Police Privates  1.4 If you regularly analyse retention and promotion statistics disaggregated by gender and rank, what are the trends and what action, if any, are you taking as a result? Today more than 15% of the Polish Armed Forces are women and the trend is that this number is rising. Women serve at all levels of command, in all branches, including the structures of NATO and the EU. It is expected that during the coming years more women will apply for service in the Polish Armed Forces, the Police, the Border Guard. It is mainly due to the fact that these formations promote equal rights and are attractive for personal development. Women can serve active duty or as passive or active reserve. In that case, they are to be ready for mandatory field training. Career progression in the police force is determined by the fulfillment of educational, professional and seniority requirements that are the same for all police officers, with differences arising only from the type and nature of the service, which is in accordance with generally applicable law and the principle of gender equality. For these reasons, the measures in question consist of promoting service in the Police among women and encouraging them to acquire and improve the professional qualifications necessary to take up managerial positions. The requirements for individuals applying for service in the Police are identical for all candidates, regardless of gender. The recruitment process for the Police is conducted as a competition. As a result, admission to the service depends on the candidate obtaining a positive result in all stages of the qualification procedure and the total number of points received. The same rules and identical evaluation criteria are applied to all candidates at each stage of the qualification procedure. It is essential to emphasize that the requirements regarding education, professional qualifications, and service experience for police officers in the positions of Police commanders and other official positions, as well as the conditions for their appointment to higher positions, are identical for all Police officers, regardless of gender. Between 2020 and 2024, the number of women who submitted applications for admission and were accepted into the Police has shown an upward trend. It should be noted that in 2020, the number of applications submitted by women accounted for 34.67% of all applications, while in 2024, this figure rose to 38.14%, representing an increase of 3.47 percentage points. Meanwhile, the percentage of women accepted into the Police in 2020 was 20.86% of all admitted candidates, whereas in 2024, it had increased to 28.99%, marking a rise of 8.13 percentage points.

1.5 What are the numbers and percentages of complaints raised by women and men about discrimination, harassment, sexual or gender-based violence? 1.6 How do you monitor outcomes? Based on statistics, and during assessment of the staff situation in the army.

1.7 How is a gender-perspective integrated into a ‘climate assessment’ or similar anonymous staff survey, if used? The Police Headquarters annually conducts a job satisfaction survey of police officers and police employees on a randomly selected sample in all police garrisons. In February 2024, 13,917 respondents participated in the study.The survey concerns primarily the level of satisfaction with the service/work of officers and Police employees, their motivation and assessment of service/working  conditions, difficulties and assessment of earnings. One of the main variables that is taken into account when analyzing results from the study is gender.

The survey questionnaire consists of questions which, due to the possibility of comparing the results, are asked in subsequent editions of the study in an unchanged form (fixed part) and additional questions (variable part). In 2024, the questions included in the variable part concerned opinions on gender equality in the Police. 2 Measures to increase the numbers of women and specialist WPS advisers in peacekeeping forces.

2.1 What are the numbers and percentages of women and men in peacekeeping forces, disaggregated by rank?

The Polish Police is proud of the long history of women participating in peacekeeping missions. The first woman to take part in a police contingent was a participant in the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1999.

The history of Polish police officers' participation in EU and UN projects is illustrated in a dedicated tab on the website of the Polish Police, which also provides up-to-date information on Polish police contingents and the Association of Veterans of Peacekeeping Operations.

By 2024, 4,781 officers had been deployed, of which 134 were policewomen (2.8%). As of February 1, 2025, 119 Polish police officers are currently serving abroad, including 5 women (4.2%): four in the European Union Rule of Law Mission EULEX in Kosovo with the ranks of major, captain, warrant officer, staff sergeant and one in the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia EUMM with the rank of major. The second National Implementation Plan 2.0 for the Civilian Compact of the European Union's Common Security and Defense Policy prioritizes the deployment of women in foreign missions/operations. The promotion of gender diversity according to NIP 2.0 is to include media, news, HR activities, and social media.

2.2 What are the numbers and percentages of international missions to which you appointed Gender Advisers, Gender Focal Points or Women Protection Advisers? The Polish Police have not deployed police officers to positions as Gender Advisers, Gender Focal Points or Women Protection Advisers. 3 Democratic oversight of Security Forces and WPS 3.1. How do your security forces publicise, report on and account for their actions on policies and plans related to WPS? 3.2. What is the representation of women in decision-making positions in institutions ensuring democratic oversight and public scrutiny?

3.3. PROTECTION A. Checklist of measures taken by participating States Please indicate if your State has the following protective measures in place. More detailed information of the protective measures can be included in Part B below.

Type of Measure Yes No  1. Specialist Advisers on WPS: - Gender Advisers X - Gender Focal Points - Women Protection Advisers 2. Policies to protect women and others in conflict and post-conflict areas from X sexual abuse and exploitation by your State’s security personnel7

3. Policies, which set out the duties of commanders and other superiors to prevent abuse or exploitation by their subordinates. X

4. Collection and monitoring of reported cases of exploitation and abuse allegedly perpetrated by military, para-military and security forces: - referred X - investigated - acted upon 5. Measures to increase your State’s capacity to investigate alleged violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in areas of conflict or post-conflict X including sexual and gender-based violence8 6. National legislation conferring powers to prosecute alleged extra- X terrestrial violations of human rights

7. Other related information, clarification or details to share:

B. More detailed information for sharing good practice on protective measures between participating States

1 Measures to embed protection of women and girls in operations and international missions

1.1 How do you define conflict-related violence in your policies, manuals, standard operating procedures and training material?

- Does it include sexual and gender-based violence, forced sterilisations and abductions, also of men and boys, and forced pregnancy and forced abortions?

- Does it include victims of terrorism or other armed groups?

Mission authorities are responsible for policies, manuals, standard operating procedures and training material according to mission mandate. Polish Police during basic police training and specialized training prepares its officers to recognize, detect, and prosecute different kind of crimes and offences, including sexual violence and gender-based harm with full respect of human rights and the principles of professional ethics.

1.2 Number and percentage of participating State’s international missions that address specific issues affecting women and girls in their terms of reference and the mission reports. Polish Police do not participate in international missions that address specific issues affecting women and girls in their terms of reference and the mission reports. 1.3 How are military, para-military and security forces trained to respond to sexual violence and gender-based harm? During basic police training and specialized training, the Polish Police prepares its officers to recognize, detect, and prosecute different kind of crimes, including sexual violence and gender-based harm, with full respect of human rights and the principles of professional ethics. The National Action Plan for the implementation of the UN Agenda on Women, Peace and Security has allowed for its implementation through the adaptation of professional training programs and the active participation of police schools and the Police Academy in Szczytno. This allows police officers to carry out their duties in a reliable and professional manner, taking into account the highest standards set by international institutions.

2 Investigating alleged violations

2.1 How do you identify, record, investigate and prosecute any alleged violations, cases of exploitation and abuse perpetrated by military, para-military and security forces? What experience do you have of such investigations and prosecutions? The cases of alleged violations and abuse are under investigation and of the legal assessment to define features of a prohibited act. The cases concerning this kind of violations of criminal proceedings are placed in the Military Police record. In matters concerning the detection and combating of sexual offenses, the Police, which reports to the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration, plays a key role, and it is to the Police that the victim of such an offense usually turns first. In such cases, police officers primarily apply the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure. According to Article 185c of this law, in cases of offenses specified in Articles 197-199 of the Penal Code, the crime report, if submitted by the victim, should be limited to the most important facts and evidence, while the questioning of the victim as a witness remains the exclusive competence of the court. Detailed regulations concerning the conditions of such an interrogation are included in the ordinance of the Minister of Justice of December 18, 2013 (Journal of Laws of 2013, item 1642), which specifies the manner of preparation of an interrogation conducted under Articles 185a-185c of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the conditions that the premises intended for conducting such interrogations should meet, including their technical equipment, bearing in mind the need to ensure freedom of expression and a sense of security for the persons being interrogated. In the case of criminal incidents involving soldiers, the Police are not the competent authority to conduct preliminary investigations. Such powers, according to Article 3 of the Act of August 24, 2001 on Military Police and Military Ordering Authorities (Journal of Laws of 2025, item 12), are held by the Military Police. However, in the case of criminal incidents involving a police officer, the unit responsible for conducting preliminary investigations is the Police Internal Affairs Office. Based on § 18.1.1) of Ordinance No. 4 of the Chief Police Commander of February 9, 2017 regarding certain forms of organization and recording of investigative and follow-up activities of the Police and the storage by the Police of material evidence obtained in criminal proceedings, the Police unit that has been notified of a crime committed, for which it is not locally or materially competent to conduct proceedings within the meaning of the Code of Criminal Procedure, is obliged to immediately forward the notification to the competent unit or other authority authorized to conduct the proceedings. Pursuant to § 18.2. of the aforementioned ordinance, before the transfer, the authority is obliged to ensure that the actions referred to in art. 308 § 1 of  the Code of Criminal Procedure are carried out immediately in order to secure traces and evidence of the crime before they are lost, distorted or destroyed.

2.2 What are the number and percentage of reported cases of exploitation and abuse allegedly perpetrated by military, para-military and security forces that are referred, investigated and acted upon?

2.3 How do you ensure access to justice for victims of conflict related violence including cases of exploitation and abuse by military, para-military and security forces? The Victims have opportunity to report cases to law enforcement agencies and their personal data (i.e. home address, place of work) are protected during criminal investigation.

3 Other measures to protect women and girls

3.1 What lessons could you share in relation to protective measures?

3.2 SUSTAINING PEACE

A. Checklist of key measures taken by participating States Please indicate if your State has the following measures in place to sustain peace, especially with regard to relief and recovery and to post-conflict situations. More detailed information of such measures can be included in Part B below.

Type of Measure Yes No

1. Measures to ensure the involvement of women from the outset in seeking a peaceful settlement of potential or actual conflicts. X

2. Measures to support those who have experienced sexual or gender- based violence during or post-conflict to support their recovery from trauma X

3. Measures to support the role of women as agents of change and transformation in areas emerging from conflict X

4. Measures to support capacity building in the security and other sectors of fragile states or post-conflict situations to protect human rights and fundamental X freedoms, especially relating to women and girls 5. Other related information, clarification or details to share:

B. More detailed information for sharing good practice between participating States 1.1 How do security personnel support and seek to embed the involvement of women in peacekeeping and throughout the peace building and post-conflict process? 1.2 What training are your security personnel given as regards survivor focus? 1.3 What roles do your security personnel or other personnel play in support of demobilisation, access to humanitarian assistance or to facilitate re-integration post-conflict? If the nature of mission allows, one of the tasks is protecting civilian society in the areas of conflict (crisis) including protecting the human rights and its freedom of movement.

1.4 What lessons could you share in relation to recovery and relief issues in the WPS agenda?

3.3 Final reflections 1. What do you consider biggest obstacles as well as what are the priorities for your country on WPS in the context of the Code of Conduct? 2. Would you like to share any additional information, clarification or details?  Attachment Annex

Original: ENGLISH

BACKGROUND TO THE 2023 UPDATE OF THE INDICATIVE LIST OF ISSUES PERTAINING TO WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY TO BE PROVIDED IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE OSCE CODE OF CONDUCT

1. Background on Women, Peace and Security

1.1. The importance of Women, Peace and Security in the Code of Conduct Context

In 2011, 30 OSCE participating States decided to advance their commitments on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda in the context of the Code of Conduct, by adopting an annexe to the questionnaire specifically targeting WPS related activities. The link between the Code and WPS is undeniable for two reasons. Firstly, women take up a variety of functions in many armed and security forces, thus rendering them compliant to the same Code as their male peers. Secondly, the activities of armed and security forces have an impact on the civilian population, including on women and girls. It is therefore important to take into account the gendered impact of their efforts and integrate this throughout the Code.

While the initiative from 2011 was an excellent start, the WPS agenda continuously evolves and the OSCE documents need to follow this trend. Therefore, it was not only necessary to update the Indicative List of Questions with all the WPS resolutions and findings that have been adopted since 2011, but the Code itself also merits gender- mainstreaming in order to better reflect the link with the WPS agenda.

For policy leads reporting on WPS, there are plenty of questions and questionnaires from various (inter) national organisations with only limited guidance. Therefore, this background aims to clarify not only the developments since 2011 and to put into perspective the updated OSCE documents, but also to underline why reporting on WPS is crucial.

The reason why it is highly encouraged for OSCE participating States to report on WPS in the context of the Code of Conduct, is to map out the state of play for each participating State. In a next step, this allows States to benchmark their own efforts and to use the reports by others as both best practices and lessons learned.

This updated guidance has taken steps to streamline the existing questions (e.g. by introducing checklists where possible). It also recognises that different participating States are part of different organisations, with different reporting requirements on WPS (e.g. UN, NATO). In order to keep this inclusive, but also user-friendly, the guidance has used footnotes to flag where questions are similar to those in other questionnaires. The guidance remains a living document. It is the first update since the OSCE guidance was first drafted in 2011. The first update has been in 2023. The next update should happen sooner, to account for feedback from capitals (e.g. on how easy it is to use in practice) as well as reflecting the latest developments on WPS.  1.2. Developments in Women, Peace and Security since 2011

The UNSCR 1325 of 2000 is the founding document internationally recognising the particular vulnerabilities of women and girls in situations of armed conflict and post- conflict and the threats conflict-related sexual violence and gender-based violence pose to peace and security. It sets out the important role of women in maintaining and promoting peace and the need to increase women’s participation in decision-making roles in preventing and resolving conflicts. It has raised awareness of and confirmed a willingness to incorporate a gender-perspective into peace-keeping operations, including training and special measures to protect women and girls. States’ National Action Plans on UNSCR 1325, which followed, have been the impetus for action internationally and nationally over the last 22 years.

Between 2000 and 2010 four UNSCR resolutions developed the general principles set out in UNSCR 1325 into progressively more specific actions required both at the UN level and by States.

Six further UNSCR resolutions specifically on WPS9 in the last 11 years are more specific and comprehensive, both in terms of scope and action required on implementation.

Scope

The development of scope in more recent UNSCRs is set explicitly in a changing global context of peace and security. These changes include rising violent extremism, increased numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons, climate change and global health pandemics. Sexual violence and gender- based violence is identified as a potential tactic of terrorism, not just as a tactic of war. Such violence can affect men and boys as well as women and girls, not only as direct victims but also as witnesses, causing wide scale terror, trauma and insecurity. Sexual violence and gender-based violence can also be used to finance terrorism, for example as part of human trafficking. The resolutions also note the links between sexual and gender-based violence and both the illicit trade in natural resources and the illicit transfer, accumulation and misuse of arms. Effective prevention requires action beyond the security sector, for example in national legal and judicial systems to tackle all forms of violence against women and girls and vulnerable groups.

Scope is also expanded in terms of protection: acknowledging the concept of ‘intersectionality’ i.e., multiple vulnerabilities some women face, for example women with disabilities, older or refugee women; identifying the needs and issues concerning children born of war and their mothers; and explicitly adding forced abduction, forced pregnancy and forced sterilisation to the definition of conflict-related violence.

9 UNSCR 1998 (2011- adopted one day before ILQs), UNSCR 2068 (2012), UNSCR 2106 (2013), UNSCR 2122 (2013), UNSCR 2467 (2019) and UNSCR 2493 (2019). Greater emphasis is placed on a survivor focus, including access to health and humanitarian assistance, reparations and a range of actions to reduce stigma and facilitate re-integration. Health services explicitly include sexual and reproductive health services, psychological and trauma support. Survivors include victims of terrorist violence, men, boys, refugees, those forced to join armed groups and other demobilized combatants.

Implementation

In 2013, the Security Council recognised the need for a significant shift in implementation of commitments in 1325 and subsequent UNSCRs10. Key themes in UNSCRs since then include:

• more systematic data recording, gender disaggregated statistics, analysis, monitoring and recording • more individual and collective accountability within security forces, including integration of WPS into planning, delivery and performance assessment of operations • more focus on the roles and responsibilities of high-level commanders • enhanced action on vetting to reduce the risk of violations by security personnel11 • improved investigation and prosecution of alleged sexual and gender-based violence • greater emphasis on women’s participation and leadership, particularly in peace-building and post-conflict • more victim and survivor focus to enhance the indivisibility of security • WPS activities to be adequately resourced, given a higher priority and to be mainstreamed. These activities include pre-deployment and in-mission training, increased representation of women in security forces and WPS specialist roles.

Embedding WPS developments internationally

This wider understanding is being implemented at UN level as shown by the integration of WPS in the Arms Trade Treaty Article 7(4) in 2014, Security Council Resolutions on Trafficking (UNSCR 2331 in 2016 and UNSCR 2388 in 201), the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity 2019 and the decision of the Committee on the Convention on All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in March 2022 in the case of Rosanna Flamer- Caldera v Sri Lanka12.

At Council of Europe level, the Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings 2005 (CETS No. 197) explicitly incorporates a gender perspective, including committing parties to gender mainstreaming in the development, implementation and assessment of measures to protect and promote the rights of victims. The Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women and Domestic Violence 2011

10 UNSCR 2122. 11 UNSCR 2467 refers to safeguards to prevent individuals credibly suspected of committing sexual violence related crimes from being recruited, retained or promoted 12 CEDAW Communication No. 134/2018 (the Istanbul Convention CETS No. 210) applies in times of war as well as peace. It commits Parties to co-operating with each other to prevent, combat and prosecute all forms of violence covered by the scope of the Convention, to protect and provide assistance to victims, in investigations and proceedings and enforcing judicial decisions and orders.

The OSCE has a number of key resources on WPS including Ministerial Council Declarations, an Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality and a range of reports and practical guides.

The provisions of the OSCE Code of Conduct appear sufficient to encompass key elements of the WPS agenda. Although there is no mention of women throughout the document, 21 of the 47 responses from participating States to the questionnaire on the Code did integrate information on initiatives and actions on WPS.