Warsaw, 7 November 1997 (RFE/RL) - Poland and the United Nations today signed an agreement to coordinate monitoring of human rights problems in Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The agreement was signed in Warsaw by Matthew Kahane, the U.N. resident representative and coordinator of the U.N. development program in Poland, and by Adam Zielinski, the commissioner for civil rights protection in Poland. Both officials said the agreement is a recognition of Poland's efforts to protect human rights.
"It is an honor for my country," said Zielinski. "The citizens in the region will benefit from it" as well, he said.
Kahane told RFE/RL Poland's Human rights office, led by Zielinski, that the U.N. would help the other offices in the region organize training. Kahane also said efforts would be stepped up to improve the observance of human rights in Belarus. He said Belarus is a signatory of many international conventions, and that a request by the international community to monitor compliance with rights standards cannot be considered by Minsk as an interference in its internal affairs.