During the visit, Deputy Minister Artur Harazim met with Nada Al-Nashif, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection.

The members of the Advisory Legal Committee to the Minister of Foreign Affairs participated in consultations with international law professors of the University of Geneva. They also met with representatives of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

 

The Advisory Legal Committee also held a session in Geneva. It discussed control mechanisms related to the implementation and interpretation of international human rights instruments. This is a particularly important topic given that Poland is to prepare its position for a draft Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity.

Also on the agenda was the scope of powers that a country enforcing its right of visit may exercise towards a ship without nationality, in the light of Article 110 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and common international law.

 

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The Advisory Legal Committee to the Minister of Foreign Affairs was established in 1999. It currently brings together 15 legal scholars and practitioners. The Committee draws up opinions on crucial aspects of international, EU, and domestic law.