“LGBT-Free Zones” In Poland Became History!

At today’s Council session, the Łańcut County repealed the last discriminatory Local Government Family Rights Charter. Six years after the first resolution targeting the LGBT+ community was introduced, the last one has finally fallen. This marks the end of a dark chapter in the history of Polish local governance — a time when open discrimination against LGBT+ individuals in public life was possible.

One-Third of Poland’s Territory Covered by “Zones”

In 2019, in response to the LGBT+ Declaration adopted by the Mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, numerous municipalities, counties, and even provinces passed anti-LGBT resolutions. These included the resolutions against “LGBT ideology”, the Local Government Family Rights Charters authored by Ordo Iuris, and other discriminatory acts inspired by these documents, all targeting the LGBT+ community. Atlas of Hate first took up the monitoring of these “zones”. According to activists, at the peak in mid-2020, 104 such resolutions were in effect, covering over one-third of Poland’s territory.

European Parliament Resolution – A Big Hope, A Slow Impact

In December 2019, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on “LGBT-free zones”, calling on Poland to cease discriminatory actions against LGBT+ people. While the resolution pointed Poland in the right direction and gave us hope that the “LGBT-free zones” would disappear automatically, that was not the case. It wasn’t until 2025 that the last three Local Government Family Rights Charters were repealed — all three located in the Podkarpackie region, a stronghold of the previous government.

Discrimination = No EU Funds

The most significant element of the European Parliament’s resolution was its appeal to the European Commission to verify whether local governments receiving EU funds had adopted discriminatory resolutions. Thanks to advocacy efforts by KPH and other NGOs, a direct connection was established between EU fund allocation and compliance with the principles of equal opportunity, non-discrimination, and other provisions of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Under the new EU financial framework that began in 2020, Polish recipients of EU funds — including local governments — were required to demonstrate that they are not engaging in discriminatory practices. This meant that municipalities, counties, and provinces that wanted access to EU money could not simultaneously uphold anti-LGBT resolutions.

“Equality Watch” Coalition Keeps an Eye on Funds in “Zones”

Together with 12 NGOs from across Poland, we established the Coalition for Equal Rights “Equality Watch.” By actively participating in EU fund monitoring committees, we tracked which local governments with discriminatory resolutions had received or applied for EU funds. We repeatedly responded to irregularities — filing complaints with the prosecutor’s office, notifying the European Commission, informing EU fund ombudspersons and the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, and ultimately lodging formal complaints with the European Commission. At the same time, the Ombudsman for Human Rights filed legal challenges in administrative courts, which ruled the anti-“LGBT ideology” resolutions invalid.

Family Rights Charters Lasted Longer

The resolutions “against LGBT ideology” used hate speech and openly called for the social exclusion of LGBT+ people, which is why they were overturned first. The Family Rights Charters, authored by Ordo Iuris, excluded more subtly, making the battle against them much more difficult. Two years after the last anti-ideology resolutions were repealed (thanks to the Ombudsman’s lawsuits), doubts persisted in prosecutors’ offices, public institutions, and ministries about whether the Charters were discriminatory. In such cases, individuals and organizations from “Equality Watch” intervened.

Olga Pawłowska-Plesińska, Campaign Against Homophobia, Coordinator of “Equality Watch”:

Since 2022, we’ve sent hundreds of letters to regional authorities, municipal and county officials, issued dozens of press releases, attended monitoring committee meetings, visited government offices and ministries, met with allies in local governments, filed complaints with prosecutors and the European Commission. Many times, it felt like we were hitting a wall and seeing no results. But today, we celebrate success — we’ve managed to get all ‘LGBT-free zones’ repealed. The consistent work of many individuals and organizations brought us to this moment.

Is KPH Done With EU Funds Monitoring?

Olga Pawłowska-Plesińska: The fall of the last LGBT-free zone doesn’t mean we’ll stop monitoring the resolutions adopted by local governments. We’ll continue to do so. We also plan to share our knowledge on using the EU funding mechanisms to combat discrimination against other groups. We remain committed to ensuring that everyone feels safe in Poland.

Organizations in the “Equality Watch” Coalition:

• Atlas Nienawiści
• Stowarzyszenie Fabryka Równości
• Fundacja Akceptacja
• Stowarzyszenie Instytut Równości
• Stowarzyszenie Kampania Przeciw Homofobii
• Stowarzyszenie Lambda Szczecin
• Stowarzyszenie Marsz Równości Lublin
• Marsz Równości w Rzeszowie
• Stowarzyszenie My, Rodzice
• Stowarzyszenie Tęczówka 
• Federacja Znaki Równości
• Fundacja Wiara i Tęcza