A/HRC/43/50/Add.1 are important exercises of internationally guaranteed cultural rights and the right to freedom of assembly. All of this is very positive. The Special Rapporteur welcomes legal recognition of the need for protection from discrimination through, for example, case No. II KK333/17 concerning a printing company refusing to prepare materials for an organization advocating for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. 68. The Special Rapporteur recognizes the use by some lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons of a flag that combines the rainbow flag and the Polish eagle symbol as an exercise of cultural rights to express identity and inclusion. Hence, she regrets that this practice has sometimes been harshly criticized and that people carrying such a flag have reportedly faced questioning by law enforcement officers. 69. The Special Rapporteur remains concerned about the lack of specific legal protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons under Polish law, a gap that must be filled promptly. There are no specific policies and standards ensuring equal treatment and safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in schools, both teachers and students. Many schools have denied the existence of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, who report experiencing homophobic behaviour not only from other students but also from teachers and educators, and in particular in the context of religion classes. This is unacceptable. 70. There are also no laws specifically prohibiting homophobic hate speech or hate crimes. Acts of hate and hate speech against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons and their cultural events continue. Sometimes the hate speech emanates from those in official positions, which is especially worrying. The Special Rapporteur was concerned that a high-level government official with responsibility in the equality area told her that his daughter would be “disturbed” if she were to see an equality march in the streets and suggested that its participants might be naked. 71. The Special Rapporteur was glad to learn that Lublin could hold its first equality march shortly after her visit, despite efforts from campaigners against the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons to have the parade banned and to obstruct it. She commends the decision of the Court of Appeal to overrule the ban on the basis of freedom of assembly laws, and the measures taken by the city and the police forces to ensure the safety of those taking part in the march. Moreover, she is glad to see that a second march took place in 2019. However, she condemns the violence and aggressive behaviours of the group opposing the march and the fact that a regional and a local official have both used derogatory language to describe it and called for it to be banned. 5. Rights of persons with disabilities 72. The Special Rapporteur was pleased to see that creative measures were being taken to ensure accessibility of cultural sites for persons with disabilities, such as models of cultural heritage buildings that could be touched and that had been annotated in Braille for visually impaired persons in the cultural heritage site of the old city of Kraków. 73. A movement for the rights of persons with disabilities, led by them, is emerging in Poland as evidenced by the protest of persons with disabilities and their families held in the Parliament in April and May 2018 asking for more State support to alleviate poverty among persons with disabilities. This is a very positive development and one that would merit more attention from the relevant authorities. The Special Rapporteur stresses the importance of persons with disabilities being fully recognized as equal participants in cultural, social and political life, and not as mere beneficiaries. In the framework of programmes such as “Accessible culture” and “Accessibility plus”, particular attention, including adequate funding, should be given to the rights of persons with disabilities to fully participate in cultural life and cultural spaces and to meaningfully contribute to shaping the cultural sphere. 74. At the time of the Special Rapporteur’s visit, a strategy for inclusion of persons with disabilities was being drafted. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to ensure wide participation of organizations of persons with disabilities in the decisionmaking, implementation and evaluation processes related to the strategy, and to consider inviting the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities for a country visit in that regard. 13