Please accept my congratulations,
Sir, on your election to the presidency of the current session of the
General Assembly. I wish you every success in carrying out this
responsible task. Let me also add how glad we are to have a President
personifying the democratic transformation in Central and Eastern Europe.
To the outgoing President, Ambassador Samir S. Shihabi of the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia, I convey our appreciation for the quality of his
leadership and work.
I also want to assure the Secretary-General,
Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, of our unfailing support for his tireless
efforts to make the United Nations live up to the expectations of our time
and to the law of the Charter.
It is with profound satisfaction that we welcome in our midst the new
Members of the United Nations: San Marino, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Armenia,
Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia,
as well as Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The end of the cold war has opened up the possibility of building a world
order free from nuclear terror based on mutual respect among nations, on
greater equality of opportunity, and on effective cooperative structures. It
has raised hopes for a safer, more equitable and more humane world. Yet we
are still far from turning those hopes into reality.
Consequently, the international community is led to re-examine and adjust
the structures and functions of the United Nations. Member States are
thinking more and more in terms of stimulating efforts to enhance the
effectiveness and efficiency of the Organization. In the words of the
Secretary-General, they should seek the "transfiguration of the house". Our
fiftieth anniversary will offer an appropriate occasion to reassess the
structure of the Organization with a view to tapping the full potential of the
Charter. Before we talk about its revision, we first need to re-read the
Charter in an attempt to implement it consistently and to adapt its
application to the post-cold-war realities and to the political and socio
economic challenges originating form the South-North relationship.*
Important suggestions have been made by the Secretary-General in his
imaginative report "An Agenda for Peace" (A/47/277). We welcome this document
and the proposals contained therein.
International security is a multidimensional issue. While the military
factor continues to play its key role, security and stability are becoming
increasingly dependent on other factors as well.
We are facing pressing tasks in the economic area: the economies of the
developing countries and the economies of the newly democratic countries,
which emerged with the fall of communism, must become more efficient. There
are enormous challenges with regard to the protection of the environment, with
regard to the refugee question, and with regard to natural and man-made
disasters. The issue of refugees represents an external manifestation of
problems which cannot be addressed effectively without first attending to
their underlying causes. The dramatic plight of famine- stricken Somalia is a
manifest example. It calls not only for urgent international relief but also
for long-standing assistance.
The advance made in arms control and in disarmament has a direct and
positive impact on the international security climate. Over the last
12 months, negotiations in this vital area resulted, amongst other things, in
the Open Skies Treaty, the agreements between the United States and the four
successor States of the former USSR (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan)
relating to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), and the Convention on
the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of
Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction. The Conference on Disarmament in
Geneva must be commended for having finally reached an agreement to ban these
abhorrent weapons. The States participating in the Conference on Security and
Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) have committed themselves to become original
signatories to that important instrument. We urge all Member States to do
likewise.
However, arms control and disarmament are unfinished tasks. The United
Nations has to deal with the overkill capacity still present in arsenals, both
nuclear and conventional, and with the growing danger of the spread of weapons
of mass destruction and missile technology. There is an immediate need to
control international arms transfers. Openness and transparency in the
military field have to be promoted. Military stability and confidence will be
elusive unless we make headway in all these areas. But even that is not
enough. International peace and security will at best remain fragile as long
as prevailing patterns and practices are not redressed to eliminate the
non-military causes of instability, including ethnic hatred and nationalism.
The crisis in the former Yugoslavia, and especially in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, stands out at present as the single greatest breach of
international peace. It is a threat to the security of the region.
Non-compliance with the law of armed conflict; the atrocities; persecution of
various population groups, including forced resettlement and "ethnic
cleansing" programmes; gross violations of human rights and fundamental
freedoms; obstacles put in the way of humanitarian aid, including obstacles to
the activity of the International Committee of the Red Cross - all these acts
underlie a regional conflict of unprecedented proportions which is brimming
with spill-over risks and incalculable conseguences.
The recent report of Mr. Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Special Rapporteur of the
Commission on Human Rights, contains stark evidence of breaches of
international humanitarian law and human rights. The report leaves no party
to the conflict blameless, while recognizing that the degrees of
responsibility are far from being equal or even comparable.
In view of the reports on civilian and prisoner-of-war detention camps,
the Polish Government deems it necessary to reiterate its demand of 7 August
this year that all such camps be closed down forthwith and all the detainees
be released without delay. Moreover, criminal prosecution of all persons
responsible for breaches of the law of armed conflict must be ensured.
Poland has contributed one of the largest contingents to the United
Nations Transition Authority in Cambodia and to the United Nations Protection
Force in former Yugoslavia. At the same time/ Poland recognizes the urgent
need of reassessment of the tasks and structure of United Nations
peace-keeping forces, including - as proposed by the Secretary-General the
establishment of a standing force at the disposal of the Organization. Another
subject which deserves examination is the financing of the peace-keeping
operations out of the defence budgets of States. The earmarking of merely
half a per cent of their annual military expenditures for peace-keeping
operations would help to overcome the present budgetary constraints. In this
way, the maintenance of peace and security would become a truly common
responsibility of the international community.
Poland stands ready to contribute to the development of international
centres for preparing peace-keeping forces. To this end we propose to make
available to the United Nations one of the military bases in Poland vacated by
the Russian armed forces.
Let me also stress at this juncture that the Government of Poland has
indicated its willingness to assign to peace-keeping operations, as of 1993,
two or three self-contained infantry battalions, in addition to logistics
detachments. This contingent could eventually be made available to the
Security Council on a permanent basis. We thus fully agree with words that
the President of the United States of America uses in his address to us
yesterday namely, that a new emphasis should be put on peace-keeping. That
idea has also been entertained by other speakers. Furthermore, in response to
a recent suggestion by the Secretary-General, Poland stands ready to
participate in consultations aimed at the implementation of Article 43 of the
Charter.
I shall now address the issue of regionalism. Some points have already
been raised during today's debate. I am referring in particular to the
statements by the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs and by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
Member States should make more use of the opportunities inherent in
Chapter VIII of the Charter. Regional and continental security structures
should become, in our view, part of a global security architecture.
The aggression against Kuwait and the hostilities in former Yugoslavia,
in Moldova and in Nagorno-Karabakh have laid bare the strength of nationalism
and the weakness of some regional structures. Indeed, left to fester,
political, ethnic, religious and other conflicts have spread insecurity and
instability across Europe and far beyond. While the United Nations is, as
proved by the Persian Gulf experience, capable of playing its role in regard
to the restoration and then preservation of peace and security, we still need
to seek new security arrangements in keeping with the Charter. In Europe,
this need has already been recognized by the North Atlantic Alliance, which is
the pillar of security in our continent, the Western European Union and the
Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). Poland supports
their involvement and active cooperation with other institutions in
peace-keeping, conflict prevention and crisis management.
Harmonious and constructive interaction between the United Nations and
regional organizations or arrangements may well constitute an important new
element in making the United Nations more effective in the field of peace and
security. This fact is rightly emphasized by the Secretary-General in his
report.
In crisis situations, where several organizations are acting
simultaneously, it could be advisable to set up, on an ad-hoc basis, a single
coordinating framework. This would help to avoid duplication, overlapping or
dissipation of efforts.
The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe should be commended
for its offer of such cooperation. It declared itself a regional arrangement
in the sense of Chapter VIII of the Charter. This implies the establishment
of an important link between European and global security.
In our concern for peace and security we must consider the non-military
factors. Let me turn first to human rights, an area where the Polish nation
has accumulated considerable experience of internal struggle for the respect
of the individual. Our debate on this issue is taking place at a time of both
rising expectations and mounting fears about future developments. The
international community is frustrated by its far-too-frequent helplessness in
cases of grave and massive violations of human rights. Former Yugoslavia is a
recent case in point.
The United Nations should urgently consider additional measures to
address serious violations of human rights among other things, a system of
enforcement of respect for human rights. In this connection, the Austrian
proposal concerning the establishment of a human rights emergency mechanism,
submitted to the Commission on Human Rights, deserves proper attention.
The forthcoming World Conference on Human Rights is an appropriate forum
to discuss these questions. The Conference should adopt a comprehensive
approach to human rights. It should elaborate an action-oriented programme
for the promotion and implementation of human rights as well as for the
prevention of their violation. It should contribute to improving the
coordination of United Nations activities in that respect. The framework for
the preparations for the Conference is provided by General Assembly
resolution 45/155.
While noting the variety of factors which influence the status of human
rights, the resolution places emphasis on their universality. There is no
justification for any differentiation in understanding the contents and the
meaning of human rights, nor is there any room for their selective
application. We must do all in our power to prevent the weakening of the
universal substance of human rights.
My country pays particular attention to the protection of minorities.
This attitude has found its expression in the treaties concluded by Poland
with its neighbours. We fully endorse the adoption by the General Assembly of
the draft declaration on the rights of persons belonging to national, ethnic,
religious and linguistic minorities.
While the ideologically motivated East-West division no longer
exists and we rejoice at that we now see a growing North-South division,
with the countries in transition, such as Poland, stranded in between. As a
result, the promise of peace, greater security and freedom for all is being
slowly eroded.
Global inequality, exemplified by the widening gap between the rich North
and the poor South as well as the disparity in access to markets, must be
alleviated not only for economic, but also for security, humanitarian and
ethical reasons. Ecologically sustainable development, with democracy and the
market economy at its core, should be the focal point and the principal goal
of the United Nations system as it prepares itself for the future: the year
2000 and beyond. We shall not be able to cope successfully with the
challenges ahead unless a coalition for development is forged.
As it happens, there are also grounds to fear a division based on the
level of economic development in Europe. In the case of countries in
transition, their long-awaited prosperity is lagging behind, not coming
hand-in-hand with freedom. The Western industrial democracies have not yet
adopted a coherent approach to the emerging problems of countries in Central
and Eastern Europe. A grand strategy for supporting the democratic transition
has not yet been worked out, a strategy whose relevance, I dare say, may well
one day be highly appreciated in other regions and countries likely to face
transition and transformation problems.
There is little doubt that international economic relations need to be
reformed in the overriding interest of international stability and security.
The stronger the economy, the sturdier the political and social fabric of
States and, in effect, the greater their resistance to the impact of ethnic
conflicts, refugee exoduses and migration problems. This, I believe, is a
valid argument in favour of accelerated restructuring of the economies in
transition and their early integration into the world economy.
The social implications of economic reform and structural adjustment need
to be carefully monitored, both in the developing countries and in those in
transition. We expect that the forthcoming United Nations Summit Conference
on social policies and development will address these implications in some
detail, especially as they relate to Central and Eastern Europe and the
Commonwealth of Independent States. It would certainly be helpful if, in the
course of preparations for the conference, the Secretary-General could
prepare, by analogy with his report "An Agenda for Peace" (A/47/277), a report
on the challenges of social and economic development.
Poland welcomes the fact that the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year, has
opened a new chapter of international cooperation by addressing environmental
protection issues in a manner compatible with the requirements of sustainable
development.
The Decade of International Law has got off to a slow start, yet it still
offers a unique framework for enhancing the role of law as the basic factor
for order in international relations. We should not miss this opportunity.
The United Nations itself is facing a number of legal questions of a highly
sensitive nature: Let me refer, by way of example, to the contemporary
meaning of sovereignty; the rule of law and domestic jurisdiction of States;
respect for international law in conflict situations; global legal mechanisms
for the enforcement of human rights; the establishment of an international
criminal court; succession of States; and international compensation claims.
As to the solution of conflicts, recourse should be made to Article 36 of
the Charter. Security Council recommendations on specific procedures or
methods of adjustment of disputes should become a normal practice in cases
where parties to a dispute are unable to settle it in accordance with their
obligations under paragraph 3 of Article 2. Poland is in favour, in
particular, of reinforcing the role of the International Court of Justice.
I wish to conclude by noting that enduring world peace is inconceivable
without law and justice standing out as unfaltering beacons for all men and
nations alike.