At the
outset, I would like to cordially congratulate Mr. Nassir
Abdulaziz Al-Nasser of the State of Qatar on his
election to the post of President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-sixth session. I assure him of our
full support for his endeavours in that capacity.
I am honoured to speak on behalf of my country
at this session of the General Assembly and to be able
to address in this historic place representatives of all
the countries of the world. Our participation at this
session is also an opportunity for dialogue, a chance to
get acquainted with the problems of nations from
different regions of the world and to learn about their
achievements and aspirations — and also their
concerns and fears. It is an opportunity for reflection
on how to deal with the challenges faced by
humankind — by all of us.
I speak here on behalf of a country that over the
past two decades has become a symbol of positive
change — change that required courage and hard work.
At the time of the collapse of the communist system,
Poland was a country with a devastated State economy
and an impoverished society. It was a country uncertain
of its borders and its place in Europe. Thanks to deep
economic and political transformations, Poland has
become a country that enjoys stable democracy and a
dynamic economy. It has become a country that makes
an important contribution to international relations in
Europe and to security and stability in its immediate
environment and beyond.
Since 2008, in the course of the financial crisis,
the Polish economy has maintained a positive growth
rate. It is the only country in the European Union to do
so. That was possible thanks to the work and the
entrepreneurial spirit of the Polish people and thanks to
successive Governments’ courage in making difficult
decisions.
In its foreign policy, Poland is building good-
neighbourly relations with the countries of Central and
Eastern Europe, strengthening the security and unity of
Europe. A hallmark of Polish foreign policy remains its
solidarity with nations that aspire to live in freedom
based on democracy and respect for human rights. That
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is an obligation derived from our national experience,
the experience of the non-violent struggle of the
Solidarity trade union, which paved the way for
democratic and economic transitions in the countries of
the former communist bloc.
We now stand ready to share our experience. That
is our active and consistent approach in relation to the
societies of Eastern Europe and, recently, in relation to
the societies of Arab States, some of which have taken
up a challenge similar to ours 20 years ago. We wish
them luck, perseverance and courage, not only to fight
for change but also to conduct dialogue and
communicate with all those who can take part in this
process. From our Polish experience we know that
sometimes the inability to communicate and reach
compromises and to overcome internal divisions — the
inability to open oneself to dialogue with those who
just recently were seen as enemies — hinders progress
and can cause the failure of movements initiating
major, necessary changes.
Today I speak on behalf of the country that holds
the presidency of the Council of the European Union
(EU). The Union has become in recent decades a
laboratory of huge positive developments in
international life. The beginning of the integration
process, with the creation of the European Coal and
Steel Community 60 years ago, was a Copernican
revolution in international relations. A mechanism to
effectively eliminate war between countries that
seemed to be permanently in conflict with each other
was successfully introduced. Archenemies have
become irreplaceable friends. The number of countries
that have opted for cooperation rather than conflict has
been steadily growing.
That has given Europe an unprecedented long
period of peace and enabled economic and social
development not only in the sphere of the market but
also in the field of human rights and in equalizing the
levels of development. The European Union provides
its members with security, stimulates their
development and provides assistance to less developed
regions and social groups. That is possible thanks to a
principle of solidarity that goes beyond State borders.
The European Union has introduced a new
quality to international life globally. It stabilizes its
neighbourhood and is an inspiration and a role model
in various regions of the world, where integration
initiatives derive from the European experience. The
European Union is also an active participant in the
process of shaping a better world order for everyone.
The progress that the world has experienced after the
Cold War in the fields of human rights, international
security and arms reductions, environmental
protection, sustainable development and many other
areas is for the most part due to the initiatives and
involvement of the European Union — as Mr. Herman
Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council,
said here earlier (see ).
I am convinced that not only will Europe’s
current difficulties — at the moment related to the
financial standing of some of its member States — be
overcome but that the EU will actually emerge stronger
from the crisis. I am also convinced that the European
social model and the model of EU relations with the
outside world will remain an important point of
reference for other regions of the world. Poland, which
currently holds the presidency of the Council of the
European Union, will spare no effort in ensuring that
Europe remains committed to global affairs and can be
counted on, as always. Europe’s solidarity with the
world and its openness will remain our priority.
The challenges facing the international
community are considerable. The past decade in
international life has been turbulent and difficult. Its
beginning was marked by the tragic terrorist attacks
here in New York, on 11 September 2001. The spectre
of global terrorism has hung over the world, in the fear
that terrorist organizations one day may make use of a
weapon of mass destruction. Fortunately, our worst
fears have not materialized and it has been possible to
significantly reduce the terrorist threat.
At the same time, the atmosphere of the war on
terror has been a hindrance to fostering trust,
strengthening international stability and solving other
important problems. In the past decade we have had to
deal with increasing tensions between rich and poor,
and between more and less developed countries and
regions of the world. There have been signs of cross-
cultural mistrust. Climate change negotiations, the new
World Trade Organization (WTO) trade round and
non-proliferation discussions are stalled. The Middle
East peace process is not advancing. In addition to
those negative trends, the international community was
hit by the financial crisis in September 2008.
We cannot ignore these disturbing phenomena
and signals. Nonetheless, there is good reason to be
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optimistic and to believe that we can overcome
difficulties and effectively face challenges. Hopes have
been engendered by the economic growth that has been
seen in many countries and regions that were once
referred to as underdeveloped countries or the third
world. Many countries have been able to seize the
opportunities made available by globalization and give
their societies prospects for development and
prosperity. The responsible attitude of many
Governments, within the Group of 20 and beyond,
prevented the financial turbulence of 2008 from
escalating into an economic crisis similar to the Great
Depression of 1929. Openness and interdependence
prevailed over protectionism and economic
nationalism. President Barack Obama’s initiatives to
reduce nuclear arms and ensure their non-proliferation
should be viewed in a similar manner.
The Arab Spring, notwithstanding the dramatic
events surrounding it, is yet another step in the
transition of countries in various regions of the world
towards democracy and the empowerment of
individuals and societies on the basis of respect for
their aspirations to live in freedom and prosperity.
These are aspirations to a life that is in harmony with
values and standards that are not — as they were
considered to be until recently — exclusively Western.
Everyone, everywhere, is entitled to embrace those
values; however, it is necessary to respect the local
aspects and dimensions of these aspirations and rights,
which cannot be separated from their cultural context.
The path to solving key global problems
inevitably leads us to the United Nations or its
specialized agencies. Not so long ago we faced the risk
of a marginalizing of the United Nations, or even the
building of parallel structures. The United Nations,
however, remains indispensable in its role, as defined
in the Charter and the main United Nations documents,
especially those from the years 2000 and 2005. We in
Poland combine optimism with realism, so we like the
description of the United Nations that says that our
Organization was not created to take mankind to
heaven, but to save humanity from hell.
The Organization faces many tasks, whose aim is
to protect the international community against crises
and a decline at the international level. The United
Nations must defend the already achieved level of
civilized relations among nations, a key factor of which
is the move away from violence towards the self-
determination of nations, democracy and material
prosperity.
I see the main tasks of the Organization as falling
within the framework adopted in the 2005 World
Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1), which focused on
the triad of development, security and human rights. I
am aware of the complexity and extent of the problems
related to development, which encompass the issues of
trade, finance, economic growth, environmental
protection and development aid. I am aware of the
limitations of the United Nations in this area, where the
main instruments are in the hands of private entities —
corporations, banks, stock exchanges and investment
funds. The United Nations and its specialized agencies,
the Bretton Woods institutions and others have proved
in the past how useful they are in this area.
Today our Organization must ensure the effective
provision of aid to the poorest and to those in real
need. They are the ones that are hardest hit by the
crisis. Our responsibility is to limit the scourge of
hunger in the world and help in combating pandemics
and in providing access to drinking water. Without
ensuring a minimal subsistence level for people, as
well as health care and basic education, it is difficult to
expect the poorest and those in real need to begin to
fend for themselves.
We must agree on a new paradigm for global
economic trade. Global equilibrium requires that States
with a high surplus of exports over imports begin to
switch to growth, stimulated by internal consumption.
Incidentally, it was domestic demand that saved Poland
from the economic crisis following 2008. If we fail to
balance the relationship between these two groups of
economies — export- and import-oriented — there will
be more turbulence in the global system. Developing
countries must increasingly take responsibility for the
global economy. This includes responsibility for the
least developed countries, which cannot be limited to
imports, as this prevents the development of their own
manufacturing and export potential. United Nations
agencies and entities not related to the Organization,
such as the WTO, must assist in the evolution of this
paradigm.
The issue of international security, in both its
broader and narrower senses, requires a new approach.
Here I shall confine myself to the latter. Poland has a
strong interest in progress in the reduction of nuclear
and conventional arms. We are concerned about the
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prospect of returning to the arms race, as well as by the
increase in spending on armaments on a global scale.
More attention should be paid to the categories of
weapons that today account for the most deaths. They
cause conflicts, mainly internal, and they are the main
factors of instability in various regions of the world. It
is from that perspective that we should reform the
United Nations Conference on Disarmament. We fully
support the efforts of the Secretary-General to that end.
Security in a broad sense and respect for human
rights and the various forms of a transition towards
democracy, that is, ultimately building a lasting peace,
depends on the ability to communicate, to negotiate
and to compromise. In that respect, the role of the
United Nations is irreplaceable. The United Nations
has been, is and must remain the main forum and
instrument for international mediation. We in Poland
and Europe know from our own experience the value
of this way of resolving difficult social and political
problems. The Polish round table of 1989 paved the
way for transformation in our part of Europe. I am
convinced of its usefulness in the process of the Arab
Spring, particularly with respect to the difficult
situation that arose in Syria, a country of great Islamic
culture and tradition. We are ready to share this
experience with the societies that would like to do so.
Mediation is an irreplaceable way to achieve lasting
and just peace.
This also applies to solving very difficult
problems in the relations between Israel and its
neighbours, especially with the Palestinian Authority. I
urge the United Nations and the Secretary-General to
actively use this means of building trust and peace
between peoples, cultures and different social groups
who frequently, and for legitimate reasons, find
themselves in a situation of conflict or even war.
The spirit of solidarity must permeate the activity
of our Organization, which aims for peace, security,
development and respect for human rights. Si vis
pacem para solidaritatem (A/55/PV.17, p. 32) are
words expressed here in 2001 by former Auschwitz
prisoner and Polish Minister for Foreign Affairs
Wladyslaw Bartoszewski. The spirit of solidarity has
been the source of Polish success since 1989, and
continues to be a value and source of strength for the
entire European Union. Nevertheless, it also continues
to be needed on a global scale at this time of openness
and interdependence between countries, economies and
societies. This requires an awareness of the unity of
humankind and a consciousness of the deep
commonality of interests among the members of the
international community. The failure to respect this
will mean failure to effectively take on the challenges
the international community faces. In that regard, I
have only highlighted a few examples.
Finally, being here, I cannot resist recalling the
important words of my great compatriot, Pope John
Paul II. Speaking in the Hall in October 1995, he said:
“The answer to the fear which darkens human
existence at the end of the century is the common
effort to build a civilization of love, founded on
the universal values of peace, solidarity, justice
and liberty. And the soul of the civilization of
love is the culture of freedom: the freedom of
individuals and the freedom of nations, lived in
self-giving solidarity and responsibility.”