Sixty-four
years since the foundation of the United Nations we
recall the self-evident fact that the United Nations was
created to prevent atrocities such as those that occurred
during the Second World War, from 1939 to 1945. It
was called into being in order to avoid a repetition of
the failure of the League of Nations, the first
worldwide organization, which tried to carry out its
duties between the two world wars.
The United Nations over 64 years has undergone
various twists and turns. There have been better and
worse years, years when here in this Hall there were
clashes between the forces of two camps, the so-called
socialist camp and the free world. There were times
when here in this Hall scores of new countries of
Africa, Oceania and Asia emerged. There was also the
time, 20 years ago, when, after the collapse of the
Soviet Union, there appeared many other new
countries, and when others such as mine, Poland,
gained real, not only formal, independence.
At that time the whole world believed that we had
found a way to solve all problems, especially economic
problems, using market economy rules, which meant a
free economy and free movement of capital in all areas.
We have to state clearly that, as we have heard here
many times, in recent years this faith has been
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undermined, and therefore I have to devote my address
to the problem of the crisis to some extent.
This crisis is a new problem. Participating in a
General Assembly session for the first time, I can state
that all the earlier problems, such as conflicts, of which
there are many, the more recent problem of climate
change, and the problem of poverty, are not new. To
them we should add the problem of health: AIDS,
epidemics and so on.
However, the problem of the current crisis
appeared in the last year. Before coming to it, I should
like to refer to what the President of Ukraine said.
There are many causes of conflict in the world, one
being the violation of faith in territorial integrity.
Because many new countries have emerged over the
past dozens of years, it is clear that there will be
differences of opinion over this or that territory. If
force is used to resolve such differences, as it was last
year against Georgia, this may give rise to fundamental
problems. It could be the source of local wars, but it
could also be the source of great conflicts, even
conflicts on a world scale. On behalf of my country, I
warn against this.
I return to the problem of the current crisis. I
represent a country that continues to develop. We are
the only country in the European Union that will this
year record — albeit small — economic growth. This
is due to some factors that are specific to my country,
so I do not wish to dwell at length on the subject.
However, it is clear that one reason for the crisis is that
we place too much faith in markets and banking
systems that become more and more complicated.
Sooner or later that must lead to the outcomes that we
all see.
What preventive measures can be taken? They are
known, but it is difficult to implement them. I believe
that the United Nations has a great opportunity here. It
is not that there will be management of the global
economy. Such attempts are doomed to failure and will
lead to another crisis. But it is not true that we do not
need new rules, new regulations, to deal with issues
that have also been discussed today, including
supervision and oversight over the banking sector.
Perhaps that oversight should not be global in nature,
but it must include countries where banks are under no
control, because that is the source of an economic
pathology, which often facilitates large-scale criminal
activity, such as drug-trafficking.
Another problem that has been mentioned here is
that of so-called tax havens. Mention can also be made
of cheap flags of convenience for shipping. We
understand that all those who use them do so to
improve the situation in their countries; we realize that
from the point of view of various countries, especially
those that are not rich, there is a reason. I am not here
to criticize them. But it is in our common interest to
put an end to such practices. There is no other
organization in the world that can do this but the
United Nations, through the creation of international
norms.
President Lula of Brazil spoke about certain very
important problems, including those relating to
financial agencies affiliated to the United Nations. In
that regard, I refer to the problem of greater flexibility
in programmes launched by the International Monetary
Fund or the World Bank.
There is another issue: better use of certain
organizations affiliated to the United Nations. Here I
draw attention first to the International Labour
Organization (ILO), which has been in existence for 80
years. It embraces almost all countries of the world and
has about 2,500 employees. Should it not to a greater
extent be a place for the formulation of programmes
providing an alternative to liberal development? It
seems that a reformed ILO could successfully perform
that function. It requires a common effort, but it is
feasible.
I am not talking about additional funds and
financial means. I am talking about formulating
alternative programmes that take the interests of
workers into account to a greater extent than so far, and
also a balance between different social groups, not only
in the rich countries, but also in the poorer countries.
Today’s address by the President of the United
States pointed to the fact that a country that, whatever
one thinks about it, is the most powerful in the world
today, is now approaching the problems of the United
Nations differently. This creates a certain possibility
for the Organization, our Organization. This is an
opportunity that can be taken if the United Nations
peacekeeping operations become more effective. We
should appreciate the operations that have been carried
out so far, but we need certain organizational changes
to make the activity more effective. What I am saying
does not exclude the tasks taken up by, for instance,
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NATO. But the United Nations should play the leading
role.
There is also the problem of United Nations
reform, especially reform of the Security Council. I do
not wish to dwell on the subject now, but we are all
aware that it is a very important issue, in that there is a
basic difference between what was established 64 years
ago and what we have now.
In the past the United Nations has placed a great
deal of emphasis on climate change and climate issues.
Much has been said about the subject, and I do not
want to repeat it. However, I strongly emphasize that
this is a very important issue, requiring great
sensitivity. If richer countries want to become strongly
involved in climate protection, they must realize that
the weaker States should be assisted, because this very
just cause cannot be dealt with in such a way as to
make development easier for some and harder for
others. We should always bear that in mind in thinking
about the solidarity of all nations and about the
objectives given to the United Nations 64 years ago.
Last, but not least, I turn to an issue that has not
been discussed at great length, except in regard to
piracy: international terrorism. Today it is an important
problem. The situation in some countries, such as
Afghanistan and Pakistan, is very significant proof of
that. Terrorism has its sources, not all of which are
related to external ideologies. There are also some
objective premises, and we understand this. We also
understand that the United Nations can play a greater
role than it has played so far.
Poland is a member of NATO, and is very much
involved in operations. But we understand that under
international law the only 100 per cent legitimacy for
such operations derives from the United Nations. This
is very important now and also for the future, because
we must realize that the problems of conflict, crisis and
terrorism cannot be solved within a few years.
Many times today we heard that the United
Nations is entering a new stage. We believe that this
will be a phase of its greatness, because we have
learned from the past that this great world experiment,
which has many times passed the test on a global scale,
will continue to do so in the near future.