32. Madam President, may I be permitted, first of all,
to congratulate you cordially on your election to the high
and responsible office of President of the twenty-fourth
session of the General Assembly. Your election is not only
a tribute to your personal accomplishments and to your
many years’ work in the United Nations, but also yet
another demonstration of the growing international role of
the African States.
33. Together with the whole General Assembly, we grieve
that death did not allow Dr. Emilio Arenales Catalan to
complete his term as President of the twenty-third session.
We pay a tribute to his memory.
34. In beginning my statement, I should like to mention
how greatly we appreciate the efforts of our Secretary-General,
U Thant, to widen international co-operation and
ensure respect for the Charter of the United Nations. He
resolutely defends the authority of the United Nations,
takes decisions and puts forward proposals for initiatives
which, although sometimes perhaps not acceptable to all,
invariably testify to his total dedication to the cause of
peace. We wish him further success in carrying out his tasks.
35. We are living in an era of far-reaching and rapid
changes, in an era of impressive developments in science
and technology. These developments open up unlimited
prospects to mankind, but they are also fraught with
potential danger if the gap between the developed and the
developing countries widens further, and if the tendency to
stockpile and constantly improve the means of mass
destruction is maintained.
36. The peoples expect the vast intellectual and economic
capacities of mankind to be used in the interests of the
peoples of the world and for the benefit of mankind.
37. The monstrous and senseless arms race increases
danger while at the same time absorbing enormous material
and financial resources and this at a time when millions are
living on the verge of hunger and destitution. We cannot
reconcile ourselves to this state of affairs. We believe that
the spectre of a nuclear disaster should disappear from our
planet and that the funds now allocated to armaments
should be assigned to the harmonious and peaceful development
of mankind. Suffice it to say that the cost of
armaments — which has reached the staggering sum of
$200,000 million a year — is equal to the combined national
incomes of the developing countries of Asia and Africa.
38. The arms race, which, so it is sometimes said, is
justified by the need to maintain the balance of power,
means that the “balance of fear” is being raised to an ever
higher, ever more expensive and ever more dangerous level.
Thus, the process of strengthening security on the basis of a
balance of power is developing into the opposite and is
posing an increasing threat. The equilibrium on which the
security of the world could be based should be sought by
curbing the arms race and turning it into a process of
disarmament. That is how we understand the
Secretary-General’s proposal — a proposal worthy of
support — that the years 1970 to 1980 should be proclaimed the
“Disarmament Decade” [A/7601/Add.1, para. 42].
39. The preservation and consolidation of peace is not a
simple and easy task. Common sense obliges us to be guided
by the logic of peace and not by speculations based on the
multiplication of conflicts. However, there are forces that
are seeking to hinder mankind’s progress towards new.
forms of international relations, as well as the strengthening
of national sovereignty and the independent development
of new States. Those forces are unwilling or unable to
understand the essence of the new alignment of forces
resulting from the emergence and development of the
system of socialist States and the liberation of peoples from
colonial dependence. Those forces are trying to delay, or
even turn back, the march of history. The means of action
used by those forces range from political subversion and
economic subjugation to the launching of local wars of
aggression.
40. We observe the economic and political situation in
many developing countries with great concern. Former
metropolitan Powers, as well as some other capitalist
countries, are trying, under the pretext of aiding the
developing countries, to continue their old exploitation of
those countries by new methods. It is in this, rather than in
an excessive natural increase in population, that one should
look for the cause of the unsatisfactory level of development
of many countries that have recently gained independence.
Convincing evidence of the continuing exploitation
of the developing countries is provided by the
well-known figures for the movement of foreign capital and
the transfer of profits abroad, for losses on those countries
balance of trade and payments as a result of the unfavourable
terms of trade, and for losses in their trade with the
highly developed capitalist countries.
41. The developing countries, and in fact the whole world,
are on the threshold of the Second Development Decade. It
should be more successful than the First Decade in helping
the less developed countries to extricate themselves from
their stagnation, to accelerate their development, to reduce
the ever-widening economic and technological gap separating
them from the highly developed countries, to make
their economies more independent of the dictatorial policy
of the big monopolies and of the sharp price fluctuations
on the capitalist markets. We fully support the objectives of
the Second Development Decade, for we consider the
development of the economically retarded countries to be
one of the most important problems of the present-day
world.
42. Poland, like other socialist countries, is helping the
developing countries in their advancement as far as it is
able, and is also ready to help them in the future. The
socialist countries’ assistance to, and economic co-operation
with, the developing countries are not aimed at making
large profits; nor do they result in the passing of the natural
resources of the developing countries into foreign hands; on
the contrary, they contribute to the development of those
countries’ own resources and national production potential.
Moreover, the rate of interest on credits granted by socialist
countries is considerably lower than that charged by the
capitalist countries.
43. The situation in which the developing countries find
themselves is particularly understandable to us, because our
country began its development in the first years after the
Second World War under conditions that were not much
better. Moreover, our country had been devastated as a
result of the military operations and the rapacious policy of
the occupying forces. Even today, although we have
considerably developed our industry and our whole economy,
the structure of our exports to highly developed
capitalist countries is very similar to that of the exports of
developing countries. That is why we ourselves are interested
in a stabilization of world prices and in ending the
reduction in the national incomes of less developed
countries because of unfavourable price trends in world
trade.
44. Another negative feature is the accumulation by some
Western countries of gold and hard currency reserves at the
expense of the balance of payments of many economically
weaker countries. This undermines the financial and monetary
system of the Western world and contributes to
economic instability, with very detrimental effects on the
situation of many developing countries, whose economies
are linked with that system.
45. The commonwealth of socialist countries, too, is
composed of countries at different levels of economic
development, and at the beginning those differences were
rather considerable. However, among the members of the
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, the economic
growth of the less developed countries is proceeding more
rapidly than that of the more developed countries, and this
is leading to a reduction of the differences between
individual socialist countries; in other words, the process
that is taking place is quite the opposite of that in the
relations between capitalist and developing countries.
46. It is appropriate to ask the question: why is it that
among the socialist countries the former discrepancies in
levels of industrial production, national income and standard
of living are being reduced, while in the capitalist world
the “economic gap” between the most developed and the
developing countries is constantly becoming wider?
47. This is happening because the peoples of our countries
have taken their natural wealth and resources into their
own hands; they have mobilized all their own forces for
economic and social development, and co-operation
between socialist countries is based on the principles of
equality, mutual assistance and mutual benefit.
48. It is on these very principles that we are prepared to
extend our relations with the developing countries.
49. The period of history in which we are living sets
before us numerous tasks which call for the strengthening
of international co-operation based on respect for the
independence and right to self-determination of peoples, on
non-interference in the domestic affairs of other States, and
on the principle of regard for the interests of all co-operating
countries. These tasks assume even greater importance
in view of the symptoms of a stalemate or even a
deterioration in the international situation, as the
Secretary-General of the United Nations rightly points out
in his report for this year.
50. Too often we witness flagrant violations of the
principles of the Charter of the United Nations, sometimes
of a directly demonstrative character.
51. No other construction can be placed on the behaviour
of the present Government of Israel, which, in defiance of
the unanimous decisions of United Nations organs, continues
to occupy Arab territories, presents the world with
faits accomplis, and openly proclaims its expansionist
aspirations in its official declarations. It carries out more
and more provocative military actions and prevents commissions
established by the United Nations from fulfilling
their functions in the occupied territories.
52. Can it be supposed that that Government would
venture to behave in such a way if it did not enjoy
economic, political and military support from outside, the
support of certain Powers? Can one be surprised in these
circumstances, that the efforts of Ambassador Gunnar
Jarring, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General,
have so far met with no success? Let us hope that
the talks of the four Powers on the subject, as well as the
parallel Soviet-American exchange of views, will lead to a
change in that situation as soon. as possible.
53. The Polish delegation, as it has done hitherto, stands
firmly in favour of an urgent solution of the Middle East
conflict on the basis of the Security Council resolution of
22 November 1967 [242 (1967)]. This is one of the few
resolutions which the Security Council has adopted unanimously.
It provides a good basis for a peaceful, political
elimination of the consequences of Israeli aggression.
However, if the Security Council resolution is not to remain
a dead letter, it should be supported by a corresponding
attitude towards the aggressor on the part of all States.
Israel must be made to feel strong pressure and not be
allowed to count on tacit moral support and overt financial
and material support.
54. Another example of disregard for the Organization
and of the undermining of its authority is the racist policy
of the Republic of South Africa, which maintains its
colonial domination of Namibia and, by supporting the
Smith régime in Rhodesia, as well as the tottering position
of the Portuguese colonialists in Angola and Mozambique,
has become the mainstay of colonialism and racism in
southern Africa. It has thus created an alarming threat to
peace in that continent. In this case, too, that policy is
being countenanced by the very same powerful and highly
developed Western countries, which in the pursuit of large
profits maintain extensive economic relations with that
country, export their capital there and collaborate in the
development of its military potential. All this strengthens
the racist régime and its policy of apartheid and facilitates
the open disregard of resolutions adopted by United
Nations organs.
55. The Polish delegation has repeatedly expressed from
this rostrum its opinion on the fatal political consequences
to international relations deriving from the continuation of
the war of aggression against the people of Viet-Nam. The
people of Viet-Nam — unlike any other people in the
world — have for many years now been enduring the tragic
results of the brutal use of the most advanced technique of
destruction. They are prepared to carry on their heroic
defensive struggle until their natural right is respected — the
right to determine, in full sovereignty, the ways and means
of their future development without any interference from
outside. This, of course, entails the withdrawal of all
interventionist troops from South Viet-Nam, as demanded
in the programme of the Provisional Revolutionary Government
of South Viet-Nam and in the well-known Ten Points
of the National Liberation Front of South Viet-Nam. This
well-founded and legitimate demand has been put forward
by the representatives of the people of Viet-Nam for many
years now. It is being presented clearly and honestly by the
delegations of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and
the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Viet-Nam in Paris.
56. We fully share and support that point of view. Polish
diplomacy has had particular opportunities constantly to be
convinced of the sincere desire of the representatives of the
people of Viet-Nam to achieve a peaceful solution of the
problem of Viet-Nam.
57. Peace in Viet-Nam cannot be secured, by meaningless
gestures, still less by intensifying military operations and
extending them to other countries of the Indo-Chinese
peninsula, as has recently teen shown by the alarming news
from Laos. Peace can be achieved only by withdrawing all
interventionist troops from South Viet-Nam and enabling
the people of Viet-Nam to form a new government on the
basis of a broad agreement of all patriotic forces and not by
letting power remain for ever in the hands of a small group
that has no popular support.
58. World public opinion, including a large section of
public opinion in the United States, understands this. So,
too, do many Governments, which, having made a realistic
evaluation of the situation, have now established diplomatic
relations with the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and
have recognized the Provisional Revolutionary Government
of South Viet-Nam.
59. In speaking of potential sources of conflicts in the
world, it is impossible not to dwell on the Korean question.
The time has come to dissolve the United Nations Commission
for the Unification and Rehabilitation of Korea and to
withdraw United States troops from South Korea. The
retention of this relic of the “cold war“, with the use of the
United Nations flag by the United States forces stationed
there, does not serve the interests of peaceful development
in Asia, nor does it strengthen the authority of the United
Nations in the eyes of the Asian peoples, particularly those
which are not yet Members of the United Nations. The
Korean people should have an opportunity, on the basis of
their own decision and without foreign interference freely
to determine the approximate road to the unification of the
country.
60. Our particular interest in the affairs of the European
continent is determined not only by the historical experience
of the Polish people, but also by our geographical
situation. For many centuries, that continent has been an
important centre, exerting an influence on the situation
throughout the world. It was from there that the colonial
expeditions to other continents set out. The metropolitan
States of Western Europe became centres of imperialist
domination and exploitation of other races. That was the
main source of their affluence. Europe, especially its
eastern and southern parts, provided the United States with
cheap labour, without which the rapid development of that
country would not have been possible. Instead of that
emigration, there is now a “brain drain“ from Europe,
which enables the United States to achieve a technological
progress which is more rapid than that of Europe and is
today one of the characteristics of the United States
economy.
61. But Europe—despite all the negative phenomena in its
past — has remained a great centre of human thought,
culture, science and art. It became a great centre of
progressive, revolutionary ideas. It was in that part of the
world that the French Revolution put an end to the feudal
era, and it was there that the first socialist State in the
history of mankind came into being and opened a great
chapter in the world’s progress towards socialism and
communism. These facts deserve to be recalled on the
occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the
great Lenin, an anniversary celebrated by enlightened
people all over the world and not by communists alone.
62. But it was also in Europe that two world wars started.
They caused the sacrifice of 50 million human lives. All the
other continents were drawn into this bloody struggle. It is
hardly necessary to recall that African, Asian and South
American troops fought against the Nazi aggressors and for
the liberation of the peoples of Europe from the yoke of
the occupier. Some of them did not fight under their own
flag, but we in Poland will not forget their contribution to
the common victory. During the battles of the Second
World War those troops proved the right of their own
peoples to independence.
63. At present, European security has not yet been
consolidated and the future of peace is still undetermined.
It is true that a quarter of a century has passed without an
armed conflict in Europe. The main factor contributing to
this relative calm has been the existence of the powerful
system of socialist States, bound as they are by common
defence arrangements and close co-operation in all fields,
and by the policy of peace which they are consistently
carrying out. The existence of the system of socialist States
is an irreversible fact, since socialism is not, as its opponents
would wish, a temporary phenomenon. The existence of
that system has substantially changed the international
situation. A region which in the past was a hotbed of unrest
and conflicts, can now be recognized as a most constructive
element in international relations. We shall not allow
anyone to interfere with these achievements.
64. However, as I have already said, peace in Europe has
not yet been consolidated, and this is directly connected
with the policy which the Federal Republic of Germany
still pursues. No political observer aware of the role of
German imperialism during both the First and Second
World Wars can fail to notice in West Germany many
phenomena which have a negative influence on the peaceful
development of international relations. A quarter of a
century after the overthrow of the Third Reich by the
anti-Hitler coalition, the old Nazi tendencies are reviving
and the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party is operating
legally. Past active membership in the Brown Shirt legions is
not an obstacle to a political career at a time when — as some
would have us believe — a renaissance of democracy has
supposedly begun.
65. At the same time, the foreign policy of Bonn is based
on the so-called “Hallstein doctrine”, by virtue of which
the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany has
usurped the right to represent the entire German nation
within the long non-existing borders of 1937, and is thus
attempting to dictate to other sovereign States regarding
the countries with which they should or should not
maintain diplomatic relations. Bonn has also refused so far
to recognize certain obvious European realities: the permanent
character of European frontiers, the existence of
the other German State — the German Democratic Republic —
and the political and juridical independence of West Berlin.
66. What else does this denote but an aspiration to reverse
the results of the last war and to change the status quo in
Europe based on the documents of the Potsdam Conference?
This inevitably reminds one of what led, after
Versailles and Weimar to Hitler’s Parteitage and to the
drenching of all Europe in blood. This must not be
forgotten, especially at the present time when the military
potential of the Federal Republic of Germany is increasing,
when that country refuses to accept the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and when it is
gaining financial and economic advantages in the North
Atlantic alliance, which was allegedly created to curb
German militarism and extremism, whereas in fact it is
being led, whether it so wishes or not, by the Federal
Republic of Germany.
67. Each nation draws conclusions from its own history
and tries to determine its future accordingly. We Poles are
sometimes suspected of having an anti-German obsession.
We have no such obsession. We have full respect for the
peaceful accomplishments of German culture, science and
technology and for the organizational capabilities of the
German people. We recognize and appreciate those forces in
West Germany which are sincerely striving to lead the
German people out of a blind alley. Those forces need to be
helped. We shall watch attentively the elections in the
Federal Republic of Germany this coming Sunday, in order
to ascertain who wins and in which direction they will lead
the West German people, which needs peace as much as we do.
68. On our part there has never been any lack of goodwill
and initiative.
69. The clearest evidence of the fact that we hold no
grudge on our side was the proposal we made to the Federal
Republic of Germany as early as 1955 for the normalization
of relations, as well as the proposal we made this year
for the conclusion of a treaty on the final character of our
western frontier. The first proposal was firmly, although
tacitly, rejected; with respect to the second, it can be noted
that a reply is being evaded. However, we shall patiently
wait to see what Bonn’s standpoint will be after the
elections on Sunday.
7O. The clearest manifestation of these tendencies on our
part is our friendly co-operation, based on the principles of
internationalism, with those Germans who are our direct
neighbours on the other side of the Oder and the Neisse and
who organized themselves into the first peace-loving
German State, the first socialist State of the German
people — the German Democratic Republic. The German
Democratic Republic is celebrating its twentieth anniversary
this year and, thanks to the achievements of
constructive, productive and hard work, it represents one of
the foremost economic, social and cultural forces in the
world. Polish-German good neighbourly relations, which are
so necessary for Europe and peace, are being developed on
the Oder and the Neisse, in the co-operation between the
Polish People’s Republic and the German Democratic
Republic. We shall cherish this achievement.
71. We have always believed that Europe has all the
objective requirements for showing the whole world an
example of peaceful development and co-operation. That
assumption has always been the basis of our initiatives and
proposals.
72. Permit me to recall that it was from this rostrum that
we proposed in 1967 the creation of a nuclear-free zone in
Central Europe with an appropriate system of control
[697th meeting, para. 236]. In December 1963, Poland put
forward its proposal for a freeze on nuclear armaments in
Central Europe, and in subsequent interventions we urged
that consideration be given to the idea of extending the
freeze to other European States. In December 1964, my
predecessor, Mr. Adam Rapacki, the Minister for Foreign
Affairs, proposed from this rostrum the convening of a
European conference on security and co-operation [1301st
meeting, para.66]. At the General Assembly session in
1966 the Polish delegation submitted a preliminary draft
agenda for such a conference [1434th meeting, paras, 35-37].
73. Through no fault of ours, those proposals were not
accepted at that time. However, we must point out here
that Polish representatives had bilateral talks on those
matters with several European countries, in the profound
conviction that positive measures of a multilateral character
should be worked out through bilateral discussions among
the States most closely concerned, as well as those that
might wish to obtain a better understanding of existing
opinions on the matter pending the adoption of a final
decision. My Government has always been ready to hold
such dialogues, and it intends to do so in the future. We
note with pleasure and satisfaction that many European
Governments share this point of view. A better clarification
of the points of view will mean that they are better
understood, and this will help to strengthen peaceful
co-operation among States, despite their different social
systems.
74. Seeking to bring about a halt to the arms race and save
mankind from the calamities of a war waged with weapons
of mass destruction, we proposed the preparation of a
report on the effects on mankind of the use of nuclear
weapons; subsequently we raised the question of chemical
and bacteriological weapons. As a result of these proposals,
the draft of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons [resolution 2373 (XXII)] was agreed upon, and
on the initiative of the delegations of nine socialist
countries, the question of the conclusion of a convention
on the prohibition of the development, production and
stockpiling of chemical and bacteriological (biological)
weapons and on the destruction of such weapons [A/7655]
was included in the agenda of the present session of the
General Assembly.
75. We consider it very important that the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons should come into
force and be signed and ratified by a majority of States as
soon as possible. It is particularly urgent that this Treaty
should be signed by the Federal Republic of Germany,
which possesses an enormous technical and economic
potential. In the Federal Republic of Germany many
representatives of military and political circles aspire to the
possession of atomic weapons. In the interests of all
European peoples, including the German people themselves,
such aspirations must not be allowed to become a reality.
76. We also express our firm conviction that the entry into
force of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons will be but a first step on the road to nuclear
disarmament of the nuclear Powers and towards general and
complete disarmament, in accordance with a number of
resolutions adopted by the United Nations, beginning with
its first session in 1946. For our part, we are prepared to
put forward further proposals for regional disarmament
after the entry into force of the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and its ratification by the
Federal Republic of Germany.
77. The proposal to convene an all-European conference
on security and co-operation, which was put forward by the
socialist States signatories of the Warsaw Treaty, was
expressed in the Budapest Appeal of 17 March 1969.
Poland considers that the main purpose of such a conference
should be to discuss and prepare a treaty on
collective security and co-operation.
78. Undoubtedly, a treaty on collective security and
co-operation should include a formal obligation on the part
of the signatories to refrain from the threat or use of force;
to respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and
independence of all States; and to refrain from interference in
the domestic affairs of other States, in accordance with the
principles of the Charter of the United Nations. It should
also ensure that all future disputes are settled by peaceful
means. We consider that the treaty should include a clause
on recognition of, and respect for, the status of neutral
States. Indeed, the part those States can play in the
maintenance of European security ought to be recognized
and rightly appreciated.
79. We also consider that a treaty on collective security
should contain a clause binding the parties to take further
measures in the field of regional disarmament. Finally, a
treaty which also deals with questions of co-operation
should include appropriate provisions concerning the
development of economic, scientific, technical, cultural and
other relations.
80. In particular, at the European conference and in the
treaty it might adopt it would be possible to deal on a new
basis with the question of strengthening bilateral and
multilateral economic relations among all European States,
which are now divided into three economic groupings. The
abolition of the existing obstacles to economic, scientific
and technical co-operation among all European countries
would, among other things, help to eliminate the
“technological gap” between Europe and the United States, which
is tending to widen. It would also enable European
countries to make larger and more effective contributions
to the economic development of other continents.
81. In my opinion, all European countries should consider
what the best course of action is in these matters, and how
they can assist constructively in exploring the idea of such a
conference more fully.
82. Of course I am thinking and speaking of Europe as a
whole, as defined by geography and history, not of that
“crippled Europe”, the part of our continent situated west
of the river Elbe, which the partisans of West European
integration would like to isolate from the whole as an
artificial entity.
83. We give our unreserved support to the draft “appeal to
all States of the world” submitted to this Assembly by the
Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union [A/7654].
We shall set forth our position in detail when that text
comes up for consideration at this session of the General
Assembly.
84. The Soviet proposal on the strengthening of international
security throughout the world shows the road that
should be followed. Even today it is not too early to say
that it ranks in political importance with the Declaration on
the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and
Peoples, which the Soviet delegation submitted to the
General Assembly in 1960 and which has become one of
the most important documents of the Organization. The
considerable effect of the Declaration in accelerating the
process of decolonization has been amply demonstrated
during the nine years which have passed since its adoption.
Next year we shall celebrate its tenth anniversary.
85. It is our hope that this appeal will play a similar role in
the field of strengthening world security and that, like the
Declaration, it will accelerate processes that are necessary
to progress.
86. The Polish delegation has listened, as always, with
great attention to the highly interesting statements made in
the general debate. We could not fail to note also the
statements criticizing the United Nations. Many of the
statements, as well as the analysis of the situation contained
in the introduction to the Secretary-General’s annual report
on the work of the Organization, are very well-grounded.
87. The nations of the world expect from the Organization,
first of all, lasting achievements and progress in the
most important field of all: the maintenance and consolidation
of international peace and security. When we feel that
there has been a lack of achievement in this field and when
day by day we witness bloodshed and casualties on
battlefields, we realize that the cause lies not in any lack of
efforts to preserve peace, including the efforts of the
United Nations, but in the defiance of peace and of the
United Nations by those who violate binding international
agreements and refuse to implement unanimously adopted
resolutions. Everyone knows that the Organization is and
will be only what its Members allow it to be.
88. That is why we cannot agree with certain excessively
critical statements which attempt to attribute these
deficiencies to the structure and principles of the United
Nations. It would be a mistake if we were to start on
improvement by changing — as some speakers have suggested — the
principles on which the Organization is based
and by altering the sui generis legislative procedures which
have developed in the course of its activities. It would, in
particular, be a great mistake to weaken the role of the
Security Council — the principal organ responsible for the
maintenance of peace and security.
89. Medium and small States — Poland being one of them —
can play a particularly important and essential role in the
Organization. However, taking into account the existing
balance of power in the world, we cannot agree to any
departure from the basic principle of the Charter — that of
the unanimity of the great Powers.
90. Any attempt to change the basic principles of the
structure of the United Nations would lead the Organization
into a crisis, whose consequences would be hard to
foresee. It is only by strictly observing the provisions of the
Charter, by accurately fulfilling the decisions of the
Security Council and, finally, by consolidating the universal
character of the United Nations that the Organization can
be strengthened.
91. In speaking of the universality of the United Nations,
attention should be drawn to the fact that there are no
representatives of States such as the People’s Republic of
China or the German Democratic Republic in the Organization.
The question of proper representation in the United
Nations of the great Chinese people should not cause
anyone any doubts. The interests of peaceful development
in Europe require that the German Democratic Republic
should be given an opportunity to participate in international
organizations, including the United Nations, even
if only — for the time being — with the status of observer.
92. Taking into account the economic, social and cultural
potential of the German Democratic Republic and the large
numbers of highly qualified specialists in that country, its
contribution to international organizations would be a
considerable one. A positive solution to this question would
be a manifestation of political realism, especially in view of
the fact that the other German State — the Federal Republic
of Germany — already has an observer in the Organization.
In this connexion I repeat that Poland continues to believe
that both the German Democratic Republic and the Federal
Republic of Germany should become full and equal
Members of the United Nations.
93. In summing up the achievements of the United
Nations over many years on the eve of its twenty-fifth
anniversary, we should not forget that everyday, often
unspectacular, but none the less important fields of its
activity which seldom reach the front pages of the world
press. It is true that the efforts made in the economic field
are inadequate in relation to the magnitude of the needs.
Nevertheless, if it were not for the useful work done by the
United Nations specialized agencies and experts, the situation
in many developing countries of the world would be
more difficult. One cannot fail to mention the Organization’s
achievements in the field of social progress and
respect for human rights, and also in the codification of
international law and the resolutions of the United Nations,
which define the norms of coexistence of States and their
mutual relations. Nor can we forget the assistance given by
the United Nations to colonial countries and peoples in
their struggle to free themselves from their age-old state of
dependence.
94. Some progress can be observed even in the field of
disarmament, such as the treaty banning the use of
armaments in outer space, and the treaty on the demilitarization
of the Antarctic, as well as those limiting the nuclear arms race.
95. Aware of the limited possibilities of the United
Nations, but aware also of its weak and strong points and
its achievements, Poland — as one of the founding countries — will,
as hitherto, spare no effort to strengthen the
Organization and ensure respect for its decisions, so as to
guarantee its political effectiveness in promoting peace and
social progress throughout the world.