Poland

It is the hope of the people of Poland, above all else, that the atmosphere of the current session of the General Assembly, the course of the debate, and the results achieved, will help to bring about a further relaxation in the cold war and promote constructive co-operation among nations, irrespective of their social and political systems. We are deeply convinced that in that objective, the vital interests of the Polish people are identical with the interests of all the other Members of the United Nations; and I can assure the President and all the delegations present in this hall that in that spirit the Polish delegation will do its best to make a positive contribution to the deliberations of the twelfth session, and more particularly, to the study of the problems which most directly affect us and with which we are most familiar. 120. In our view, the special responsibility conferred upon the great Powers under the Charter in no way limits the responsibility and the role of the smaller countries; every nation has its particular facilities for developing its relations with other nations and we feel that each nation should use them in such a way as to contribute, to the greatest extent possible, to the development of constructive co-operation, the restoration of mutual confidence and the rapprochement of all peoples. 121. Poland is a socialist State; and it is only because we have embarked on the path of socialism that we have been able to resolve the contradictions which held back economic, social and cultural progress in our country; only because we have taken that path have we been able to overcome the effects of the state of backwardness we inherited from the past, and to bring about the advancement of Poland in all fields. We also believe that, as a socialist State, Poland can be a positive factor in the growth of peaceful relations among nations. Strong and lasting bonds of solidarity link us with the other socialist countries, bonds forged by common needs, by the common basic problems of socialist development and by the vital interests of the Polish people. 122. At the same time, it is our aim to maintain the best possible relations with other countries. We are therefore gratified to note the recent improvement in our relations with many Western countries, as well as the continued strengthening of our friendly cooperation with many countries of Asia and Africa. There is no, and there cannot be, any contradiction between our ties and our solidarity with socialist countries and the improvement and expansion of our relations with other countries. It is essential for the favourable development of our mutual friendly relations that the countries in question realize this. I think it is also useful for an understanding of the very meaning of the concept of constructive peaceful coexistence. 123. As you know, we have launched a vigorous programme to reorganize the forms and methods of government and economic administration in Poland. We are convinced that those carefully thought-out changes will enable us to make the most of the great achievements registered thus far and of the still greater future prospects of socialist development in our country with a view to enabling our people to live a better and fuller life. However, the success of this programme is dependent to a great extent on the development of the international situation. 124. We are fully aware of the difficulties in the way of any solution of the problems facing the twelfth session of the General Assembly, for we know how deep-rooted they are. No one, of course, imagines that the basic contradictions of our time can be disposed of by a kind of magic formula. Their solution is part and parcel of the historical process now taking place. Our action should therefore be determined by the realities of life and the laws of history. We should attempt, through a common effort of all peoples, to shape this historical process in the best interests of mankind; above all, we must prevent a catastrophe, the dimensions and consequences of which are unpredictable. Where our differences cannot be resolved within a reasonable time, we must reach at least partial agreements, and that is precisely where the United Nations can play a very important part. 125. The key issue before the twelfth session of this Assembly is disarmament. This is not the first time that the United Nations has had to deal with it. Towards the close of the last session, most delegations represented here expressed optimism as to the possibility of the discussions held that year leading at least to a preliminary agreement. Unfortunately, the results of the work of the Sub-Committee of the Disarmament Commission fell short of that expectation. 126. As is apparent from the way the discussions developed in the Sub-Committee in London, the primary obstacle to progress was the concept of so- called "global strategy" of the Western Powers, which assigns a vital role to nuclear weapons. We have had an eloquent example in this very hall of where such reasoning can lead. There is no point in challenging the view put forward by the Secretary of State of the United States on the humanitarian benefits which it is alleged can come out of the development of nuclear weapons. There can be no doubt that the peoples of the world prefer to have their security guaranteed by effective prohibition and destruction of nuclear weapons rather than by even the most subtle moral and religious scruples of a given government. 127. The second obstacle to the Sub-Committee's progress was the insistence of the Western Powers that concrete measures for disarmament should be conditional on the simultaneous solution of other controversial international problems. 128. Finally, the third obstacle arose from the opposition of the Federal Republic of Germany and from considerations relating to the remilitarization of Western Germany. 129. As a result of these various factors, the discussions on disarmament were protracted and it was impossible to reach even partial agreement. Meanwhile, time is running out. Every month that the armaments race continues is becoming far too costly, in all ways, for the peoples of the world. 130. Wo are now witnessing a transformation in the military forces of the great Powers. Conventional armaments are being replaced by nuclear weapons. There is a growing danger that other countries will also have nuclear weapons. When armies equipped with tactical nuclear weapons stand face to face, there will be a greater danger that weapons of mass destruction will be used, even in local conflicts. 131. That is another reason why, If we cannot, at this juncture, reach agreement on the permanent and absolute prohibition of the use of all nuclear weapons, we believe that the proposal of the Soviet Union stipulating that the great Powers should undertake provisionally not to use nuclear weapons for a period of at least five years is a step in the right direction. The Polish delegation will support any move to bring us closer to the basic solution of this problem. 132. We shall likewise support any step towards the discontinuance of tests of nuclear weapons as soon as possible. That is what people everywhere want; that is the conclusion to be drawn from the warnings given by the most eminent scientists. There can be no excuse for further procrastination. In our view, the discontinuance of nuclear tests is not only a first step towards their prohibition, but a very important element in the relaxation of international tension, which everybody will welcome with relief. 133. The Polish delegation will, of course, present its views on the disarmament question at greater length in the First Committee. In my comments here, I should like especially to stress the importance of the question for the most vital interests of Poland. So far as we are concerned, armaments are primarily related to the situation in Europe, in the territory of Germany on Poland's borders. The remilitarization of the Federal Republic of Germany and the concentration of arms and troops on its territory constitute a policy which is very dangerous to the cause of peace in Europe and in the world. It is all the more dangerous because we are dealing with a State in which militarist and "revanchist" trends have by no means disappeared and exert a considerable influence. Western Germany must not be allowed to become an atomic powder-keg in the middle of Europe. 134. We understand the legitimate aspirations of the German people for unification and we support them in the best interests of the whole of Europe. The example of our relations with the German Democratic Republic shows that the Polish people is capable of maintaining good-neighbourly relations with the German people. We know that there is also a large sector of public opinion in the Federal Republic of Germany in favour of good relations with Poland. But the process of reunification of Germany as a peace-loving, democratic State can only develop in an atmosphere of relaxed international tension, disarmament, growing feelings of security on the part of Germany’s neighbours, and by a rapprochement and understanding between the two German States. It cannot thrive in an atmosphere of tension, of "revanchist” demands for arms, and certainly not in the spirit of certain statements which practically advocate absorption of the German Democratic Republic by the Federal Republic and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). 135. Existing tensions are being aggravated by revisionist claims concerning our western frontier. That frontier is final, inviolable and not open to bargaining. Any statesman with a sense of realities surely realizes that. It would be a good thing for the diplomats of the countries which wish to maintain friendly relations with Poland to draw the proper conclusions. 136. We are against the dividing of Europe into opposing military blocs. Our views regarding the North Atlantic Treaty are well known. Every Polish citizen judges NATO primarily in relation to its policy in the German question. In the face of the danger which Western Germany's armaments within NATO represent for our country and for other European countries, Poland and its allies were forced to conclude the Warsaw Treaty, which safeguards our country's security until such time as an effective system of collective security is established instead of the present division of Europe. We want such a system and will help to achieve it to the best of our ability. Until a system of collective security is created in Europe, we will support even partial solutions directed towards the same ultimate objective. We will support them whether they are part of a larger plan or the subject of separate agreements. Accordingly, we have felt and we still feel that it would be useful to set up limited and controlled armaments zones in Europe. Thus far, no progress has been made in that direction. On the contrary, there are plans afoot to equip the West German army with nuclear weapons. If these plans are carried out, they will inevitably create more international tension and force States which feel threatened to draw their own conclusions as to strengthening their security. We should not let that situation continue. We want to help prevent such a situation. Hence I should like on behalf of my Government to make the following statement: In the interest of Poland's security and of a relaxation of tension in Europe, and after consultation with the other parties to the Warsaw Treaty, the Government of the People’s Republic of Poland declares that if the two German States should consent to enforce the prohibition of the production and stockpiling of nuclear weapons in their respective territories, the People’s Republic of Poland is prepared simultaneously to institute the same prohibition in its territory. 137. I am convinced that if that could be achieved, we would at least have made the first step towards solution of a problem which is vital not only to the Polish people and the German people and their mutual relations, but to the whole of Europe and to all the peoples of the world. 138. One of the great historical processes of our time is the liberation of the dependent and colonial peoples, their organization and development as independent States. That is a phenomenon that can neither be halted nor reversed. Any such attempt would merely create new danger spots and fresh conflicts. We are now confronted with a dangerous situation of this kind in the Near East. Threats and pressures being brought against Syria are causing special concern. The only way to resolve this and similar conflicts is by adhering to the principle of the self-determination of peoples, by recognizing fully the right of independent States to shape their internal and external relations, and by seeking agreement on the basis of those principles. 139. The elimination of danger spots and of threats to world peace is one aspect of the problem. The other is the achievement of constructive co-operation among nations, irrespective of their structure and levels of economic development. Poland is very anxious to develop its economic relations with all countries to the full. We want to participate as actively as possible in international economic co-operation. That is why we are keenly interested in the development of the world economic situation and in the activity of international economic organizations. There have recently been certain developments favourable to world economic relations generally in the form of trade between certain capitalist countries and certain socialist countries of Europe and Asia; but the progress made is still too limited and discriminatory trade practices are still being applied to socialist countries. At the same time, the disparity in capitalist countries between the rich economically-developed countries and the scores of under-developed countries and territories, instead of disappearing, is increasing from year to year. Nearly half the people of the world, living in economically under-developed countries, still have no prospect of a more rapid rise in their living standards. 140. A group of the richest and economically most developed Western countries have thus far been able to maintain a relatively high level of production and employment; but they have refused to participate in a broader comprehensive international programme which would affect the whole world economy. They isolate themselves in a series of exclusive organizations and institutions which are often the counterparts of the blocs they themselves have created. 141. The arms race is creating more and more difficulties, serious difficulties. Even today, in many capitalistic countries of the West, Governments are being warned that it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain production and employment by present methods. We have heard such warnings in the course of this debate. We have only to glance at the daily press to realize the anxiety caused by the recent rise in the inflationary trend. Voices are being raised asserting that a halt to the arms race and the productive use of the economic resources of certain countries - especially the economically under-developed countries - would help to overcome many of the current economic difficulties more effectively and more permanently than any temporary boom created by an armaments race. 142. In some capitalist countries, there is a growing trend in favour of expanding trade with the socialist countries. 143. We believe that the United Nations should act more forcefully to strengthen economic co-operation between countries with different political systems and at different levels of economic development. 144. A genuine effort should be made to encourage more vigorous practical action on the part of the Economic and Social Council. Here in the United Nations and not outside it, we should work out a system of international consultations and later, international action. The consultations would embrace the main problem of world economy and its harmonious development. Such a programme, under the aegis of the United Nations, would substantially help the economically under-developed countries in their fight for economic and social progress. 145. The proposed Special United Nations Fund for Economic Development meets precisely those objectives, inter alia. 146. We feel that the work of the regional economic commissions, which are more familiar than anyone else with the specific needs and problems of their respective regions, should be intensified. 147. Apart from the problems affecting large regions, particular groups of States have their own problems of neighbourly co-operation. Poland is especially interested in the Baltic region. One or more agreements concluded by the countries of the Baltic region on economic, cultural and scientific questions, might serve as a model for a system of regional arrangements based on vital common needs, and become a concrete illustration of peaceful constructive coexistence. 148. Peaceful coexistence, in its broadest sense, should be the kernel of all the work of the United Nations. The term expresses the manner in which peoples must live together in this era if it is to be an era of unprecedented progress and not an era of disaster. 149. The principles of peaceful coexistence contained in the declarations of China and India, in other bilateral declarations, and then proclaimed at the historic Bandung Conference, have become crystallized generally in recommendations for mutual respect for territorial integrity, national sovereignty, non-aggression, non-intervention in the internal affairs of States, equality and peaceful coexistence. They are accepted today by thirty-seven countries of Europe, Asia and Africa. Their importance for proper International relations has also been recognized by Poland in a series of bilateral acts. Poland is gratified, therefore, that the item has been placed on the agenda of the current session. 150. It would be difficult to refrain from the bitter comment: that this session has rejected the proposal of India, one of the co-authors of the historic principles of peaceful coexistence, that the United Nations should recognize the legitimate rights of the People's Republic of China, the other co-author of those principles. 151. I have presented Poland's views on the problems of international policy which are most important to it. The Polish people are watching the deliberations of the current session of the General Assembly very closely. I believe that all peoples will Judge the results of our work by the same standard: whether or not this session will represent at least a small but definite step towards strengthening and stabilizing peace. It is the desire and hope of my delegation that its efforts towards achieving that end may anticipate those of other delegations.