Poland

Let me begin by extending my congratulations to Her Excellency Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa from the Kingdom of Bahrain on the occasion of her election as President of the General Assembly in its sixty-first session. I wish you, Madam, every success in carrying out this important mission. To the former President, His Excellency Jan Eliasson, Minister for Foreign Affairs from the Kingdom of Sweden, I convey my respect for his outstanding achievements in running the previous session. I convey my best wishes to the Secretary- General, Mr. Kofi Annan. I would like to express my profound respect and full support for his incessant efforts in continuing to reduce international tension and resolve international conflicts. The matters we have gathered here to discuss today are very important for the world, for Europe, for Poland and for me personally. I am saying this as President and as a member of Solidarity — the movement that completely changed my country. Solidarity gave Poland her freedom and sovereignty, and also contributed to the fall of Communism in Europe. Thanks to Solidarity, a wall dividing the world into two hostile camps was brought down. We, the Poles, perceive global partnership for development — the theme of this year’s session of the United Nations — through the lens of our historical experiences — the experiences of the Solidarity movement. The Polish Solidarity movement originated from an idea that is a universal value in various cultures, religions and traditions. This value must be rediscovered in order to help build a new world based on the right of all nations and all peoples to live in dignity. Poland’s heritage is inextricably connected with the heritage of Europe — one that is founded on a respect for human rights and love of freedom. Like many other countries over the course of history, we have experienced disasters like those that, unfortunately, continue to affect the everyday lives of millions of people on various continents. For many years, we suffered from wars, destruction, poverty, a lack of freedom and a loss of independence. Today, in a free country where we have been implementing essential reforms for more than a decade, we are making up for lost time. Although we sometimes make mistakes trying to improve on those reforms, we continue to make progress. We wish to share with others our experience of profound transformation. Poland’s experience in shaking off a totalitarian regime and taking up the task of modernizing the country gives us a special understanding of the needs of countries following a similar path. That is why we are committed to doing our utmost to spread democracy and freedom around the world. Today, Poland is a rapidly developing country. We are becoming a nation that is able to donate to the international community, much to our satisfaction. Until recently, we were the beneficiary of such aid. Indeed, I should like Poland to become even more active in that regard. Today, in the twenty-first century, Poland is a strong sovereign State and an active member of the European Union, as well as an ally of the United States of America. Having overcome painful historical experiences, Poland has been developing friendly relations with its neighbours since 1989, opening a new chapter in its relations with Germany. We also want the best possible relationship with our great neighbour Russia. We are hopeful, yet sometimes concerned, about the developments in that country. Poland, a member of the European Union for more than two years, supports the Union’s approach to cooperation with the United Nations. We are convinced that peace must be built through long-term sustainable development. It is in that conviction that we take action in the United Nations with regard to the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals. We also support our eastern neighbours in their reform efforts. Poland, which paved the way for a market economy, the democratic rule of law and a civil society in Central and Eastern Europe, has extensive experience in those areas. We are prepared to share that experience further with countries that are transforming their economies and State institutions. Together with our European partners, we are shaping the political, social and economic future of our continent. However, because Poland is aware that Europe is not the whole world, we are participating in stabilization and peacekeeping missions around the world, including those in Kosovo, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon and Iraq. 23 06-52731 We strongly encourage efforts to bring a lasting peace to the Middle East. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to express Poland’s position in that regard. Poland unequivocally supports Israel’s right to live in security. At the same time, Poland supports the aspirations of the Palestinian nation to build an independent State. We have been involved in the stabilization of the region for many years. We actively participate in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. Two weeks ago, at the request of the Secretary-General, we stated that we would increase our military contingent. If necessary, we will increase it even further. For Poland, the difficult and painful period of our history belongs to the past. I wish to reiterate that our experiences have left us with a sense of moral obligation to help others. We want to repay our debt. Just as we once received support, we now want to support others. In seeking to provide the most effective forms of assistance, the international community must take into account the phenomenon of globalization, which has become the challenge of the twenty-first century. Although it understandably gives rise to various emotions and extreme opinions, its significance is indisputable. Globalization has revealed the scale and the nature of problems of which we had not been fully aware. I am thinking about the ever-increasing inequalities and exclusion from the achievements of civilization and about the vast areas of poverty and instability that are breeding grounds for crime and increase the threats to peace and security. It is also difficult not to fear the negative effects of globalization: the division of the world into countries that are becoming ever richer and those that are condemned to ever-deepening poverty. The response to these fears must be global solidarity. We can scarcely fail to see the dramatic contradiction between such poverty and the affluence made possible by incredible scientific and technological progress. What is solidarity in the global context? Very briefly, it is the collective reaction against the emergence of new iron curtains and political, economic and cultural barriers; it is also respect for the dignity and the inalienable right to freedom of every human being throughout the world, regardless of culture, tradition or geographic location. Understood in that way, solidarity is a rational fight against poverty, carried out by encouraging a broad flow of assistance to the poorest countries through appropriately planned economic support. Assistance efforts must be undertaken in such a way as to ensure not only that they provide short-term relief, but also, and above all, that they permit long-term development. Thus, we should work out a reform programme to make such development possible. Here, I should like to draw attention to the issue of energy security, which is increasingly important in many regions of the world. Energy security should be based on the diversification of energy sources and on the development of energy relationships that cannot be used as a means of political pressure. Assistance provided in the context of global solidarity has an economic aspect. Freedom and respect for the rights of the individual are essential conditions for sustainable well-being. Assistance in the context of global solidarity also implies support for societies striving to achieve freedom, democracy and the protection of human rights — support that is provided with wisdom and that is sensitive to the cultural uniqueness, traditions and needs of each country. I believe that where tensions and social conflicts are resolved through dialogue, where respect is promoted for different cultures and religions and where economic inequalities between societies and States are prevented, terrorism will not find soil in which to grow. I also wish to express my conviction that here and now, in the contemporary world, we must fight terrorism wherever it appears. In the long run, however, global solidarity may be the most effective weapon against those who would like to see the world as the scene of a never-ending fight. The United Nations today needs specific programmes to realize ambitious visions founded on global solidarity and a global partnership for development. The United Nations must be more effective in ensuring equal development opportunities, thus closing the gap between the living standards of the North and of the South. The United Nations is thus confronted with huge tasks, which require both high-minded commitment and reforms. We want changes that adapt the United Nations to contemporary challenges. The world is constantly changing, and the United Nations must keep pace with those changes. Only thus can it preserve its significance and multiply its great achievements. 06-52731 24 Reforms must be focused on the human being, thus defending human rights and freedoms and opening the way to well-being and spiritual development for all. Those were the founding values of the United Nations over 60 years ago. Poland advocates such a reform of the Organization and is ready to participate in it. Poland also wishes to participate in a restructuring of international relations that would be based to a greater extent on the principles of solidarity and assistance extended by wealthy nations to nations in need. In other words, the quantity of such support should be significantly greater than it is now. These words of that great Pole, Pope John Paul II, the spiritual father of Polish solidarity, can be our guiding beacon: “Man is great not through what he owns, but through what he is; not through what he has, but through what he shares with others.” We are facing tremendous challenges. We can tackle them only by acting in solidarity through global partnership. May our efforts be inspired by solidarity, a principle embodied in a word that appears in all the world’s languages — and in many of them it sounds very much the same.