Poland, 2009

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.