Poland, 2001

We have just learned

of the crash of an American Airlines plane in New

York. We the Polish delegation, offer our heartfelt

condolences, and express our sympathy to the

Government of the United States and the Dominican

Republic and to the families of the victims of this

tragedy.

At the outset, let me offer Mr. Han my sincere

congratulations on his election to the prestigious office

of the President of the fifty-sixth session of the General

Assembly. The delegation of the Republic of Poland

extends to him its firm support in his demanding

mandate.

Let me likewise express to the former President,

Mr. Harri Holkeri, of Finland, our appreciation for his

remarkable leadership, which he brought to the fifty-

fifth session of the Assembly.

I should also like to convey to Mr. Kofi Annan,

the distinguished Secretary-General, my sincere

greetings, and to say how pleased Poland is at his

second term in that high post. May I also take this

opportunity to renew to him, and indeed to this

Organization as a whole, my Government's

congratulations on the recent Nobel Peace Prize. The

award comes as a timely token of appreciation of the

way the United Nations and the Secretary-General have

been meeting their formidable challenge.

The appalling tragedy of 11 September calls for

resolute reaction of the entire international community,

for active solidarity with the United States and for

effective counter-measures against those who sow

death, hatred and terror.

The terrorist attack of 11 September, the way it

came about and the circumstances by which it was

conditioned should be seized by the international

community as an occasion for an in-depth reassessment

of the very foundations of the international order.

Preoccupied as we are with ever-new developments

each day, we tend to be mentally incapable of

following signals that predict new trends in

international relations. We have hardly been able to

afford the time for searching reflection on, and

adjustment to, negative phenomena that, if ignored,

can, in time, become the breeding ground for upheavals

and conflicts. In this era of enormous new challenges,

it is time for creative thinking, vision and intellectual

courage.

The essence of security has changed dramatically.

In Poland's view, all aspects of security need urgent,

thorough and imaginative reassessment. In this context

particularly searching reflection must be focused on the

role of the State an entity that operates in entirely

new circumstances in an era of dramatically increasing

integration, globalization and fragmentation. This is a

time of interdependence and multiculturalism, in which

openness, close international cooperation and

interaction should be seen as countermeasures against

diverse processes of fragmentation and disintegration,

which can lead us even further towards the nationalism,

separatism, closure and isolation that loom all around.

Fragmentation is creating instability and conflicts. And

7

the most dangerous fragmentation process of the

current era is being generated by the widening

development gap between regions and States, which

has been so well attested and documented by many

United Nations publications. In this, the role of the

United Nations is particularly fundamental and crucial.

There is no better-equipped and more universal forum

to deal with those issues.

At the Headquarters of an Organization which the

peoples of the United Nations established 56 years ago

in order to maintain international peace and security,

that axiom should be self-evident. The whole world is

trying to respond to the challenges of globalization, the

new scientific revolution, and quite recently the

destabilizing forces of terror. The United Nations

should find adequate answers to those challenges. This

is a time for collective and resolute action.

Perhaps as ominous as terrorism itself is the fact

that in some countries, the monstrous acts of violence

that have taken place have been met with some

sympathy on the part of those who are destitute,

deprived of any hope, and who, driven to the margins

of social life, have become frustrated and desperate.

Terrorists must never be exculpated or their

actions justified. We need to do away with the reasons

why many perceive terrorists as present-day Robin

Hoods. Though such a perception can be described as

groundless, this does not release us from our

responsibility to take a careful and courageous look at

the phenomena that are emerging in the present

international order, which tend to consolidate

inequalities and lead to various social calamities.

From the very beginning, Poland has proclaimed

itself entirely on the side of the international anti-

terrorist coalition. We are working seriously and

diligently on the implementation of Security Council

resolution 1373 (2001).

Regional undertakings can make a significant

contribution to drafting a global strategy for the

struggle against terrorism. With that in mind, last week

in Warsaw we organized a very successful international

Conference on Combating Terrorism. The Conference

was attended by representatives of 17 Central

European, Baltic and Balkan States, including 13

Presidents. The Conference also provided a direct

connection with the White House and President Bush,

who had the opportunity to talk directly with the

Conference's participants. The declaration adopted by

the Conference indicates a strong political commitment

to fight against that plague at the dawn of the twenty-

first century, in close collaboration with the United

States and the entire international community.

The plan of action adopted at that Conference

spells out concrete measures. It is significant that the

leaders of that region of Europe gave unanimous

backing to the relevant actions of the United Nations,

the European Union and other organizations.

In the course of Poland's very complicated

history, my nation has on several occasions been

betrayed by disloyal neighbours and allies and has paid

the highest price for this. Therefore we understand

better than anyone how priceless and crucial true

loyalty and alliances are. Thus we will continue to

support our friends and allies by all available means.

Our principal goal at present is to ease peoples' fears -

fears that have been imposed on them by the enemies

of mankind.

The horrible scenario in which public order and

the safety of peoples is threatened, passenger planes

hijacked and destroyed, deadly viruses spread and

water poisoned must not be repeated. We must defeat

those who participate in, or contribute to creating, such

a threat. Our approach must be a comprehensive one.

Let me make it clear: there is no room for any

selectivity, flexibility or relativism when the most

fundamental values of humankind are openly and

furiously attacked.

However, we need to reconsider our position on

how to respond to the needs of those millions who

every day suffer from hunger, disease and a lack of

clean water. For them, the same question arises every

morning a question that sounds like the classical

phrase to be or not to be. That question is how to

survive. Extreme poverty deprives people of their

inherent dignity and human rights and of their chance

for a better tomorrow, thus pushing them to take

desperate steps.

Let the tragedy of 11 September teach all of us to

collectively combat evil. Let us do everything to ensure

that the forces of darkness never prevail.

In the course of the last few years it has been

eloquently argued, from this very rostrum, that

globalization is a very positive force which will

ultimately usher in an era of prosperity and stability

and a global society. Alas, this has not happened.

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This calls for a new approach to international

cooperation, for a new role on the part of multilateral

institutions, and for the restoration of the primacy of

courageous political decisions and intergovernmental

accords. This also calls, on the one hand, for greater

moderation on the part of the strong and the rich, and,

on the other, for more determined endeavours on the

part of the weak and the poor, who must be convinced

that their consistent aspirations to improve their own

lot will ultimately pay off. In my opinion, the

promotion of democracy and good governance offers

one of the most important paths towards such a goal.

Poland's own experience in the past 12 years, since the

historic transformations of 1989, testifies to the merits

of that path.

It is my Government's firm view that, in the face

of the threats which will forever be symbolized by the

atrocities of 11 September, the interests of international

security would be well served by the earliest possible

signature and ratification of, or adherence to, the

multilateral conventions against terrorism which have

been elaborated under the auspices of the United

Nations. In particular, the spreading anthrax scare,

which represents but the tip of the iceberg when it

comes to the potential danger of bioterrorism, and the

spreading of fissile materials and chemical weapons are

a powerful argument for the urgent need to strengthen

and strictly enforce the Biological Weapons

Convention of 1972 and other legal instruments in this

field.

We should immediately move to quote the

Secretary-General from a culture of reaction to a

culture of prevention.

While imperative, the struggle against terrorism

must not obscure the necessity for the United Nations

to effectively discharge the mandate entrusted to it by

the international community a mandate whose scope

is expanding over the years. This is not only true with

respect to the international security problems which I

have just referred to, but also concerns problems

related to socio-economic cooperation, the protection

of human rights and humanitarian issues, particularly

those concerning refugees and the protection of the

environment.

Also of major importance, in our view, is the

elaboration and adoption of a package of regulations

and commitments in respect of development aid,

indebtedness and trade. Thus I wish to emphasize the

importance of the full implementation of the set of

principles and practical measures embodied in the

Millennium Declaration. We are mindful, of course,

that the translation of that programme into practical

steps cannot be the responsibility of the United Nations

alone. It is essential for other institutions and

organizations, including financial, trade and regional

ones, to help in that effort. Above all, individual States

must become directly involved, otherwise the smooth

and timely implementation of the Millennium

Declaration could be seriously jeopardized.

The United Nations is now facing enormous and

unprecedented challenges. These challenges ñ arising

as they do at the dawn of the new millennium - mean

growing divisions and, indeed, pose a risk of

fragmentation of the international community.

My country, Poland, is ready to be an active

participant in the process of searching for a new role

for the United Nations. We have been active throughout

the entire history of the United Nations, and we want to

be active in the immediate future as well.