YouSaid · the spoken record

Wlodzimierz CIMOSZEWICZ

lines on the record: 30
first: 2003-09-24
most recent: 2004-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

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“Poland believes that the best approach to this is to have a political document that would both spell out the reinforced message about the role, principles and values, and also contain the necessary institutional adjustments. We most definitely regard this document as something more than a set of amendments to the United Nations Charter. We have to completely change the way we perceive the United Nations. For many years, most of our countries have been asking themselves what they can get from the Organization. Today, it is time for all of us to secure the future of the United Nations.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“In this respect, we need a code of conduct that will give us sufficient predictability as to how we, as Members of the United Nations, will act on the international scene when employing the United Nations as our instrument of choice and how we will make the best use of its potential. We also hope that the reform will strengthen the role of the United Nations as a community of values. The United Nations was born to unite its Members against threats and enemies. Today, it should unite us for positive change in the consolidation of values, such as human rights, democracy, social justice, and development, which constitute the backbone and moral foundation of humankind. When preparing future decisions, we should discuss not only the content but also the form.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Among these concepts, the principle of solidarity, is for us more than just assisting the poor and underdeveloped. Solidarity is an operational principle that should generate cooperative attitudes for countries in need, including those plagued by terrorism, natural and man-made disasters and calamities, weak State structures, and so forth. One of the most important issues, in the light of the particularly threatening nexus of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, is the principle of the non-use of force. The following aspects should be examined: anticipatory self-defence, humanitarian intervention and collective use of force with authorization by the Security Council.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“To cope properly and successfully with the new nature of threats and challenges, it is necessary to use this opportunity to examine the functional and conceptual basis of the Organization. Therefore, Poland advocates that the important part of the reform should be re-examination of the conceptual foundations of the United Nations. In today’s world, new threats cast a new light on the concepts that we use to regulate the international order. Principles such as non-use of force, sovereignty, legitimacy, accountability for both States and their leaders, subsidiarity, complementarity, solidarity and responsibility still occupy the highest level of importance. What we need is their adjustment to the current reality, new political guidelines on how we, and how Security Council members in particular, should translate them into action.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“We need to revisit the nature of current security challenges that expose the deficiencies and shortcomings of our Organization 47 in the most systematic way. Predictable threats caused in the past by wars between countries have been replaced by indefinite and unpredictable threats caused by international terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), and an increasing number of States in distress, whose Governments are unable to exercise effective power over their territory and population. As a consequence, we are facing an unprecedented spread of terrorist acts and violence. In this context, on behalf of the people of Poland and myself, I express our deepest condolences to the relatives of the victims of the recent events in Beslan. We condemn this barbaric act and offer our solidarity with the victims.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“We need to enhance the performance of the bodies of the United Nations in social and economic development and the environment, as well as in other, related, no less pressing areas. There is a real danger that the Millennium Development Goals will not be fulfilled. That would deliver a serious blow to the credibility of the United Nations. Given that the distinction between socio-economic and political issues is becoming increasingly blurred, we need a unified approach. However, the existing efforts are often too fragmented, uncoordinated, and even contradictory and self-paralytic. In this context, the role of the Economic and Social Council and its reform should be strictly linked with other United Nations bodies. In order to be comprehensive, the reform cannot stop at its institutional dimension.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“While we support the tendency to expect more from the Security Council, any reform should be accompanied by a more effective role for the General Assembly. The two bodies should be seen as mutually supportive and reinforcing organs. However, in order to use the potential of the General Assembly effectively and optimize its performance, we must profoundly change the way we speak to one another in this forum. This must be a forum of dialogue. Occasionally, one hears jokes along the lines that the General Assembly is a place where everybody speaks but nobody listens. We have to change that. We must start talking to one another more directly, more candidly. Let me assure the President, as we congratulate him on the assumption of his post, that Poland will support all his efforts in that regard.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“A Council of 24 members would probably have no more powerful a voice than a Council of 15. However, at the present stage of discussions, we agree that the Security Council has to be expanded. One of the deficiencies of the United Nations, as it transpires from the conceptual discussions, is that there is too great a gap between the functions of mandating and implementing. Therefore, we believe that it is the responsibility of the members of the Security Council to take the lead in providing political and material support for implementation of Security Council mandates. Security Council reform should be based on the assumption that membership on the Council not only confers additional privileges but also brings additional responsibilities. The reform should preserve the inherent balance among the various organs of the United Nations.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“It must rely on a broad consensus and reflect a shared community of values and a sense of identity and purpose. Building that consensus is our major, common task. The reform of the United Nations has to go beyond institutional aspects, but we recognize the fact that institutions are important. Therefore, any reform package lacking ideas for reforming the organs of the United Nations would be considered inadequate by the majority of Member States. Poland shares the common opinion that it is hard to imagine strengthening the role of the Security Council without increasing its legitimacy. Today’s discussions on Council reform are focused mainly on expanding its membership. However, the key to a more effective and legitimate Security Council does not lie in the number of its members.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“They should provide the critical mass for the reform efforts and form a solid basis for further actions. In that context, I express my gratitude to the members of the Panel, who came to Warsaw in May this year to consult with representatives of our part of Europe on the most important conceptual aspects of the reform. The Warsaw Regional Conference was a rewarding experience. The report issued following the conference has been made available to all delegations at the Assembly. We have never had any problem with ideas, excellent proposals and promising initiatives. The biggest obstacle to reform, rather, has been the lack of political consensus. The reform cannot be effective if it reflects the ideas of small groups of specialists or politicians alone.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Unless we are able to build a political consensus and work out efficient, forward-looking and workable decisions, we should cut down on high-level ceremonies. 46 Poland has frequently voiced its conviction that we have to carry out a comprehensive, strategic review of the role of the United Nations in both its normative and institutional aspects. It was with this in mind that, on behalf of my country two years ago, I had the privilege of putting forward the idea of a new political act for the United Nations. We are pleased to see that, two years later, that belief and determination are widely shared. Bearing in mind the unique momentum for reform, we look forward to the recommendations of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“That is how we in Poland see the preparations for the major event of 2005, which will undertake a comprehensive review of the implementation of the Millennium Declaration Goals and mark the sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations. As Secretary-General Kofi Annan noted, the United Nations is at a fork in the road. It is time to act. Every year, at the annual general debate of the General Assembly, we take the floor to express our views — sometimes very critical — on the work of the Organization. However, there is little evidence that these debates have had any significant impact on the future of the United Nations. Indeed, over the past years, the United Nations has seen many celebratory and majestic gatherings.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“The agenda of this session not only is full of importance and burning issues but also brings great hopes and expectations. In his statement, Mr. Bernard Bot, the Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, presented the European Union’s position on the most important problems. That statement fully reflects our thinking and concerns. One issue, however, that deserves our special attention today is the reform of the United Nations. The present session of the General Assembly must be remembered as a session of reform. It should lay the foundations for a profound and consensus-based reflection on the relevance and the effectiveness of the United Nations. This reflection should result in bold and imaginative decisions providing for a substantial overhaul of the Organization.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“We must work out arrangements which will help Iraq assume, as soon as possible, its rightful, dignified place among the nations of the world. For its part, Poland remains committed to the stabilization effort in Iraq. Our participation in that endeavour is guided by the need to create the conditions for the Iraqi people to determine freely their own future and to begin a new chapter in the history of that great nation, leading it to development and prosperity. On Monday, 29 September, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime will enter into force. I am proud that the idea put forward by Poland during the World Ministerial Conference on Organized Transnational Crime, held at Naples in November 1994, was transformed with the broad support of the international community into a binding United Nations Convention. 35”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“I intend to convey the aforementioned collected comments of eminent intellectuals on the future of the United Nations to the Panel for its consideration. The war against the murderous regime of Saddam Hussain has exposed, in a painful way, the challenges related to the principles and practice of multilateral action and has revealed the unresolved dilemmas in this domain, which in my view should be addressed in the New Political Act for the United Nations. For the time being, though, the international community must focus its attention on the situation on the ground. I believe that the United Nations should be a key factor in post-war Iraq's transition to the rule of law, democracy and independence. The tremendous task of the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Iraq should be shared by the entire international community.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Let me reiterate once again that Poland strongly supports the Secretary-General's intention to establish a high-level panel of eminent personalities to examine the role of collective action in countering current security challenges and to review the operation of major United Nations organs, with a view to recommending necessary reforms. This idea is in perfect conformity with my initiative. I believe that the ideas which we collected in the course of last year, reflected both in the memorandum of the Polish Government and in the responses of leading experts and scholars, could provide a good starting point and make a useful contribution to the work of the panel. I wish to affirm the strong commitment of my country to ensure the successful outcome of the Secretary-General's initiative.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“In my view, this difficult goal is unattainable without a reaffirmation of the United Nations as a community of shared values and shared goals. Such a reaffirmation could reintegrate the Organization and infuse it with a new sense of purpose. Hence, at the core of my initiative there is a need for a profound reflection on the values and principles that bind the international community together and define the behaviour of States towards each other, towards other actors on the international scene and towards their citizens.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“It should also address the possibility of inscribing newly emerged concepts, such as human security and the responsibility of States to protect the vulnerable, into the conceptual basis of the international system. It is a painful reality that the United Nations is deeply divided. This limits its effectiveness and occasionally even calls into question its ability to act. The basic question is, therefore, how can we restore to the United Nations the sense of unity and cohesion embodied in the very name of the Organization? How can we prevent paralysis in management by the United Nations of international security? And how can we adjust the operating principles of the Organization so as to enable those countries that are able and willing to respond adequately to new threats to act within the institutional framework of the United Nations?”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“A source of serious concern is the fact that the lack of an agreed and common interpretation of many terms and principles which are fundamental in the international domain could lead to chaos in international relations. The New Act for the United Nations while taking into account the current changes in the international order should therefore reflect the relations between numerous principles and the international conditions dominated by non- traditional threats. It should examine, for example, questions related to issues such as respect for human rights and the principle of State sovereignty, the right of self-determination and territorial integrity, conflicts and crisis management, and the principle of non- interference in internal affairs.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The Millennium Declaration was a clear manifestation of the ability of the Organization to take up new tasks and confront the most pressing challenges. We must make every effort to increase the capacity of the United Nations to achieve the goals set out in that landmark document, and I believe that the New Act could add a political impetus to the continuous work under way to fully implement the Declaration. Yet our experience in the post-cold-war 34 era made clear not just problems related to the capacity of the United Nations, but also the lack of clarity and consensus on certain principles essential for effective action in the new security environment.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“In this context, let me stress that my initiative is not intended to revise or change the United Nations Charter, which should remain the basis of international relations. Instead, the New Political Act should place the Charter in the context of the ongoing transformations taking place in the international environment. It should provide a new conceptual framework for, and political interpretation of, the Charter, adapting the United Nations to present-day realities and regulating the Organization's activities in those areas that are not covered by the Charter. It should accomplish that goal by redefining the objectives of the United Nations, identifying new tasks and specifying operational modalities for the Organization.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“These hard' challenges are compounded by chronic underdevelopment in many parts of the world. Soft' threats, such as widespread poverty, deprivation, hunger, malnutrition and rampant infectious diseases, take their tragic toll on peoples living in countries with poor economic growth. These are usually found in regions where development is often thwarted by bad governance and violent internal conflicts that result in large-scale humanitarian crises, massive abuses of human rights, political and social disruption and, ultimately, the collapse of State systems. In the face of the new realities confronting the international community, we need to forge a consensus on the conceptual and political framework for the operation of the United Nations in upcoming decades.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Yet, along with those traditional threats, today's security environment has been increasingly dominated by a combination of new threats of a more diverse and unpredictable nature. They originate mostly within State borders rather than among States, notably in failing and failed States that are unable to control their own territories, and they are often posed by non-State actors. To use the Secretary-General's terminology, today's threats are both hard' and soft', and they tend to reinforce one another. We are confronted with terrorism that has a global reach, motivated by extremist ideology and unconstrained in its readiness to inflict massive casualties. We are facing a growing risk of proliferation of deadly weapons and the spread of organized crime that often accompanies State failure.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The initiative, as reflected in the memorandum, is in effect an invitation to a conceptual and holistic reflection on the nature of changes in the international system and on the most desirable vision of a new, more effective international order. It deals with the questions posed by a whole spectrum of present-day challenges, including security risks related to globalization and the emergence of non-State actors, the development gap and international solidarity, governance and subsidiarity. The novel character of today's challenges calls for new ways of thinking and an innovative approach. It is true that protracted regional conflicts remain a very serious source of instability.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Since I presented my proposal last September, we have consulted extensively with governmental representatives from a number of countries. A rich collection of suggestions and comments has been compiled that will be invaluable in developing the initiative. In the consultation process, we were encouraged by the shared view of many countries as to the need to adapt the United Nations to current challenges. Taking into account the initial outcome of the consultations, the Government of the Republic of Poland has produced a memorandum in which we have sketched a proposed outline of the mandate of the Group of Sages.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“33 It is a great source of satisfaction for me that the Polish initiative corresponds to the thinking of the Secretary-General and his efforts to increase the effectiveness of the United Nations and safeguard the position of the Organization as the most important institution of international security and cooperation. I wholeheartedly support his views on the need for review, and possibly a radical reform, of the international security architecture, as reflected in his latest report on the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration (A/58/323), as well as his timely proposals voiced at the outset of our debate. Indeed, we can no longer safely assume that our current multilateral rules and institutions have the capacity to confront the current array of old and new threats to peace and security.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“In addition, such a group's excellent moral standing and political weight would guarantee that the document designed to serve as an inspiration to Member States would be of the highest value. Thus, an essentially intellectual exercise initiated outside the institutional framework of the United Nations could be transformed into a political process, culminating in the adoption of the new act by the General Assembly. I remain deeply convinced that despite the rapid changes in the international environment precipitated especially after 11 September 2001, the United Nations today almost 60 years after its foundation should retain a central role as a mechanism for resolving global problems and as a guarantor of international legitimacy.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Developments on the international scene since I put forward that initiative have strengthened my belief that the United Nations would only benefit from a new, strong political signal reconfirming its role as a beacon of stability and a reliable instrument for managing change. I believe that the best way to create the proper conditions for an unconstrained debate on the future of the United Nations is to engage outstanding public figures of international stature in an informal setting. I suggested at the time that a group of eminent personalities be charged with the task of producing an outline of the document, which would then be submitted for assessment by Member States. The composition of the group should ensure its independence, appropriate intellectual format and knowledge of international affairs.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“That horrible act of terror seems to be highly symbolic because, in the words of the Secretary-General, it directly challenges the vision of global solidarity and collective security rooted in the Charter of the United Nations. Sadly, that is the context in which we must address the concerns on our domestic and international agendas. Last year, when addressing the Assembly, I put forward a proposal to prepare a new act for the United Nations at the dawn of the twenty-first century. I was persuaded then, as I am now, that such a document could give fresh impetus to the principles and mechanisms of the United Nations in a changing world. It should entail the elaboration of a new catalogue of norms of international conduct in the face of the security threats and global challenges of today.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“At the outset, like my colleague from Armenia, I would like to express my highest tribute to the memory of the outstanding individuals whose tragic loss is a blow to the international community that is absolutely beyond repair. The assassination of Anna Lindh, the Foreign Minister of Sweden, has demonstrated once again the risk involved in noble dedication to public service in a world exposed to senseless acts of violence and has filled people all over the world with the deepest sorrow. The death of Sergio Vieira de Mello and his staff members came as a shock to the international community. The question is, why were they killed?”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)