Lech Kaczyński: The United Nations has undergone various turns over the past 64 years
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Over the past few years the United Nations has placed a strong emphasis on climate change. Much has been said about this issue here today, so I do not want to sound repetitive. However, I would like to emphasize that this is a very important issue and one which requires a lot of sensitivity on our side. As the more affluent countries want to strongly engage to protecting the world’s climate, they must realize that the weaker countries need assistance in doing the same. Although by all means legitimate, this goal should not be pursued in such a way that it helps some countries develop, whilst hindering the development of others. We should always bear this in mind. We should do so for the sake of solidarity among all nations, remembering about the goals for which the United Nations was established sixty-four years ago.
Finally, let me address one more issue, one less talked about today. Besides piracy, international terrorism poses a serious problem today. The situation which we see developing in some countries, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, seems to confirm that this is the case.
Terrorism has its sources, but not all of them are linked to extremist ideologies. We realize that objective premises also exist. In this regard, the United Nations could play a greater role than it has done in the past. Poland is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and is very much involved in out-of-area operations. We acknowledge that the legitimacy of the United Nations for this type of operations is the only legitimacy, in light of the international law, which may be considered as fully and one hundred percent sufficient. This is very important today, and it will continue to be so in the future, because we must realize that conflicts, crises and the problem of terrorism will not be resolved within a few years.
We have heard it said many times today that the United Nations is about to embark on a new phase. I believe that it will be yet another phase of greatness, for its history has been marked with such periods. I trust that this great global experiment, which on numerous occasions has passed the test, will succeed again on a global scale and in many decades to come.
Thank you very much.