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Polish president attends UN human rights summit in Geneva

13.12.2023 09:30
Poland's president has called on the international community to address and punish all human rights abuses during a United Nations conference marking the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Polish President Andrzej Duda (centre) addresses a United Nations human rights summit in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, December 12, 2023.
Polish President Andrzej Duda (centre) addresses a United Nations human rights summit in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, December 12, 2023.X/Office of the President of Poland

Andrzej Duda made the remark in a speech to the UN summit in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday night.

The Polish president said human rights were "universal" and applicable to every person.

He added that there were "currently some 60 armed conflicts" around the globe, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, where human rights were being violated on a constant basis.

Duda urged the international community to join forces to "punish all human rights abuses."

The president later told reporters he had also spoken to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, and asked for UN intervention on behalf of Polish journalist Andrzej Poczobut, held political prisoner by the Belarusian regime. 

World leaders gathered in Geneva to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and called for "new guardrails to protect rights amid a surge of conflict and other challenges," according to the UN.

Speakers included Poland's Duda, as well as leaders from Slovenia, Estonia, Greece, Senegal, Colombia and the Maldives, news outlets reported.

Also on Tuesday, the Polish president met with Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, according to officials.

The two held talks in Lausanne focusing on the 2024 Paris Olympics and Poland's bid to host the 2036 summer Olympic Games, the Polish President's Office said.

(pm/gs)

Source: prezydent.pl, United Nationsinteria.pl