Speaking at a high-level debate marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations, Duda said on Monday: “Just like 75 years ago Poland was fighting for a world without domination of certain states over others, so it has pursued the very same goal over the last 75 years, through its active participation in the works of the United Nations Organization.”
He noted that “Poland was elected six times as a non-permanent member state of the UN Security Council and sat on it for a total of 11 years, last time in the period 2018-2019."
In June 2017, Poland was elected to the Council “with a record-high number of votes: our bid was supported by 190 states from all over the world,” Duda also said, addressing the UN remotely amid the coronavirus pandemic.
‘Peace through law’
He told those taking part in the debate that the main motto of Poland’s “presence in the Security Council, and more broadly, within the United Nations system, is the idea of ‘peace through law,’ which is so deeply engraved in the founding act of the Organization.”
“It was upon the initiative of Poland and the United Kingdom that the Security Council unanimously adopted, on 20 June 2019, the first historic Resolution on Protection of Persons with Disabilities in Armed Conflicts. Likewise, upon Poland's initiative, the UN General Assembly designated, last May, the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief,” Duda said.
He added that his country was now continuing its mission by promoting “values we consider fundamentally important in the Human Rights Council,” of which Poland will be a member through 2022.
“In all our activities in the UN forum, we are led by the rule that only international relations based on the principles and norms of international law may bring peace to the world whereas law should not only be respected but continuously perfected,” Duda said.
He concluded: “Today, the flag of the Republic of Poland - a free and sovereign state - proudly flutters in front of the UN Headquarters in New York. May it remain so forever.”
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR, president.pl