Komorowski: “Syria is exposing UN ineffectiveness”

President Bronisław Komorowski gives his speech at the 68th UN General Assembly in New York, 25.09.2013 Photo: PAP/Jacek Turczyk

“The conflict in Syria has exposed the ineffectiveness of the UN’s decision-making process,” Komorowski said at the General Assembly, currently taking place in New York.

“It is with regret that the members of the Security Council have rather spoken up for one of the warring sides in the Syrian conflict, have supported them in various ways, and have not forced them to stop fighting and to embark on peace talks,” Komorowski underlined.

According to Komorowski, the UN is in dire need of reform, stating the necessity to create instruments which would force permanent members of the Security Council to cooperate “in order to prevent crimes and to effectively react against the primacy of particular geopolitical interests of the superpowers.”

In his speech, Komorowski went onto slam the Security Council for not having undertaken any efforts to nip the Syrian conflict in the bud, stating that “the dramatic development of the situation in Syria – which has already taken over 100,000 lives – could have been prevented if proper decisions by the Security Council would have been taken in a timely fashion.”

Komorowski also stated that Poland will be seeking a non-permanent seat in the Security Council for the years 2018-2019.

“We believe that we will be able to serve the aims and principles of the UN well, as well as represent the interests of member states in accordance with and in the spirit of the Charter [of the UN],” Komorowski said. (jb)