On June 2, 2017, Poland was elected as a member of the UN Security Council for the sixth time. The election of Poland to one of the main and most important UN bodies recognises our country's contributions in preserving international peace and security as well as the trust that the international community has bestowed on us.
The Council plays a leading role in global security discussions, seeking solutions to conflicts either by peaceful means or through the use of force. Being a member of this body raises the international prestige and standing of a state and provides the opportunity to become more actively involved in strengthening global security and achieving the UN's key goals.
Solidarity-Responsibility-Commitment
The Security Council consists of fifteen states, five of which (China, France, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom) are permanent members. The remaining ten states are elected by the General Assembly for a two-year mandate, with five non-permanent members elected every year. In the past, Poland was a member of the Security Council in 1946-47, 1960, 1970-1971, 1982-1983 and 1996-1997. The election of Poland as a non-permanent member of the UNSC in 2018-2019 will be our country’s sixth term on Council. From 1 January 2018, Poland will decide on the most important issues related to security and peace in the world.
Poland officially announced its candidacy for a seat on the UN Security Council during the 2018-2019 term in March 2009 under the slogan "Solidarity-Responsibility-Commitment", but an intensive campaign to acquire membership was launched in September last year.
"A state with a seat on the UNSC always assumes the presidency of the Council for a given time during its term, which means that it can effectively come up with its own agenda, i.e. with regard to those topics that the state wants to discuss in the UNSC," the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda said.
At the inaugural conference held at the Presidential Palace, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said that membership in the UNSC not only carries "prestige", it not only a source of pride in the fact that Poland can assume its place within an important international body that makes important decisions regarding international policy, it also the opportunity to promote our region and our sensitivity to international affairs."
Priorities
In the UNSC, Poland will not only fight for its own interests, it will in some ways also be the voice of the region – Central and Eastern Europe. Each country applying for a seat on the UNSC represents its region, in the case of Poland, this is the Eastern European Group (EEG), consisting of 23 members. Poland's only competitor for a seat on the UNSC in the 2018-2019 EEG elections was Bulgaria, which withdrew its candidacy in November 2016.
Poland wants to use its membership in the Security Council to draw international attention to global issues such as terrorism, crimes against humanity and non-observance of the fundamental principles of international law. A significant issue on the Polish agenda will also be the situation in Ukraine and renewed participation in UN peacekeeping operations.
Among the most important priorities of Poland's membership of the UNSC will be strengthening of the Security Council effectiveness and increasing the role and authority of the organization.
The force of the law
Poland is returning to the Security Council after more than twenty years of absence. Since then, Poland's international position has changed and our country has become a member of NATO and the European Union. However, the dynamically changing international situation, also in the immediate vicinity of Poland and the European Union remains uneasy. Poland, adhering to the primacy of international law in international relations, will as a member of the Security Council strive to build a world based on "the force of law, not the law of force."
Poland will begin its two-year mandate on January 1, 2018. Kuwait, Equatorial Guinea, Peru and Côte d'Ivoire have been elected together with Poland for the 2018-2019 UN Security Council. In the election choosing a member from Western Europe, the Netherlands has been chosen in the supplementary elections as the replacement for Italy and will hold the mandate of a UNSC member in 2018.
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