Poland in the UN

On 22-24 February, Minister Zbigniew Rau visited New York to participate in several events to mark the anniversary of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Elections to the World Food Program's (WFP) supreme governing body will be held on Monday, February 27th. For the first time in history, a representative of Poland has a chance to take over the position of the Executive Board President in this UN agency and the largest humanitarian organization in the world.

Undersecretary of State Wojciech Gerwel traveled to the United States visited New York where he took part in the UN Security Council open debate and the Council’s briefing on Ukraine, and held bilateral meetings.

Today, Ambassador Krzysztof Szczerski, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland to the United Nations in New York was elected as Vice-President of the UNICEF Executive Board Bureau for 2023.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arkadiusz Mularczyk, Government Plenipotentiary for Compensation for Damage Caused by German Aggression and Occupation in 1939-1945, asked the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, President of the United Nations General Assembly Csaba Kőrösi, President of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva Václav Bálek, as well as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva Volker Türk, to establish cooperation and provide support regarding Poland’s efforts to obtain compensation for losses caused by the German aggression and occupation in 1939-1945.

On 15 November 2022, Deputy Foreign Minister Paweł Jabłoński headed the Polish delegation to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the UN Human Rights Council. The 41st session of the UPR reviewed Poland’s human rights record.

In accordance with the established tradition, the annual Informal Meeting of Legal Advisers of the United Nations Member States will inaugurate the International Law Week on October 24, 2022. The event will be held in the Trusteeship Council Chamber at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and will begin at 10 am.

On 10-14 October 2022, the delegation of Poland participated in the 73rd session of the Executive Committee of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (ExCom UNHCR) in Geneva. The Committee meets annually to discuss the course of activities of UNHCR in the field of international protection and the situation of refugees in the world, as well as to review and approve operational programmes and budget.

51st session of the Human Rights Council was held in Geneva from 12 September to 7 October, 2022. It was the last regular session in which Poland participated as a member state during its term in the Human Rights Council in 2020-2022.

On 3 October 2022, Poland was re-elected as a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council for 2023–2026. The election was held at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Bucharest, launched on 26 September. Poland has taken part in the work of the ITU Council since 2010.