The year 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, which began its official activities on 24th October 1945, to protect peace, support international cooperation, and promote human rights around the world. To celebrate the occasion, a conference was held at the University of Warsaw with the participation of, among others, Radosław Sikorski, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The United Nations will celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2025. To mark this occasion, the University of Warsaw has prepared a series of events devoted to the role and significance of the UN in the modern world. On 5th November, a conference entitled “80 Years of the United Nations: Towards a New World Order?”
The opening of the conference was attended by, among others, Radosław Sikorski, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak, the UW Rector, Robert Grey, the UW Chancellor, and Aleksandra Szorc, Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Warsaw. The event attracted over 250 participants, including representatives of UN agencies, diplomats, experts, and academic students.
“The United Nations provides an opportunity for very diverse people to talk to each other, as is the case today at the University of Warsaw. It is certainly not easy, but it is thanks to this organisation that the world is becoming a better place. Thank you for your efforts to promote human rights and international cooperation. We should appreciate those who, as part of this great organisation connecting the world, care about peace and building friendly relations,” said Prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak, the UW Rector, opening the event.
In his opening speech entitled “Is it worth defending multilateralism?”, Radosław Sikorski, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, addressed a key question that the international community is asking itself in the face of current global crises: is the UN necessary and is it worth defending multilateralism?
Deputy Prime Minister emphasised that although many of the arrangements made in 1945 need to be revised, the response to contemporary threats is not to give up, but to defend the system. “In its 80-year history, the UN has repeatedly proven its effectiveness by preventing many conflicts and supporting the reconstruction of countries after wars and disasters,” said the head of Polish diplomacy, adding: “Poland stands up for multilateralism, just as we stand up for democracy against autocracy. We do this not for the sake of this or that institution, but in the name of the principle that law and dialogue are better than violence and unscrupulousness. We need to be open to civil society, the private sector, and the younger generation. It is crucial to reform the most important bodies, starting with the Security Council, whose composition does not reflect the current balance of power.”
Later in the conference, participants debated in three thematic panels devoted to the role of UN agencies in the UN reform process, Poland’s place in the UN forum, and the role of young people in shaping the future of the UN.
