Poland takes over the monthly rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday.

During its presidency, Poland aims to work towards security and peace in the world, Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said.

Poland is to organise meetings dedicated to the Middle East and Africa, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The dominant issue on the agenda will be the development of events in Syria. The Polish diplomatic corps will endeavour to react efficiently to unexpected situations," the foreign ministry said.

It added that Poland would pay "special attention to developments in the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East."

During May, Poland is also to host a debate entitled "The role of the UN Security Council in preserving international law in the context of ensuring international peace and security," to be led by Polish President Andrzej Duda, and another on civilian protection, which will be chaired by Czaputowicz.

Poland joined the Security Council as a non-permanent member for a two-year stint in January. </s> Poland's president has asked the UN Security Council to deploy a UN peacekeeping force in eastern Ukraine throughout the zone of conflict with Russia-backed separatists and along the border with Russia.

"We are advocating the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission," Andrzej Duda told a news conference in New York late on May 17 after delivering a similar plea before the UN Security Council, where Poland holds the rotating presidency for the month of May.

"First, those forces should be deployed along the internationally recognized border between Ukraine and Russia," he said.

"I also stressed in the strongest terms that if that happened, those forces should deploy across all territory which today is in the hands of separatists," he said.

Ukraine has supported the introduction of United Nations peacekeepers as long as they are placed along the border with Russia to monitor and ensure Russian troops and weapons do not come over the border to aid the separatists.

Russia made a much narrower proposal in September, saying it would support a limited UN peacekeeping mission to protect around 600 observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe who are on the ground in eastern Ukraine.

Russia drafted a UN resolution that would authorize lightly armed peacekeepers to protect the OSCE monitors along the demarcation line between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia fighters.

But that was unacceptable to Ukraine and its allies in Europe and the United States. The Security Council never formally debated either sides' proposals.

As president of the council this month, Poland's UN representative may bring Warsaw's proposal up for debate. But it could face a veto from Russia, which has strongly opposed placing armed UN peacekeepers along its border with Ukraine.

More than 10,300 people have been killed in the conflict between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia separatists since the insurgency broke out in April 2014 following Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

Clashes erupt regularly despite a 2015 peace agreement forged in Minsk that laid down a process for establishing peace in the region but has been little heeded by either side. </s> WARSAW (Reuters) - The United States is serious about the security of its ally Poland, Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Wednesday after meeting U.S. President Donald Trump in Warsaw.

"We see ourselves as loyal partners who cooperate on a number of issues, among others on security," Duda told a joint news conference with Trump in Warsaw's Royal Castle.

 "I have a feeling that the United States is serious about Poland's security."

 Poland hosts some 900 U.S. troops as part of a rotating NATO force in eastern Europe to counter potential threats from Russia.

 

 (Reporting by Marcin Goclowski and Justyna Pawlak; editing by Andrew Roche) </s> WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Former Portuguese Prime Minister António Guterres has emerged as the clear favourite to become the next United Nations Secretary-General following the sixth secret ballot held Wednesday by the UN Security Council. It is expected to take a formal decision Thursday and forward Guterres' name to the 193-Member General Assembly for final confirmation.



Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, which holds the Security Council presidency for the month, informed the President of the Assembly, Peter Thomson, that in the sixth informal 'straw poll' for the position of Secretary-General, Guterres emerged as the clear favourite among the Council's 15 members.



Churkin said the Council's meeting Thursday to take a formal vote is expected to pass by acclamation. That decision would then be formally submitted to the General Assembly for its consideration.



In addition to Guterres, who served as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015, 12 other candidates were in the running to succeed the current UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, who leaves office at the end of the year.



The selection of a new United Nations Secretary-General, traditionally decided behind closed-doors by a few powerful countries, has for the first time in history, involved public discussions with each candidate campaigning for the world's top diplomatic post.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX </s> The United Nations Security Council on Thursday unanimously nominated former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres to be the next Secretary-General, recommending that the 193-member General Assembly appoint him for five years from Jan. 1, 2017.

The General Assembly is likely to meet next week to approve the appointment of Guterres, 67, who would replace Ban Ki-moon, 72, of South Korea. Ban will step down at the end of 2016 after serving two terms.

Guterres was prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015. </s> The United Nations General Assembly formally appointed Antonio Guterres as the new secretary-general of the United Nations, replacing Ban Ki-moon. PHOTO | FILE | AFP

The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday formally appointed Antonio Guterres as the new secretary-general of the United Nations, replacing Ban Ki-moon.

The 193 member states adopted by acclamation a resolution appointing the former prime minister of Portugal for a five-year term beginning January 1.

The socialist politician, who also served as UN refugee chief for a decade, is expected to play a more prominent role as the world's diplomat-in-chief than Ban, the South Korean former foreign minister who will step down after two five-year terms.

Guterres won unanimous support from the UN Security Council during a vote last week that capped the most transparent campaign ever held at the United Nations for the top post.

The 67-year-old polyglot campaigned on a pledge to promote human rights and enact reforms within the UN system, seen as clunky and too slow to respond to unfolding disasters.

His appointment comes at a time of global anxiety over the ongoing war in Syria, the refugee crisis and raging conflicts in South Sudan and Yemen.

The Security Council is deadlocked over Syria after two draft resolutions were defeated in separate votes over the weekend, one of which was vetoed by Damascus ally Russia. </s> U.S. President Donald Trump met with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw on Thursday.

Trump said he would showcase his commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in a speech and in meetings with a group of nations closest to Russia.

Trump is making the whistle-stop trip to the Polish capital en route to a G20 summit in neighbouring Germany beginning on Friday.

 Aside from shoring up the U.S. relationship with NATO allies, the speech is symbolically significant given Poland’s proximity to Russia and regional fears about Moscow’s ambitions following its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Poland hopes to woo Trump the businessman with new investment opportunities in Eastern Europe. </s> Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres took the oath of office on Monday to be the ninth United Nations Secretary-General with his hand on a copy of the U.N. Charter in front of the 193-member General Assembly.

Guterres, 67, will replace Ban Ki-moon, 72, of South Korea on Jan. 1. Ban steps down at the end of 2016 after serving two five-year terms. Guterres was Portugal's prime minister from 1995 to 2002 and U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015. </s> 6 October 2016 –New York (ABC Live): António Guterres : The Security Council today formally chose the former Prime Minister of Portugal, António Guterres, as its nominee to be the next Secretary-General of the United Nations for a five-year term when incumbent Ban Ki-moon steps down on 31 December.

The recommendation, made in a resolution adopted in a private meeting by acclamation, now goes to the 193-member General Assembly for formal approval.

On an official visit to Italy, Mr. Ban said in Rome this morning that Mr. António Guterres is “an excellent choice,” noting that the two had worked closely during Mr. Guterres “long and outstanding tenure” as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

“António Guterres showed deep compassion for the millions of people who were forced to leave their homes,” Mr. Ban said, adding: “His past experience as Prime Minister of Portugal, his extensive knowledge of world affairs and his keen intelligence will serve him to lead the United Nations at a crucial period.”

Under procedures for appointing the world body’s new chief, after the recommendation is transmitted from the Council to the Assembly, a draft resolution is issued for the Assembly to take action. After appropriate consultations with Member States, the Assembly President fixes a date for the draft to be taken up.

The last five Secretaries-General were appointed by the Assembly through a resolution adopted by consensus. A vote will take place only if a Member State requests it and a simple majority of those voting would be required for the Assembly to adopt the resolution. But the Assembly could decide that the decision requires a two-thirds majority. If a vote is taken, it will be by secret ballot

The UN Charter, signed in 1945 as the foundation of the Organization, says relatively little about how a Secretary-General is to be selected, aside from Article 97, which notes that the candidate “shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.”

At its first session in 1946, the General Assembly was much more active in the selection process. It created resolution A/RES/1/11 determining that the Council take the lead in the selection process, agree on a single name in a private meeting, and pass that name down to the General Assembly for a vote.

Yesterday, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, which holds the Security Council presidency for the month, informed the President of the Assembly, Peter Thomson, that after the sixth informal “straw poll” for the position of Secretary-General, Mr. Guterres had emerged as the clear favourite.

In addition to Mr. Guterres, 12 other candidates were in the running to succeed the current UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, who leaves office at the end of the year.

Today’s decision by the Security Council brings the UN closer towards the culmination of an historic process: the selection of a new United Nations Secretary-General, traditionally decided behind closed-doors by a few powerful countries, has for the first time in history, involved public discussions with each candidate campaigning for the world’s top diplomatic post.

These so-called ‘informal briefings’ between the candidates, UN Member States and civil society representatives kicked off on 12 April, when the first three candidates presented their ‘vision statements’ and answered questions on how they would promote sustainable development, improve efforts to create peace, protect human rights, and deal with huge humanitarian catastrophes should they be selected to lead the Organization.

In addition, this past July, the UN held its first-ever globally televised and webcast townhall-style debate in the General Assembly Hall, where the confirmed candidates at the time took questions from diplomats and the public at large.
Poland takes over the rotating Presidency of the United Nations Security Council.