Poland has been elected by the UN General Assembly to the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU), defeating Russia, which had held the seat for 60 years. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 95 states supported us.
Foreign Ministry statement: 95 states behind Poland
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on X on Thursday, 12 November, that Poland had won the JIU election against Russia. The ministry thanked the 95 states that backed Poland in the General Assembly vote and announced that Jakub Chmielewski will represent Poland in the unit.
Poland ran from the Eastern European Group, which has two seats in the JIU. Poland competed with Russia for one of them.
“We won by a single vote”
Permanent Representative of Poland to the UN Krzysztof Szczerski said on Thursday that the competition was very fierce and Poland won by a single vote. – After more than 20 years, Poland is returning to this institution, while Russia is leaving it after 60 years – he added. He recalled that at the start of the campaign there was little hope, as everyone said Russia had not lost this vote in 60 years.
The vote was secret, so it is unknown which states supported Poland. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maciej Wewiór wrote on X that over the six decades of the JIU’s existence, one of the two seats for Eastern Europe had always been held by the USSR or Russia.
What is the JIU
The Joint Inspection Unit is the only independent external oversight body covering the entire United Nations system. It was established in 1966. It consists of 11 inspectors appointed by the General Assembly for five-year terms. It conducts inspections, evaluations and investigations concerning the functioning of UN system organizations, and its aim is to improve management efficiency and transparency of spending.
According to the Ministry, the inspectors have considerable independence in choosing areas of analysis and oversight, which gives them real influence over the functioning of the entire UN system. As the ministry stresses, the success was the result of a broad diplomatic campaign coordinated within the European Union.
In the same vote, the General Assembly also elected Botswana (African Group) and Japan and China (Asia-Pacific Group) as states that will nominate candidates to the JIU.
