Germany, 2003

I wish to

begin by congratulating the President, on his election

as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth

session and wish him every success with his work. I

also wish to thank his predecessor, President Kavan,

for the dedication with which he presided over the

fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly.

I also wish to endorse the statements made by the

Italian presidency on behalf of the European Union.

This year is a special one for Germany’s work

within the United Nations. History is both a reminder

and a guide for us. Thirty years ago, on 18 September

1973, the United Nations welcomed Germany back into

the fold of the family of nations. My predecessor,

Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt, paved the way for

that move. His standing as an anti-fascist inspired

confidence for Germany. His passionate commitment to

internationalism went far beyond the policy of détente

in the then East-West conflict.

In 1980 he made an urgent appeal to the

community of States with a report entitled “North-

South, A Programme for Survival”. He wrote:

“The globalization of the dangers resulting from

wars, chaos and self-destruction calls for a

domestic policy that goes far beyond national

borders.”

We are strongly committed to this task, and I

think that we Germans are not the only ones who are

committed to it, because, as I said, history is our guide.

It guides us towards intensive international

cooperation, of course under the auspices of the United

Nations, that we must strengthen through courageous

reforms. It guides us towards a universal order based

on the rule of law and human dignity, on good,

responsible governance and prosperity that is truly

shared by all people. It also guides us towards security

and peace through comprehensive prevention. We must

act resolutely by pursuing an effective multilateral

strategy wherever peace is threatened and human rights

are violated. But we must act just as resolutely to

prevent conflict and create stable structures so that

people can lead their lives in freedom and tolerance

with one another.

Thirty years ago, Germany was a country with

limited sovereignty, divided by the Iron Curtain. Today,

Germany is a sovereign nation, a civil Power in the

heart of a united Europe. We live in a common area of

freedom, the rule of law, prosperity and social

responsibility. This goes to show that development

towards justice and peace is indeed possible and we

shall not cease to support endeavours to that end

anywhere in the world, be it in the Middle East, in

Africa or in any other crisis area. Bearing in mind our

own history, we are indeed assuming responsibility for

a cooperative policy of peace. This we do by

employing economic, political and humanitarian

means.

But we are also assuming military responsibility,

shoulder to shoulder with our partners in NATO and

the European Union, where there is absolutely no other

way to secure peace and protect human beings. Today,

more than 9,000 members of the German armed forces

and police are deployed on international peace

missions. Our top priority is our commitment to peace

in Afghanistan. Germany is willing to maintain its

commitment there in the long term and we are ready to

increase it beyond its present scope. The basis for such

commitment is the Charter of the United Nations.

In the Unification Treaty, Germany vowed that it

would only deploy its armed forces within the

framework of this Charter. The Charter provides us

with “the necessary building blocks to ensure that our

common humanity is an inclusive one, built on values

such as tolerance and dignity”. These were the words

of Sergio Vieira de Mello, who on 19 August 2003 fell

victim to an underhanded criminal attack in Baghdad.

He was killed along with 22 others, including many

members of the United Nations staff working for the

people of Iraq and their hopes of a better future.

We are deeply affected by their deaths and must

honour them by taking on their legacy. Our response

must be to strengthen the role and commitment of the

United Nations in Iraq. Only the United Nations can

guarantee the legitimacy required to enable the people

of Iraq to speedily rebuild their country under an

independent, representative Government. Germany

stands ready to support such a process. We are ready to

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provide humanitarian, technical and economic

assistance and could also train Iraqi security personnel.

International terrorism, failing States and the

dangers posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction all threaten our joint security. The obvious

question is: What must be done to truly enhance

security? We must capture the terrorists and their

masters and destroy their infrastructure. There can be

no doubt that we must prevent any further proliferation

of nuclear weapons. We must strengthen the

inspections regimes and pursue a policy of controlled

disarmament.

But as we know from history, as well as our own

experience, to follow any strategy focused narrowly on

the military and the police would be a recipe for

failure. Rather, what is needed is to address the root

causes of terrorism and insecurity. To combat

fanaticism, we must ensure social and material as well

as cultural security. That can only be achieved on the

basis of a broad concept of security. If we want to

outlaw infamy we must put an end to lawlessness. That

is the core task, indeed, of the international courts of

justice and especially the International Criminal Court.

In order to win hearts and minds for freedom,

peace and an open society, we must help people to

acquire a greater stake in society, build better lives for

them and provide them with a secure environment.

Afghanistan is a good example of this. There, the

international community succeeded in liberating the

Afghan people from the scourge of the Taliban and

al Qaeda.

At the same time, the Petersberg Conference on

Afghanistan, held in Bonn under the auspices of the

United Nations, created a political framework for

rebuilding the country. This process needs our

continued support. There must also be sustained

international commitment to the task of strengthening

security. In the long run, the fight against terrorism can

be won only if people see that it produces tangible

benefits in their everyday lives. They need to

experience at first hand that being once again part of

the international community means not only greater

freedom and more security, but also entails better

development opportunities and a greater stake in

society.

There is no doubt that we have already made

major strides towards realizing our common goals

enshrined in the United Nations Charter. More

countries than ever before now have democratic

Governments. Our concerted efforts have enabled more

people than ever before to put poverty behind them.

But we must note that the gap between the world’s rich

and poor has still not been closed and the fight against

hunger, injustice and oppression is still far from won.

For this reason, eradicating poverty remains an

imperative of our policy for peace and stability.

There has been a drastic reduction in the number

of wars fought between States. In the Balkans, for

example, resolute action by NATO and the United

Nations enabled us to put an end to certain wars and

prevent others from breaking out in the first place.

Nevertheless, our world has become — and not just

since the barbaric terrorist attacks in New York and

Washington or indeed Bali, Casablanca, Moscow or

Djerba — a dramatically more insecure place. New

threats that no country in the world can tackle

effectively on its own, make international cooperation

more vital than ever before. Such threats also require

new strategies and that is why we are all called upon to

review whether the instruments available to the United

Nations are still appropriate for tackling these new

challenges. We all have a responsibility to ensure that

people and their rights are also protected in situations

other than inter-State wars. They must be protected

from genocide and the consequences of random

violence as well. A political commitment to

comprehensive prevention must further strengthen the

United Nations monopoly on the use of force as well as

the institutions of international law.

Within the United Nations we need to muster the

strength to launch overdue institutional reforms. My

Government fully and wholeheartedly supports the

proposals made by the Secretary-General. We must

agree how to ensure in the future an even better

allocation of abilities, skills and scarce resources. I

also share the view of the Secretary-General that the

legitimacy of the Security Council depends on how

well it represents all nations and all regions. It is true

that the Council must be reformed and enlarged. First

and foremost, it must also include more representatives

of the developing countries. Let me reiterate that in the

context of such reform Germany is ready to assume

greater responsibility.

The world of the twenty-first century offers us, its

inhabitants, ample scope for change, for better or

worse. Given the wealth of opportunities and the

immense dangers ahead, we have no choice but to

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strive for greater international partnership and expand

and strengthen multilateralism. We will only be able to

make our world a more secure place if we can also

make it more fair and equitable. It was for that very

purpose, after all, that the international community

created the United Nations. That is its mandate. Let us

join together to make the United Nations even stronger.

Let us make sure that it can fulfil its mandate to

maintain international peace and security and that it

can achieve greater justice for all.