Germany, 2005

Please accept

my congratulations, Sir, on your election to the

presidency of this historic sixtieth session of the

General Assembly. I wish you every success. I would

also like to express my sincere thanks to the outgoing

President for his dedicated work at the fifty-ninth

session. I endorse the statement of the European Union

(EU) presidency.

The debate at last week’s summit highlighted one

important point, namely, that peace, development,

security and human rights are inseparably linked. One

cannot address human rights and security without also

addressing development. All of those issues are at the

very heart of our policies.

People are waiting for our solutions to the

pressing problems of development. We must achieve

the Millennium Development Goals. Of that we are

acutely aware, both in Germany and in Europe. The EU

plan to reach the 0.7 per cent official development

assistance goal by 2015, and the Group of Eight (G-8)

commitments made at Gleneagles, substantially

strengthen the financial basis of our work.

We are also willing to forge new paths by making

use of innovative financing mechanisms.

At the same time, frameworks establishing fair

conditions for international trade are a prerequisite if

poorer States are to share the benefits of globalization.

The EU is leading the way with its “Everything But

Arms” initiative, which grants the least developed

countries duty-free and quota-free market access. In

that context, we must do all we can to make the

Ministerial Conference of the World Trade

Organization, to be held in Hong Kong in December, a

success. Only in that way can we bring the Doha round

negotiations to a successful conclusion.

We also know that excessive indebtedness curbs

growth and development. The realignment of the

Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt

Initiative after 1999 has considerably reduced the

indebtedness of some 27 States. Germany has to date

forgiven €6.5 billion of debt and has earmarked a

further €4 billion for the continuation of the HIPC

initiative.

Debt relief is, however, dependent on all creditors

spreading the burden fairly among themselves. We are

alarmed by the fact that commercial and State creditors

outside the Paris Club are doing less and less to live up

to their responsibilities. I would like to seize this

opportunity to call for your support at the forthcoming

annual meeting of the Bretton Woods institutions, for

the G-8 proposal and for an extensive cancellation of

debts — including multilateral debts — for the

countries concerned.

All of the foregoing emphasizes the great

importance we attach to the global partnership for

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development. That partnership is not, however, a one-

way street. It also requires a commitment by partner

States to put in place the conditions for

development — that is, democracy, good governance,

respect for human rights and anti-corruption measures.

Climate protection and development are also

closely intertwined. Of course, everyone must have

access to energy. Nevertheless, all States must do their

part to prevent the ominous advance of climate change.

In late November the parties to the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change and the

Kyoto Protocol will meet in Montreal. There, we will

have the opportunity to adopt effective mechanisms to

reduce emissions of greenhouse gases beyond 2012.

That is precisely the policy pursued by the Kyoto

Protocol, and it is a policy we will adhere to.

This year two natural catastrophes — the tsunami

in the Indian Ocean and Hurricane Katrina in the

United States of America — have clearly demonstrated

just how vulnerable our societies are to natural

disasters. We have all learned just how important

disaster prevention is. As host to the Third

International Conference on Early Warning, which will

be held in Bonn in March 2006, Germany hopes to

contribute to making better use of and improving early

warning mechanisms and thereby limiting the scale of

the damage caused by such disasters. Here I would like

to take this opportunity to reiterate our invitation to all

Member States to join us in making the Bonn

Conference a success.

For years, United Nations engagement has been

hailed all over the world as a welcome sign of

protection and assistance, of peace and reconstruction.

Last Sunday saw the first free parliamentary elections

in Afghanistan under the new Constitution. The

Government of Afghanistan, with a full complement of

democratically legitimated institutions, is now

prepared to assume responsibility for the further

reconstruction of the country. By going to the polls,

millions of women and men in Afghanistan have

proved that they have opted for democracy. Our thanks

go to the United Nations, which worked hard to make

those elections possible.

In his latest report on Afghanistan (A/60/224) the

Secretary-General announced that the United Nations

will remain committed to assisting the country after the

elections. I heartily endorse that commitment; such

help is indispensable. For even if the Bonn process,

launched four years ago, has now been brought to a

successful conclusion, the international community

will still need to stand by Afghanistan. Germany, too,

will continue to do its utmost to support the country.

The President returned to the Chair.

Ten years after the conclusion of the Dayton

Agreement, and six years after the end of the Kosovo

conflict, the situation in the Western Balkans has

improved tangibly. Nonetheless, major progress is still

required in the political, legal and economic fields. The

people of that region must genuinely come to terms

with their past, and the parties to the conflict must be

reconciled. In that connection, we call for full

cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal

for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague.

The Middle East still faces great challenges. As

its neighbours, we in Europe have a strategic interest in

peace and stability in the region. We are convinced that

only through reform, the strengthening of democracy

and the rule of law can lasting stability be guaranteed.

The free and fair parliamentary elections in Palestine

and Lebanon are encouraging signs of change.

The Middle East peace process has also gained

new momentum over past months. We emphatically

welcome the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip

and the northern part of the West Bank. Now it is vital

that Israelis, Palestinians and the international

community do all they can to lay the foundations for

political and economic stability in the Gaza Strip.

Efforts should be focused on a two-State solution based

on the road map. The objective remains a viable

Palestinian State, living side by side with Israel within

secure and recognized borders.

The international community is united in its

determination to help Iraq establish democracy and the

rule of law. We want all Iraqis to be able to live free

from fear and material hardship. The forces of terror

and violence must not and shall not be permitted to win

the upper hand. The Middle East needs a stable,

prosperous Iraq.

Here, too, the United Nations is making its

contribution towards the process of political transition

and reconstruction. That is why we have provided

considerable financial assistance for the protection

force whose presence allows the United Nations to

work in Iraq. It is also why Germany has, at Iraq’s

request, advised that country on constitutional issues.

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The Iranian nuclear programme continues to be a

major cause of concern. Past violations of international

obligations, a lack of transparency in its actions, and

insufficient cooperation with subsequent investigations

have destroyed any confidence that the programme is

for exclusively peaceful purposes. With support from

the EU High Representative, Germany, France and the

United Kingdom have worked with Iran on finding a

way to restore confidence. Those efforts have received

broad support from the international community.

Tehran’s continued disregard of International Atomic

Energy Agency decisions, however, is further

weakening that confidence and the gains made to date

are being put at risk for no good reason. We should

emphasize that our concerns do not relate to Iran’s

right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

This has never been and will not be put in

question. Our concerns do not relate to Iran’s right to

use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. That has

never been and will not be called into question.

We remain prepared to work on solutions which

include objective guarantees that the Iranian nuclear

programme can serve only peaceful ends. I appeal to

Iran to refrain from taking unilateral measures and to

return to the negotiating table.

There is general agreement that the proliferation

of weapons of mass destruction is now more than ever

a life-threatening risk to us all. It is thus all the more

regrettable that no consensus could be reached on the

inclusion in the outcome document of a chapter on

non-proliferation and disarmament. If we want to

prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction, in particular of nuclear weapons, all States

must fulfil their obligations. At the same time, new

momentum must be brought to the process of nuclear

disarmament.

In that context, I welcome the latest progress made

by the six-party talks towards resolving the nuclear

crisis on the Korean peninsula. It is a vital first step.

Africa is in many ways a touchstone for and an

example of an effective multilateral system. The close

cooperation of the United Nations with the African

Union, as well as with the Economic Community of

West African States (ECOWAS), has had a beneficial

impact in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and,

recently, in Burundi. The United Nations is also

playing an equally important role in efforts to stabilize

the Great Lakes region.

Following the death of John Garang, the peace

process in the Sudan requires an even greater

commitment by all parties to implement the historic

Nairobi peace agreement. The United Nations Mission

in the Sudan (UNMIS), to which Germany has

contributed personnel, is making a major contribution.

However, we must not neglect other crisis areas, in

particular Darfur. The African Union mission in Darfur

has helped to stabilize the security situation in the area

where it is stationed.

The variety of problems facing us — poverty, social

polarization, global population growth, inadequate water

supplies and global climate change, to name only the

most pressing — serves to highlight the need for

concerted action. We must prepare the United Nations

for the challenges of the twenty-first century.

Over the past 12 months, reform of the United

Nations has been intensively debated. Member States,

the High-level Panel and the Secretary-General himself

have provided valuable input. Some of their proposals

are contained in the outcome document adopted at last

week’s world summit.

However, only when we have managed to

implement those proposals will we be able to speak of

true achievement. To be a success, the process requires

the active participation of all Member States.

The tasks that the summit has set the General

Assembly must be tackled with speed and focus. At

this session, the General Assembly must make a

breakthrough towards the adoption of the

comprehensive convention on international terrorism.

It must also work on the creation of a Peacebuilding

Commission.

Sustainable peace requires more than merely

restoring security. The post-conflict peacebuilding

phase is particularly crucial. The sooner reconstruction

can begin, and the better coordinated the peacemaking

and post-conflict recovery efforts are, the better the

chances of lasting stabilization. The summit took a

vital step in that direction by deciding to establish the

Peacebuilding Commission by the end of the year.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in his report

entitled “In larger freedom”, states that:

“No security agenda and no drive for

development will be successful unless they are

based on … respect for human dignity”.

(A/59/2005, para. 128)

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If we wish to lend greater weight to the

protection and promotion of human rights, we must

also strengthen the relevant United Nations bodies and

mechanisms.

Germany therefore welcomes the decision taken

by the summit to create a Human Rights Council which

will replace the Commission on Human Rights. The

General Assembly must now move fast to define the

mandate and structures of the Human Rights Council.

It must ensure that the new body enjoys greater

legitimacy than its predecessor and that its working

methods are more effective, especially when it comes

to responding to acute crises.

Allow me a last word. A glance at the trouble

spots around the world makes it clear that we, the

international community, face far more conflicts in the

South than we do in the North. Key decisions on

settling those conflicts are taken in the Security

Council which, under the Charter of the United

Nations, has primary responsibility for the maintenance

of peace. Its composition, however, still reflects the

world of 1945 and not that of the twenty-first century.

Adjusting and expanding the membership of the

Security Council by adding both permanent and non-

permanent members thus remains essential. Any reform

of the United Nations that does not include reform of the

Security Council is not worthy of the name.

The Security Council is in danger of losing its

authority and legitimacy as long as entire continents

and major contributors are not adequately represented.

Germany and its partners Brazil, India and Japan

therefore have submitted a proposal on reform of the

Council. It is the only proposal that includes a

comprehensive reform of the Security Council and its

working methods. We are convinced that it is the only

proposal capable of obtaining the necessary two-thirds

majority in the General Assembly.

Reform of the Security Council is an

indispensable part of the overhaul of the United

Nations. In last week’s summit document, we all

pledged to swiftly advance those reforms. We do not

need only progress; we need results. The time is ripe

for radical reform. Let us use this session of the

General Assembly to finally resolve this issue, which is

so vital to the future of the United Nations.