Germany, 2009

In these tumultuous

times marked by manifold crises, we are more than

ever in need of a global Organization that all Members

make use of and support. We need the United Nations.

The comprehensive, universal system of the United

Nations forms the heart of the global system of crisis

prevention and mitigation. Now more than ever,

Germany pledges its active and extensive support to

this world Organization.

This past year taught us bitter lessons, and today

it seems clearer than ever: we must secure the

sustainability of the economic recovery. That applies

not only to the financial sector, but also, and in

particular, to the most vulnerable in the world — the

poorest of the poor in the developing countries — as

well as to our environment and the world’s climate.

The consultations on a charter for sustainable

economic activity point in the right direction. The

United Nations should be actively involved in that

process. We must turn the crisis into an opportunity for

development and a truly green recovery.

The aftermath of the financial crisis is

jeopardizing our progress on the path towards

achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Therefore, we must do our utmost to avoid any

setbacks in that regard. Donor States must continue

their efforts for development, all the more so in times

of crisis. Germany has continually increased its official

development assistance contributions in recent years.

In 2008, my country was the second-largest donor of

official development assistance. We will also

significantly increase our contributions to the

multilateral development banks.

All of this underscores one thing: Germany, as

one of the world’s largest economies, stands by its

global responsibility. But developing countries must

also live up to their responsibilities. Responsible

governance, respect for human rights, environmental

protection, the fight against epidemics, the

strengthening of the rights of women — those are the

challenges that each country has the responsibility to

meet.

Climate change is the pre-eminent challenge of

the twenty-first century. It threatens our well-being,

our security and our economic development. It will

lead to uncontrollable risks and dramatic damage, if we

do not take resolute action — not in some distant

future, but right now.

I can assure the Assembly: Germany will

continue to be a leader in climate protection. But we

will be successful only if we act together. We need an

inclusive process in which those countries directly

affected by climate change, such as the small island

States, can also play a part. The United Nations is the

only reliable framework for this. I would like to thank

the Secretary-General for his very timely initiative in

convening a United Nations summit last week

addressing this key issue.

Disarmament and arms control can help create

better conditions for global cooperation and increase

security and stability. We warmly welcome the new

dynamic in the area of nuclear disarmament. The call

for a nuclear-weapon-free world enjoys widespread

support, including that of Germany. We must seize this

opportunity for progress in all areas of disarmament.

Germany has underlined that sub-strategic nuclear

weapons must also be incorporated into the continuing

process of disarmament. Our clear commitment to

ridding the world of all nuclear weapons is the best

way to strengthen the international non-proliferation

regime.

We need a new international consensus at the

2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on

the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the

launching of negotiations in Geneva on a fissile

material cut-off treaty and the entry into force of the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. In order to

avoid a conflict of objectives between

non-proliferation and peaceful uses, Germany supports

multilateral solutions to nuclear-fuel supply and has

put forward its own proposal on that issue.

The international community must not relent in

its commitment to banning all weapons of mass

destruction. A model in that respect is the Chemical

Weapons Convention, which outlaws a whole category

of weapons of mass destruction. Its implementing

organization needs strong and dynamic leadership.

Germany has always had a particular commitment to

55 09-52604

the Chemical Weapons Convention, and we stand ready

to accept greater responsibility in that organization.

We view the ongoing nuclear programme in Iran

with great concern. The belated admittance by Iran

concerning the construction of a second enrichment

plant underlines the fact that our concerns are more

than justified. Even before this latest event, the report

by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Director-General El Baradei emphasized the urgency of

the matter. Unfortunately, the Iranian Government still

refuses to cooperate fully with the IAEA and to remove

serious doubts concerning the peaceful character of its

nuclear programme. We urge Iran to grant an IAEA

verification team access to the newly disclosed site

without delay.

We sincerely hope that Iran will use the

opportunity of the upcoming talks between it and the

E3+3 — the United Kingdom, France and Germany,

plus the United States, the Russian Federation and

China — to demonstrate its willingness to engage in

honest and speedy negotiations. If Iran’s leaders

continue to stall, the international community will have

no other choice but to take additional measures to

emphasize the seriousness of our common concern.

Iran has a long and great history. It witnessed the

origins of civilization. It can become an anchor of

stability in its region — a respected member of the

international community. But that involves, in addition

to a diplomatic resolution of questions regarding its

nuclear programme, a responsible foreign policy

towards its neighbours. The key to this is the

recognition of Israel’s right to exist.

Since the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip

at the beginning of the year, we have seen some

encouraging signs of a return to the peace process. The

resumption of negotiations aimed at the two-State

solution is still possible. Germany strongly supports

President Obama’s intensive commitment and regional

approach. Together with the partners of the European

Union, we are prepared to support efforts towards

peace through concrete contributions. What we now

need, however, are courageous gestures of goodwill on

all sides to create the conditions for serious talks.

The successful holding of elections in June was

an important milestone towards the continuing

stabilization of Lebanon. What is now important is that

a new Government soon be formed. The successful

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)

mission remains a crucial contribution to securing the

ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, and thus to the

stabilization of the region. By again assuming

command of the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force on

1 September, we further strengthened our commitment

to UNIFIL.

For Afghanistan, 2009 is a pivotal year. The

presidential elections — the first elections in decades

that were free and organized by the Afghans

themselves — determined who will control the fate of

the country over the next five years. They were an

impressive sign of the resolve of the people of

Afghanistan to take part in the political process.

Against the backdrop of the difficult security

situation, the further build-up of Afghan security forces

assumes even greater importance. We will, therefore,

continue to increase the number of German police

instructors in Afghanistan, we will support the further

build-up of the European Union Police Mission, and

we will help to advance the training of the Afghan

army within the framework of the International

Security Assistance Force.

Despite all the criticism, there are also

encouraging accomplishments, especially in the field

of economic growth and in the reconstruction of the

country’s infrastructure. The basic prerequisites for

Afghanistan’s sustainable development are good

governance, a resolute fight against corruption and an

improvement in State services. These are essential if

the population is to once again nurture hope for the

future. As one of the largest troop-contributing nations

and one of the main bilateral donors, Germany will

continue to play an instrumental role in the

reconstruction of the country.

Following the presidential elections, we are now

entering a new phase of cooperation between the

international community and Afghanistan. For that

reason, Germany, together with the United Kingdom

and France, has taken the initiative to hold an

international conference that will set out concrete,

realistic and measurable goals for the future political

and economic development of Afghanistan. To that

end, the Afghanistan Compact, which will expire in

2010, should be further developed.

In 2010, we will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary

of the independence of no fewer than 17 African

States — a fitting moment to also look to the future.

Despite the global economic crisis, the overall outlook

09-52604 56

for Africa and its people is positive. We must succeed

in utilizing the continent’s enormous potential in terms

of people, creativity and resources. It remains our

challenge to support the development of that potential

while, at the same time, respecting African ownership.

African ownership should by no means be

equated with a withdrawal from our neighbouring

continent. On the contrary, it means that we should

cultivate relations with the States of Africa in a spirit

of partnership — a partnership in which each side

introduces its ideas, and in which we work together to

master the challenges we face, whether locally or

globally.

One major common challenge remains the

containment of violence and the protection of people in

conflict areas. Germany will continue its extensive

engagement in Africa, be it in the area of development

cooperation, peace and security, business and

technology, the environmental and energy sector or

educational and scientific cooperation. This also

applies to cooperation with the African Union, which

has been expanding increasingly in recent years.

United Nations peacekeeping missions are a

central pillar of the international security architecture.

Reform of United Nations peacekeeping is an urgent

issue, and Germany is ready to actively contribute to

such reform.

It is absolutely essential that the cooperation

between the United Nations and regional organizations

be further intensified. The European Union has just

shown that, with its peacekeeping missions in

Africa — those in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo and Chad, to name just two examples — it is a

reliable partner of the United Nations when it comes to

crisis management.

We are facing a multitude of global challenges.

Today, no country is strong enough to tackle those

challenges on its own. We need a universal forum for

joint global action. That is why we need a strong

United Nations that is capable of taking effective

action.

A long chain of high-level meetings — from the

2005 High-level Event to the Secretary-General’s

Summit on Climate Change last week — has

emphasized how urgent it is to adapt the United

Nations to the challenges of today’s world, for threats

have become global. Our responses, however, are still

not always global, and that is true for the United

Nations as well.

Reforms must start with simple questions. Does a

particular body effectively fulfil its tasks? Does its

composition reflect the world of today? Where that is

not the case, reform must have a clear objective: to

make the United Nations more effective, more credible

and more assertive.

However, we must not limit reforms to the United

Nations. If we want to deal effectively with the current

crisis and effectively prevent future crises, we must

also reform the international financial institutions.

Isolated reforms of individual institutions will not get

us anywhere. Reform of the financial institutions and

of the United Nations must intermesh as a broader

reform of global governance — a reform that, more

than six decades after the founding of today’s world

order, is long overdue. Germany, incidentally, is

advocating at a high level the improved representation

of newly industrialized and developing countries as

part of the reform of the international financial

institutions. This is our understanding of global

governance: fair participation for everybody.

In 2000 and 2005, heads of State and Government

called for reform of the Security Council. They did so

out of the realization that we can meet the threats of

today only if the Council reflects the world of today.

One thing is clear: if the Security Council does not

reform itself, there is a risk that other bodies will

attempt to take its place. Such a rivalry would be

detrimental to us all. Let us therefore attempt, at this

sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly, to bring

about concrete results.

Germany has been and remains willing to take

responsibility. That includes assuming a permanent

seat on a reformed Security Council. We also underline

this readiness to take responsibility with our candidacy

for a non-permanent seat on the Council for the period

2011-2012. Through our work in the Security Council,

we want to contribute to the success of the United

Nations, just as we are already contributing to

worldwide United Nations missions, to development

funds, humanitarian aid and the United Nations

Environment Programme. Now and in the future, we

will work to find common interests, to overcome

divisions and to strengthen a global partnership of

responsibility.