Germany, 1998

I congratulate

you, Mr. President, on your election. I wish you good

fortune and all of us a successful session.

I should also like to thank Ambassador Udovenko for

the dedicated way he conducted the business of the fifty-

second session. He advanced the reform process at the

United Nations and kept it on the agenda. We can and must

follow up these efforts.

This session of the General Assembly has a special

significance for my country. It was 25 years ago, almost to

the day, on 19 September 1973, that Walter Scheel became

the first Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of

Germany to address the United Nations. When he described

our perception of the United Nations, he said that it meant

more than the mere security of States, more than the mere

regulation of their diplomatic relations. He said that what

it is all about is the beginning and the objective of any

rational policy — people.

That description of our role in the United Nations

remains valid. United Germany too feels committed to a

world free from fear and want, protected by the rule of law,

a world in which every individual has his opportunity and

which preserves the integrity of Creation for future

generations. It is the vision enshrined in the International

Bill of Human Rights.

We have come a lot closer to that vision over the past

25 years. The division of Germany, Europe and the world

has been healed. The world is developing ever more into

the "one world" on the foundations of democracy and

human rights. But it is also becoming increasingly clear that

the human race has never been so bound up together in its

common destiny, united by common challenges, as it is

today.

The crises in Russia and Asia have shaken the world

economy. The global scourges of drugs, organized crime

and terrorism spread their tentacles around the globe. The

year 1998 is the year of climate disasters. Two thirds of

Bangladesh is under water and the Yangtze floods in

China have claimed thousands of lives.

No State, whether super-Power or small island State,

can master these global challenges alone. And no one can

escape them, least of all the suffering people: the

homeless in Bangladesh, the drug addict in Europe, the

victim of civil war in Africa.

We can shape our future only through joint efforts.

We therefore need global action and global management

for the global challenges of the twenty-first century; not

tomorrow or the day after, but today.

This is a test not only for Governments but also for

the other global players: the non-governmental

organizations and the multinational corporations. Never

were the non-governmental organizations so important as

they are today. Without them the Ottawa Convention

banning landmines could not have been signed in

December 1997. And, let us not forget, 51 of the world's

hundred largest economic entities are now companies, and

only 49 of them States. All this shows that the time has

come for new alliances for peace, freedom and prosperity

throughout the world.

The age of globalization is the age of the United

Nations. Only here do all nations of the world come

together. Only here can we find joint solutions to the

global challenges of today and tomorrow. This is why we

Germans want to help get the United Nations in shape for

the twenty-first century. We are facing up to this

responsibility - as the second largest export nation and

the third largest economy in the world, and as the country

with the largest population in the European Union.

We owe Secretary-General Kofi Annan our gratitude

and support for his reform proposals. Now it is up to the

Member States. The Security Council still mirrors the

world as it was at the end of the Second World War, but

not the enhanced status of Asia, Africa and Latin America

with the Caribbean.

The same is true of the greater weight of Japan and

united Germany. I wish to thank all Member States that

advocate a permanent seat for Germany on the Security

Council. Security Council reform cannot be delayed any

longer; otherwise, the momentum will be lost and that

would be bad indeed.

Since the ending of the cold war the United Nations

has had more burdens to shoulder than ever. It therefore

needs effective institutions, and for this reason it has a right

to expect members to pay their dues on time. All, and

especially the big members, must help according to their

ability to ensure that the world Organization can accomplish

its tasks. Germany, the third largest contributor, will

continue to meet its obligations.

We know from recent experience that we should not

add to but rather ease the burden of the United Nations.

This is a task especially for regional organizations like the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

(OSCE) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU). If

they succeed in settling conflicts locally, the Security

Council will not need to deal with them. I think that would

be very well-advised, because it would free capacities for

all of us.

New avenues of joint action are therefore called for.

To pretend globalization is not happening would be absurd.

Only those who face up to the challenge can exploit the

opportunities and cushion the risks.

The impact of the crises in Russia and Asia shows that

the world economy needs a reliable framework. That is not

to say we need a global financial authority or fixed

exchange rates, least of all a new wave of protectionism.

But we do need better early-warning mechanisms, more

transparency and more efficient banking systems, especially

in the newly emerging economies.

This is not a task for Governments alone. What is

needed now is a global public-private partnership between

Governments, international financial organizations and

corporations. We therefore support the American initiative

for a dialogue between the G-8 and the newly emerging

economies on a new international financial architecture. The

International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank

should not always have to serve as the stopgap when the

opportunity for structural reforms has been missed.

Managing globalization also means weaving a network

of partnerships between the big regional groupings and the

big countries. The regional groupings are the components

of a new global order under the roof of the United Nations.

The European Union's partnerships with regional

organizations like the Association of South-East Asian

Nations (ASEAN), the Southern Common Market

(MERCOSUR) and the Southern African Development

Community (SADC) prove we are on the right course: We

want an open, not a confrontational, kind of regionalism.

I am confident that the European Union will be an

anchor of stability in the twenty-first century. By

introducing a single currency on 1 January 1999, it is

focusing its energies. Its global role will increase. It is

about to begin further negotiations on accession with

associated partners. What Willy Brandt said about

Germany in 1989 applies today to the whole of Europe:

"What belongs together is now growing together".

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) too

is also gradually opening its doors to the new

democracies. In the year of its fiftieth anniversary it will

admit Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Together

with Russia, Ukraine and the other Commonwealth of

Independent States members, we are developing a

comprehensive security partnership.

True, the Russians are having a rough time at

present, but the world needs a democratic and stable

Russia, a Russia which will play the role commensurate

with its size, its status and its potential. Russia faces a

Herculean task of consolidating the economy and

maintaining social stability. All those responsible must

face up to the challenge: the President, the Government,

the parties and business. Of course, the regions too are

called upon.

I know from my talks with Prime Minister Primakov

last week in Moscow that Russia intends neither to

change course nor to go into reverse. The crisis in Russia

affects us all. We will not abandon Russia. It can count

on us.

The Kosovo conflict remains a thorn in Europeâs

side. A humanitarian disaster in the true sense of the

word is looming. The situation of the refugees, more than

250,000 of them, is desperate. International organizations,

the European Union, the United States and Russia are

coordinating their efforts to enable those who have been

driven out to return to their villages.

Time is getting short; winter is just around the

corner. Most of the responsibility for this drama lies with

Belgrade, with President Milosevic. He must realize that

the international community will react with military force

if necessary. We still seek a political solution for

Kosovo — self-administration within the Yugoslav

Federation. However, this cannot be achieved without

Belgrade and Pristina. So the weapons must now be

silenced. We condemn the use of force by the Yugoslav

security forces and the Kosovo Liberation Army. The

recent reports we have received from Kosovo are very

disappointing, troubling and worrisome. I hope they are not

true.

NATO is prepared to provide the backing for a

political solution. Yugoslavia and Kosovo are a part of

Europe. Their future can only be a European one. The

history of Europe in this century shows that we can

overcome hatred and mistrust. But we have to have the

willingness to do so.

In Bosnia, too, we have seen animosity slowly being

replaced by trust and cooperation. Recently I paid my

twelfth visit to Sarajevo. That tormented city is slowly

beginning to blossom again, and the country's

reconstruction is progressing.

Nonetheless, the peace process must continue to be

buttressed by NATO and the Stabilization Force (SFOR),

for the process is not self-sustaining. Regardless of the

result of the elections, the international community will not

tolerate any reversal of the implementation of the peace

agreement. Furthermore, genuine peace will not return until

the presumed war criminals and enemies of peace -

Mr. Karadzic and his lot- have been brought to trial in

The Hague.

Only when those guilty of crimes against humanity,

torturers and terrorists all over the world, have been

brought to justice will we all be able to sleep peacefully.

Thus, the establishment of the International Criminal

Court on 17 July as a major step towards a world order in

which the force of law, not the law of force, prevails.

Germany was the driving force. I appeal to all countries to

sign and ratify the Court's Statute.

No one stands more at the mercy of those who wield

power than refugees. At present more than 20 million

people worldwide are in flight: despairing elderly people,

women, children; people who are sick, homeless and

destitute and have absolutely no idea what is going to

happen to them.

Over the last several years I have been to many

refugee camps, in Albania, Africa and the Middle East.

Every refugee's case is a story of immeasurable human

suffering.

Germany is now the country with the second largest

number of refugees. From Kosovo alone, 150,000 refugees

have found refuge in Germany.

The suffering of the refugees is a humanitarian and

political challenge to the international community as a

whole. What is now needed, therefore, is a global refugee

policy. The United Nations, too, has to do something

about it.

Specifically, this means, first, a more equitable

distribution of the refugees, as I recommended here in the

General Assembly in 1993. We cannot leave the poorest

countries to their own devices in trying to cope with the

refugee problem.

Secondly, greater efforts will have to be made to

remove the causes of flight and expulsion.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has declared the

twenty-first century a century of prevention, and with

good reason. To wait until a situation gets so bad that

people have to take flight is to make oneself partly

responsible. Trouble must therefore be nipped in the bud.

This is the task of preventive diplomacy, of human rights

observers and peacekeeping forces.

Striking at the root of mass flight and migration also

means eliminating the economic, ecological and social

causes. The gap between rich and poor grows wider. The

wealthiest 20 per cent of the world population consume

86 per cent of all goods, the poorest 20 per cent only 1.3

per cent.

This equity gap must be closed. Every individual has

a right to live in dignity, free from hunger and want.

All nations must be given a fair chance in global

competition, the poorest ones in particular. Hence, it is up

to the rich countries to help the poor make the most of

their opportunities for development.

Our aim is a social world market economy. This is

why in 1997 Germany spent 10.25 billion deutsche marks

on bilateral and multilateral assistance measures as an

investment in peace and stability.

Africa shows what can be achieved when the

international community and the countries concerned pull

together. Today, democratic elections are held in more

than half of the African countries. In 20 African countries

economic growth is between 4 and 6 per cent, and in 11

it is higher still.

We want the Africans to know that we will not

abandon that vast continent and its 800 million people,

despite the heavy burdens it still has to bear.

Poverty and refugee problems are also exacerbating

the situation in the Middle East. The people in Israel and in

the Palestinian territories long for peace more than anything

else on earth. The peace process requires fresh impetus.

The Israelis and Palestinians must move towards each

other again and rediscover the lost mutual trust.

We Europeans will continue to support this process

with our American friends. We back Israel's legitimate

claim to security for its State and citizens.

The Palestinians have recognized that claim; now

words must be followed by deeds. They must see to it that

terrorism has no chance.

But Israel, too, must show compromise as regards a

further partial withdrawal. Neither side should put any new

obstacles in the way of a deal — and that includes allowing

new settlements in the occupied territories.

Particularly in the Middle East, we have time and

again seen that terrorism leads to a dead end, destruction

and suffering. We must pit all our strength against the

cynics who advocate violence, the fanatics and ideologues;

the dead of Omagh, Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam serve as a

warning. Those who plant bombs and murder people must

be brought to justice.

Drying up the sources of terrorism — poverty, ethnic

conflict and fundamentalism — is our common

responsibility. But to fight terrorism is not to fight Islam.

Islam is one of the great world religions. Nothing could be

further from the truth than the cliche that Islam is

synonymous with fundamentalism and violations of human

rights.

We want a dialogue of cultures and religions,

especially with Islam. There exists an ethic of humanity

that unites us all. This ethic is based on the inalienable

dignity of every individual, as expressed in the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights and the human rights

covenants of the United Nations. These are the benchmarks

for our joint action in the twenty-first century.

Violations of human rights are no longer an internal

matter of States. They concern us all. Any group which,

like the regime in Kabul, denies women their basic human

rights places itself outside the international community of

common values.

The world of tomorrow will be judged by how we

treat our children today. They are our most valuable asset.

Yet the rights of many children are still being trampled

underfoot. Millions of children have no chance to live a

life in dignity. Millions of children are forced to work.

Particularly appalling is the fact that every year

some two million children all over the world are sexually

abused. Only through joint action can we stop child

prostitution, traffic in children and child pornography,

including that proliferated via the Internet. I therefore

propose that the United Nations set up a contact point to

coordinate worldwide efforts to eradicate sexual abuse of

children. The optional protocol to the Convention on the

Rights of the Child designed to afford better protection

against sexual exploitation should be quickly adopted and

quickly put into effect.

Children are small people who need big rights.

Protection for children during armed conflicts must be

improved, including by outlawing their use as soldiers.

We all hoped that with the ending of the East-West

confrontation the danger of a nuclear conflagration would

be gone forever. This has proved to be an illusion. The

threat of proliferation of means of mass destruction

hovers over the human race. We can safeguard world

peace in the twenty-first century only if we keep such

terrible weapons under control.

In Geneva, India and Pakistan have agreed to

negotiations on a cut-off. That's a good sign, but not

nearly enough. It must be followed by their accession to

the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. And all

nations should now sign the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear-Test-Ban

Treaty. This also applies to the conventions banning

chemical and biological weapons. The adoption of a

verification protocol to the Biological Weapons

Convention is now urgent.

Next March the Ottawa Convention imposing a

worldwide ban on anti-personnel landmines enters into

force — a great success. Only if all countries now sign

the Convention will these diabolical devices soon be

wiped from the face of the earth. It is our common task

to get rid of the 100 million mines still remaining, using

state-of-the-art technology.

We must also radically rethink our attitude to nature.

The victims of the floods in China and Bangladesh are a

warning. We must swing the wheel round now. This we

owe to our children and grandchildren. We can save our

blue planet and its ecosystem together or not at all.

Take the world climate. The Kyoto Protocol launched

a global effort to protect it. That was a big step forward.

But time is getting short. We have just had the warmest

half year this century. At the fourth session of the

Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change, scheduled for Buenos Aires

in November, we shall have to agree on the instruments

with which to achieve the objectives of Kyoto.

Take water. Water is irreplaceable. Water is more

important than oil. Yet in more than 80 countries it is in

short supply. Two billion people have insufficient access or

none at all to clean drinking water. Finding joint solutions

for the peaceful use and conservation of water, the source

of life, is one of the great tasks of the twenty-first century.

The pursuit of this scarce commodity must not be allowed

to spark fresh conflicts.

Germany intends to remain in the vanguard of the

international campaign to protect the environment. I am

gratified to note that our commitment has been

acknowledged by the appointment of Klaus Töpfer as

Executive Director of the United Nations Environment

Programme.

But we are not going to rest on our laurels. A few

days ago I opened an international conference in Potsdam

on early-warning mechanisms for natural disasters. The

conference has shown that progress can be achieved if we

want it. Specifically, it is now a question of establishing

effective global early-warning systems for environmental

crises and natural disasters, and developing emergency

management arrangements for the coordination of

international relief measures. We must now get down to

this task, and the United Nations is the right place to do so.

Four hundred and sixty three days from now the

twentieth century comes to an end — a century of

unprecedented violence and destruction. The coming

century must be a century with a humane countenance.

What a wonderful vision. But talking about it is not

enough. Only if we act together will we survive together.

The United Nations is indispensable to this task.

Strengthening it to secure a peaceful and more equitable

world — that is our responsibility. This we owe to coming

generations. My country will devote every possible effort

to this task.