Germany

Please accept my congratulations, Madam, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-first session. I wish you every success. I should also like to express my sincere thanks to the President of the General Assembly at its sixtieth session for his dedicated work and to wish him every success in his future endeavours. The world events that have taken place over the past 60 years are reflected more graphically in Germany than in almost any other country. Until 1989, the wall and the barbed wire across our country symbolized the division of Europe and the rest of the world into two blocs. Since then, Germany has become the embodiment of the successful overcoming of that division. Both division and the overcoming of division have influenced our view of the world. For 45 years, peace in Germany was due largely to the friendship and the political and military protection of partner countries, which took their responsibility seriously. That experience shaped the political outlook of Germans. That is why we, too, are now shouldering our responsibility, both in Europe and in other parts of the world. In the context of the United Nations, that means that a reunited Germany believes it has an obligation to do everything it can to support the Organization in creating a more peaceful and more equitable world. German soldiers and police officers are taking part in numerous peace missions that are either led or mandated by the United Nations. In the Western Balkans, Germany has provided the largest contingent of peacekeeping troops in Kosovo and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Germany is playing a prominent role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Germany is leading the European operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is supporting the first free elections there in 40 years. Germany is engaged in the Sudan through its support for the African Union Mission in the Sudan and the United Nations Mission in the Sudan. And, at this very moment, German navy vessels 29 06-53317 are on their way to the Lebanese coast, where they will reinforce the United Nations peacekeeping force. Germany will contribute up to 2,400 troops to that peace mission. Germany supports a policy of dialogue and the peaceful reconciliation of differing interests. We firmly believe that political conflicts cannot be resolved through military force or military victories. Peace is brought about by engaging in political dialogue, establishing economic ties and giving people tangible hope for the future. If the parties to a conflict are unable to overcome political divisions on their own, the international community, represented by the United Nations, has an obligation to help. That is the guiding principle of our foreign policy. As Minister for Foreign Affairs of a reunited Germany, I have been profoundly influenced by German and European history. On that basis, I have a concrete mandate for German foreign policy: we must do everything in our power to prevent the world from dividing once again into hostile blocs. Politicians in every country have a responsibility in that regard. Everyone can — and, I believe, everyone must — make a contribution. It is my firm conviction that anyone who instigates antagonism between people of different cultures and religions is not living up to his or her responsibility. No one should interpret the involvement of Germany and its partners in the Balkans, in Afghanistan, in the Sudan and in Lebanon as an aggressive global campaign waged by the West against Islam. In a world that has grown closer together than ever before, we do not need exclusion or polarization. Rather, we need the courage to promote understanding and to engage in dialogue. In the Middle East, it is crucial, following Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), on Lebanon, that we seize the opportunity to promote understanding. I call on all parties to the conflict in the region to act responsibly. Those who want their children and grandchildren to live in peace instead of violence, in safety instead of fear, in prosperity instead of poverty, must have the courage to embark on new paths rather than simply cultivating long-standing enmities. The principles for a settlement are clear: Israel’s right to exist, on the one hand, and the establishment of a Palestinian State, on the other. Those were the core concerns of the Road Map, to which, I am firmly convinced, we must return. However, if we are to ensure lasting success, we must do everything we can to include everyone involved, even if that seems a roundabout way to achieve our goal. Therefore, I hope that we will succeed in persuading Syria to engage in a constructive dialogue. We need stronger engagement on the part of the international community, particularly the Middle East Quartet. I welcome the Quartet’s recent meeting. In Afghanistan, the international community is demonstrating how the principle of responsibility can be put into practice in concrete terms. After 23 years of civil war, political structures are now being developed. Millions of refugees have returned to their home country. Just as important, young people — including girls — can go to school again. However, drug cultivation and the security situation pose a threat to the progress that has been made, at least in certain regions of the country. We, the international community cannot allow the successes to date to be brought to naught. In the Western Balkans, too, war is a thing of the past; I am very pleased to note that that is so. The political and military commitment of the United Nations, the United States of America, Russia and the European Union has played a key role in this. In Kosovo, the task now is to ensure that the two parties to the conflict take their responsibility for peace and stability seriously. A solution to the status of Kosovo, which has remained unresolved for many years, is overdue. Germany staunchly backs the efforts of the United Nations Special Envoy, President Martti Ahtisaari. We believe that stability cannot be achieved if the will of only the majority population of Kosovo is expressed. Kosovo Serbs must be guaranteed adequate protections as a minority. We need only glance at a map of Africa to understand how important the peace and stability of the Sudan and the Congo are for the African continent as a whole. I believe that instability and conflicts in Africa also have a direct impact on Europe. For this reason, too, Germany is supporting the United Nations in its efforts to find a solution to the conflicts in those two countries. While the United Nations peace mission in southern Sudan — the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS) — has made an effective contribution 06-53317 30 towards the implementation of the Peace Agreement between northern and southern Sudan, peace in Darfur is still a long way off. Neither the Sudanese Government nor rebel groups can be absolved of responsibility for the humanitarian disaster in the west of the country. Nevertheless, I am firmly convinced that a lasting solution to the conflict will be possible only if we work with, not against, them. As members are aware, over the past few years Germany, together with France and Britain, supported by the United States of America, Russia and China, has been intensively seeking a solution to the conflict regarding Iran’s nuclear programme. Let me state clearly that no one wants to deny Iran the right to use nuclear energy peacefully. Nor is isolating Iran the objective of the diplomatic effort. On the contrary, we hope that Iran will become a reliable and responsible partner in the crisis-stricken Middle East. That is why, on 6 June, we offered Iran a package aimed at far- reaching cooperation. The package includes proposals for closer diplomatic, economic and security cooperation, and expressly acknowledges Iran’s right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. However, the international community also rightly expects cooperation and transparency from Iran. If Iran were to prove that the suspicions of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are unfounded and if it sent a clear sign that it truly intends to use its nuclear programme for peaceful purposes only, that could open the door to a development which benefits the people of Iran and the entire region. It is now up to the Government in Tehran to face up to its responsibility. The decision in favour of peace and stability in the entire Middle East requires courage. I call upon Iran to end the current phase of procrastination and give a clear sign of trust so that we can look to the future together and can finally sit down at the negotiating table. Resolution of the nuclear dispute with Iran is urgent. However, the challenges of the proliferation of nuclear weapons go far beyond that. We must act now if we want to halt the erosion of the non-proliferation regime. The next attempt to implement the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons must not fail. Not only Iran but also other countries are thinking about developing enrichment technology. We will have to develop new instruments if we want to prevent such risks from arising. I am therefore strongly in favour of not merely exchanging ideas on the multilateralization of the fuel cycle and transferring responsibility for uranium enrichment to the international community, but of further developing such ideas into concrete options. I therefore appeal for greater efforts to find solutions, working together with the IAEA. The conflicts in the Middle East, Afghanistan, the Western Balkans and the Sudan, and the dispute with Iran, as well as the fight against international terrorism, have one thing in common: in none of those cases is the West taking a hostile stance against Islam. Nor do they involve a clash of civilizations. Rather, they are very diverse conflicts involving diverse interests. I believe that there is just one link, albeit a very different one: each one of those conflicts can be resolved only with a willingness and ability to engage in dialogue. That is because dialogue gets everyone concerned involved, engages them and does not allow them to shirk their responsibility for resolving a conflict. However, a policy of cooperation and dialogue does not mean talking at any cost. Those who want to engage in dialogue must meet some basic prerequisites. In my view, these include a readiness to bring about a peaceful reconciliation of interests — that is to say, they must be prepared to renounce violence and respect the position of the other side — and their own position must be consistent and credible. If these prerequisites are not met, then no dialogue with any chance of success can get off the ground. I am firmly convinced that a dialogue beyond cultural borders can succeed because, despite all of our differences, we are living in one world. The various cultures of the world have more in common than political rabble-rousers would have us believe. People everywhere have the same fundamental interests: they want to live in peace and security, free from poverty. They want good health care and good schools for their children. No responsible Government would ever want to withhold these from its people — nor should they ever be allowed to try to do so. The United Nations and its agencies and programmes embody this vision — and it is this vision that makes the United Nations so indispensable. I am convinced that we will need the United Nations more than ever in the coming decades. The number and the 31 06-53317 scale of crises in the world are increasing. That could bring about a renaissance of the United Nations even in countries that are sometimes still sceptical about the world Organization. The effectiveness of the United Nations, its ability to act and the confidence it inspires as the international community’s main multilateral Organization are closely connected. Everyone can see how necessary transparent structures and effective institutions are for the United Nations. The reform of the United Nations — the entire Organization, not just the Security Council — should not, therefore, simply remain on the agenda; concrete progress must be made. We see the expectations placed on the United Nations rising. This is especially urgent in the case of the review of mandates, as well as management and financial reform. Germany pledges to support this endeavour, because we must reform if we, as members of the international community, wish to remain effective. We owe that not only to the United Nations but, above all, to the people in whose name we shoulder responsibility together.