It is an
honour for me to speak to the General Assembly today.
The world has changed dramatically since the
United Nations was founded 65 years ago.
International trade and exchange are, of course,
nothing new. What is new, however, is how quickly the
changes affect everybody’s lives. Only if we in the
United Nations are and remain able to act can we shape
these global changes. We will manage to solve
problems relating to security and economic, social and
ecological development only if the international
community stands united. Germany is ready to assume
global responsibility within the framework of the
United Nations.
Germany’s foreign policy is firmly embedded in
the international community. In Europe, a system of
cooperation has replaced the confrontation that cruelly
divided our continent for centuries. The European
Union is successful because, in Europe, all peoples and
States meet on an equal footing. The United Nations,
too, brings together nations large and small, rich and
poor, those that are more powerful and those with less
influence. Cooperation between equals on an equal
footing is our guiding principle also for work here at
the United Nations. Each and every country must
respect all others.
German foreign policy is a policy of peace. This
autumn, Germany will stand for election as a
non-permanent member of the Security Council
because the Council is the ideal forum in which to
cooperate in the cause of peace and development.
Peace is more than the absence of war. In today’s
globalized world, people are just as vulnerable to the
consequences of climate change, poverty and
underdevelopment as they are to violence and
oppression.
Climate change has a direct impact on each and
every one of us. Countless people are already
personally feeling its economic and social
consequences. In their letter to the Security Council,
the Pacific island States rightly warned us in no
uncertain terms just how much climate change
threatens everyone’s security. Everyone must play their
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part to protect the climate. In Germany, we have just
adopted a forward-looking energy strategy. By the year
2050, 80 per cent of our electricity production will
come from renewable sources. Germany has also
pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40 per
cent by the year 2020, compared to the 1990 baseline.
Even now, we have reduced our carbon dioxide
emissions by almost 30 per cent. We are pioneers in the
field of climate protection. We are helping those who
are now most adversely affected by climate change. We
are particularly concerned about the fate of small
island States.
Anyone who is serious about combating climate
change has to build on innovation, new technologies
and exchange. Developed and developing nations alike
can profit from cooperation on future energies.
Germany will contribute its technological expertise, for
example, in the fields of renewable energy and energy
efficiency. In this way, we are turning the challenge of
climate change into an opportunity for fair
development and enhanced cooperation. Climate policy
is a cornerstone of any sustainable development policy.
The recent summit on the Millennium Development
Goals laid down the next steps forward in our global
partnership for development.
Education is the key to development.
Development needs education. Education protects
people from discrimination and oppression. Education
fights prejudice and thereby fosters peace. Education
also creates products and markets; education is the path
to prosperity. The true wealth of many nations is no
longer found in their raw materials but in the minds of
their people. Education is a human right. It is because
education will determine whether societies succeed or
fail in tomorrow’s world that Germany is one of the
major international partners for learning. By building
on education, we are building bridges to the future for
the young people of today.
The United Nations itself must also keep up with
the pace of change. Today’s world order is not properly
reflected if Africa and Latin America are not
permanently represented on the Security Council. Asia,
too, rightly considers itself to be underrepresented. The
entire continent, not just individual States, is
developing at breathtaking speed. We take our
partnerships seriously, both the old and the new.
Germany, too, remains ready to assume greater
responsibility.
Disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation are
not issues of the past but challenges of our time.
Disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation are two
sides of the same coin. We have to do all we possibly
can to ensure that weapons of mass destruction do not
become the bane of globalization. Unlike the Review
Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons five years ago,
this May’s Review Conference was a success. If we
work together to maintain this momentum, it will be in
our power to ensure that this decade does not see a
build-up of arms but becomes a decade of
disarmament. A world without nuclear weapons is a
long-term vision, but even a marathon begins with the
first step.
There is now movement in the disarmament
debate. The group of States founded here in New York
on Wednesday to advance disarmament and arms
control does not stand alone. For over 10 years, the
Conference on Disarmament in Geneva was not even
able to agree on an agenda. That is not the way to live
up to our shared responsibility. We met yesterday at the
invitation of the Secretary-General to break the
deadlock binding the Geneva Conference. Our world
will be a more secure place when the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty enters into force and the
production of fissile material is ended once and for all.
German peace policy stands for the peaceful
settlement of regional conflicts. Germany is doing its
utmost to ensure that the direct talks between Israel
and the Palestinians are a success. We will continue to
strengthen the forces of reason and reconciliation.
During this vital period for the peace process in
particular, I urge both sides to refrain from taking any
action that might block the path to peace. We condemn
any form of violence that has the sole aim of
torpedoing the peace talks. At the same time, we call
for the moratorium on settlement construction to be
extended. Lasting peace will be achieved only through
a two-State solution, with Israel and a Palestinian State
living peacefully side by side within secure borders.
Iran, like every other country, naturally has the
right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
However, the Tehran leadership itself has sown doubt
about the civilian nature of its nuclear programme.
Iran, by demonstrating openness and transparency, can
allay that doubt. Our offer of dialogue still stands. It is
now up to Iran to grasp our outstretched hand.
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The conference aimed at establishing a zone free
of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East,
planned for 2012, will be a major opportunity to
strengthen peace and security in the region. Germany is
encouraging all countries in the region to take part to
ensure that the conference is a success. We are
committed to a nuclear-weapon-free Middle East.
Germany is one of the major supporters of a
peaceful and secure Afghanistan. As we agreed in
London and Kabul, we want to transfer security
responsibility for the whole of Afghanistan to the
Afghan Government by 2014. To make progress in that
country, so long ravaged by war and civil strife,
effective measures must be taken to prevent the
violence. However, military means alone will not bring
success. We favour a comprehensive approach and
above all a political solution. All sides now need the
courage and the stamina to engage in reconciliation.
The German Government assists when people
anywhere in the world are struck by natural disasters
and emergencies. However, a country’s conscience is
to be found in the hearts of its citizens. I am proud that
my fellow Germans donate so generously at times of
greatest need. Humanity and solidarity are global
values; humanity and solidarity make no distinction
based on skin colour or religious beliefs. When the
tsunami devastated coastlines around the Indian Ocean,
when the Haiti earthquake destroyed the work of
decades, or just recently, when the horrific floods in
Pakistan left havoc in their wake, we Germans shared
the victims’ pain and helped in the most heartfelt way
possible. We will stand by Pakistan over the coming
months and years to ensure that the country has a
promising economic future.
We are working towards a peaceful order in the
Sudan, now and after the referendum early next year.
We are looking for ways of achieving stable conditions
in Yemen and are particularly active in the Friends of
Yemen group. We are working hard to combat piracy
off the Horn of Africa and to bring peace and stability
to Somalia.
Reconstruction efforts in devastated regions
cannot bring success overnight. Similarly, for societies
torn by war and civil strife, the route to life in dignity
leads through peace and reconciliation. There can be
true peace only when human rights are respected. For
us, such principles as the rule of law, freedom of
opinion, freedom of the press and respect for
inalienable human rights are essential. The protection
of human rights remains a task for all societies.
It is a fundamental tenet of the United Nations
that women determine their own lives and help decide
the fate of their countries. Ethnic or religious
minorities enrich their societies. Tolerance is one of
Germany’s guiding principles. Everyone wins in the
competition for the best ideas; in a clash of cultures,
there can only be losers.
United Europe can make a valuable contribution
on our continent and beyond. Germany is working to
ensure that, in the future, the European Union shall
cooperate even more closely with other regions in
Latin America, Africa and Asia, and live up to its
global responsibility. Germany is the third-largest
development cooperation donor. We have practically
recovered from the financial and economic crisis and
are on the right track due to our robust economic
growth. This strong economy makes Germany a strong
global partner.
If all countries, small and large, work together,
we will be able to master the pressing challenges of our
world.
They can count on Germany. They can rely on
Germany.