YouSaid · the spoken record

Frank-Walter Steinmeier

lines on the record: 74
first: 2008-09-24
most recent: 2021-09-24
sittings or episodes: 5
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“And we will support our closest partner, France, on the road to a successful Paris climate summit in 2015 and to a universal and legally binding climate convention, which we urgently need. I am also referring to the digital age. Yes, the Internet should be a global, free, open and safe space. But that is not a matter solely for Government agencies or big companies. That global, free, open and safe space must be shaped by society as a whole. If we fail to act, the vast technological possibilities will sweep aside the human dimension. We need an international law for the digital world. Resolution 68/167, which we introduced together with Brazil, has made a start in that direction, I hope, at the United Nations. I am also referring to the post-2015 agenda, because the fight against poverty begins with asking how we actually create value.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“But all that must be part of a political alliance against the terror of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. My country is strongly committed to that alliance, and I very much hope in particular that the societies of the Middle East, realizing that far more is at stake than just their security, will also join. In a world haunted both by old ghosts and new demons, we have to be able to pursue both paths. On the one hand, we must steadfastly continue to work towards political solutions in Ukraine, in the Middle East, in Syria, but at the same time we must tackle the huge tasks of the twenty-first century. I am referring to the fight against climate change. Germany is contributing $1 billion dollars to the Green Climate Fund.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We are all shocked by the unspeakable brutality of the terrorists who misuse the name of God in carrying out their evil deeds. My question is, ought we not to be particularly worried that the preachers of hate are drawing in young people who have grown up in the midst of our own societies? That is why that, too, is not exclusively a regional conflict — a problem in Iraq or in Syria or in Africa, where terrorists are stamping on the fundamental rights of women and girls in particular. That barbarity is directed against every one of us, and against everything for which the United Nations stands. Precisely for that reason, our response needs to go much further than the immediately necessary humanitarian and military response. Germany is making substantial contributions to both, including militarily.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“However, just a few weeks ago we were on the brink of a direct military confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian armed forces. I am happy to say that diplomacy prevented the worst. Now the priority must be to bring about a lasting ceasefire and achieve a political solution, one based on the principles of the United Nations and preserving the unity of Ukraine. I am not discussing only Ukraine. As long as that conflict is simmering and as long as Russia and the West are in a dispute over Ukraine, there is a threat of paralysing the United Nations. We therefore need a Security Council that is able and willing to act to tackle the new and, in the long term, far more important tasks we are facing. The world of 2014 is plagued not only by the old ghost of division, but also by new demons.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“I believe that that conflict affects each and every one of us. Not just any State, but a permanent member of the Security Council — Russia — has, with its annexation of Crimea, unilaterally altered existing borders in Europe and has thus violated international law. We must counter that dangerous sign, because we must not allow the power of international law to be eroded from the inside. We must not allow the old divisions between East and West to re-emerge in the United Nations. Because so much is at stake in that conflict, not only for the people of Ukraine but also for the future of international law, Germany and its partners have taken on responsibility and committed themselves vigorously to defusing the conflict. I am under no illusion: a political solution is still a long way off.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“And we must certainly make sure that the next epidemic does not have consequences as deadly as the one we are still fighting. If we are to move towards the hope of peace, we need many small steps — the commitment of individuals, bilateral diplomacy and regional initiatives. But none of that can replace the United Nations. Only the United Nations can provide a universal foundation for the hope of peace. That foundation is international law, to which everyone who belongs to the community of nations in the United Nations, and those who want to belong, has subscribed. That is what must be preserved; that is the core of our hope for peace. That is why I must here mention the conflict in Ukraine. Some people in the Hall may regard it as nothing more than a regional conflict in Eastern Europe. But I am convinced that that view is incorrect.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“It is bringing suffering and death into the homes of individual families. It is endangering the cohesion of entire societies. That is why we are sending humanitarian and medical assistance and setting up an airlift to the region. I am delighted that many volunteers in my country have responded to the call, saying, “I want to go there to help on the spot”. Above and beyond the immediate solidarity, however, we need a long-term commitment. We need the expertise of the World Health Organization and the coordinating umbrella of the United Nations, particularly in the long term as we try to strengthen States and health-care systems. Germany will contribute to both of those goals. We cannot bring the dead back to life, but we may be able to prevent far too many more people dying of Ebola who ought not to be dying if they were treated.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The United Nations is not a forum onto which we can shrug off responsibility. The United Nations is a forum whereby we assume responsibility. Germany, embedded in a united Europe, is prepared to take on responsibility in and with the United Nations. First and foremost we have a responsibility to the people bearing the brunt of the suffering in the crises. Next month Germany will host a conference in Berlin to mobilize urgently needed humanitarian assistance for the millions of Syrian refugees. My country will play its part, and I sincerely hope that many others will follow suit. Support is needed above all by Syria’s neighbours. They are doing a tremendous job but are also under tremendous strain due to the huge influx of displaced persons and refugees from Syria. The Ebola epidemic is raging in West Africa.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“That hope derives from an idea which is as simple as it is revolutionary: there is peace when the world sets rules for itself and replaces the law of force with the force of law, when conflicts are resolved at the negotiating table and not on the battlefield, when the world renounces, step by step, the cynical logic of violence. To date, the United Nations has provided a universal foundation for the hope for peace. But that universality is under threat from the ghosts of the past and from new demons. In 2014 our world seems to be unraveling. Crises are coming at us thick and fast. That is why it is not enough simply to call upon the United Nations. No, we need to breathe life into that call. Hope will remain but a hope, an unattainable goal, unless States are prepared to take on responsibility.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The year 2014 is a special one for Europeans — a special year of commemoration. In the summer 100 years ago, European diplomacy failed and the world slid into the First World War. Seventy-five years ago, Germany attacked its neighbour Poland, plunging the world into the Second World War. Twenty-five years ago, the Berlin Wall fell, bringing an end to the world’s decades- long division into East and West. However, merely to look back and remember would not be enough in this year of commemoration. On the contrary, we must ask ourselves: what have we learned for the future? The most important lesson learned from that history was the establishment of the United Nations, for the United Nations embodies the world’s hope for peace.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“That is why we need a strong and effective United Nations that enjoys the confidence of the international community, has the requisite legitimacy and can be the umbrella for a global responsibility partnership. We therefore support the process of reforming the United Nations and its organs. Security Council reform is overdue, as we are all aware. The Council’s composition must reflect the realities of world politics today. Germany is prepared to shoulder greater 49 08-52265 responsibility in that area. Less than two weeks ago, the General Assembly unanimously decided to begin the negotiations on reform soon (see decision 62/557). That important step must now be followed by others. Germany is firmly convinced that, in the twenty-first century, we need the United Nations more urgently than ever before.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Europe, with its tried-and-tested policy of mediation and reconciliation of interests, could play a key role in this. Together, we must now finally ensure long- overdue transparency, stability and provisions to guard against risks on the world financial markets, along with oversight. My country developed concrete proposals in that regard a few years ago. I hope that, in the face of this deep crisis, the international community will now act quickly and with resolve. We need universal rules for the international financial markets. That does not apply only to the international financial sphere, however; clear rules, solid structures and joint action are the vital prerequisites for meeting global challenges.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“However, I also know an Africa that has set off on the road to the future with courage and resolve. It deserves our partnership and support along that road. At present, the headlines are dominated by the international financial crisis. Recklessness, greed and a lack of common sense among those involved has set us back years. The long-term consequences cannot be assessed yet. However, I am certain that the painful tremors on the world financial markets will accelerate the multipolarization of the international financial system. There can be no future without rules, and no single player will be able to lay down those rules. It will no longer be possible for any one country to act as if it were immune to undesirable developments.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“For all that, however, we must remember that more people die every day as a result of hunger than as a result of war. The pledges that we made at the turn of the millennium must not remain a mere piece of paper. The fight against hunger and poverty is also part of a global responsibility partnership. Germany will therefore step up its efforts to promote poverty reduction and global fairness. As part of those efforts, we will increase our official development assistance contributions in accordance with the plan of the European Union. In the next budget alone, we will increase development assistance by $1.2 billion. In that connection, I would like to say something about Africa. For too long, we have perceived that part of the world only as a continent of wars and conflicts.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“In order to resolve the problems of today and tomorrow, we all need more partners, not more opponents. The twenty-first century is the first in which we can resolve problems only if we work together. The same applies to disarmament policy. Only a partnership of shared global responsibility can achieve lasting results. The dangerous trend in which an ever- increasing number of countries strive to gain access to nuclear technology, or even to build nuclear weapons, must be stopped. My proposal to multilateralize the fuel cycle showed how those risks can at the very least be minimized. Furthermore, I call upon all States to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, because its entry into force would mean a huge gain in security.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The problems in Georgia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East highlight one fact: it is more urgent than ever that we develop the foundations for a stable world order. My country stands for dialogue and the reconciliation of interests. That does not mean dialogue for the sake of discussion, without any results; nor does reconciliation of interests imply that we are prepared to abandon our own principles. We believe that it is essential to renounce violence, ensure fairness and recognize international law. For us, that is the alternative vision to a world of fabricated opposing interests, the bloc mentality and oversimplified categories such as good and evil. East against West, North against South — that is yesterday’s thinking, and it no longer has a place in today’s world.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“An Iran armed with nuclear weapons would pose a threat to security throughout the Middle East and would trigger a nuclear arms race. Therefore, Iran must put its cards on the table. We have made our offer, 08-52265 48 which is a tangible solution. The delaying tactics of the Iranian side must not exhaust the patience of the international community. We expect a clear signal from Iran indicating its willingness to comply with the international community’s demands and to build confidence. And let me make the following very clear: the Iranian President’s remarks concerning Israel are irresponsible and unacceptable. In my view, the blatant anti-Semitism that he expressed in his statement once again this year (see ) is outrageous and should be condemned by all of us. We must stand together on that issue.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“In the current phase of domestic uncertainty, we call upon all parties to the conflict not to ease up in their efforts to resolve the conflict. As experience has shown, to stand still in the Middle East often means to take a step backward. A new wave of terror and violent clashes would result, and neither Israel nor Palestine, nor the international community, can afford to let that happen. Germany believes it has a particular responsibility to provide concrete assistance to improve the framework conditions. Just recently, at the Berlin Conference in Support of Palestinian Civil Security and the Rule of Law — which many of those here attended — we agreed on concrete measures to strengthen the Palestinian security sector. Those measures are already having an impact.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Millions of children — many of them girls — are going to school again, while streets, bridges and hospitals are being built. The training and build-up of the Afghan police force and army are progressing. Compared to the deteriorating security situation, however, they are not progressing fast enough, especially in the present situation. Germany intends to do even more in the future. However, we cannot afford to look at Afghanistan by itself. We need to step up our efforts to help Pakistan master the economic and social challenges it faces. Pakistan’s internal stability is crucial to stability in the entire region. This will require concrete support from everyone in the international community, and my country — rest assured — will play its part. International engagement is also still necessary in the Middle East.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The European Union is making an important contribution by sending an observer mission, which my country is leading. Together with the United Nations and the OSCE, the mission will put forward a comprehensive strategy in Geneva this October. We are aiming to pave the way towards the durable resolution of the conflict through stabilization and confidence- building in this particular region of the world, the Southern Caucasus. The same task is even more demanding in Afghanistan, a country where the situation is still precarious. It is clear to us that, without security, Afghanistan will not, and indeed cannot, develop. Equally, however, we need economic development in order to improve the security situation and to encourage people to reject fundamentalism and terror. We have achieved much together in recent months and years.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“One conflict that smouldered for some time and then escalated suddenly and violently is the crisis in Georgia, where an entire region found itself on the edge of the abyss of war and destruction and where common sense failed to prevail on all sides. The United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Union agree that the weapons must be silenced for good. We must help the suffering population without delay. That does not mean accepting the status quo; nor does it mean the calling into question of Georgia’s territorial integrity. Nevertheless, we have to work together to ensure reconstruction, the return home of the refugees and long-term security in Georgia and the entire region.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“At the same time, new players and Powers that have still to find their place in the international order are seeking to enter the global stage. It is now generally accepted that we can master the new challenges of the twenty-first century, such as climate change, scarcity of raw materials, access to food and water and the fight against epidemics, pandemics and terrorism, only if we act together. Although we know that and although it is absolutely vital that we focus on finding common solutions to the key issues of the future, time and again we are called upon to resolve conflicts that have their roots in a past that we have only seemingly put behind us.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“47 08-52265 The end of the East-West confrontation in the early nineties seemed to mark the dawn of a new age of effective multilateralism, while the United Nations seemed to be on the threshold of a great renaissance. Disillusionment has now set in, more quickly and more profoundly than we had feared. The hoped-for peace dividend did not materialize. On the contrary, the cynical certainties of the cold war had disappeared, and they were not replaced by new ones. The world is clearly searching for a new order, and multilateralism does not always seem to be the first choice in this quest. What we have experienced since then is the confluence of the traditional power politics of the 19th century, the legacies of the cold war and the new challenges of the 21st century.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“I offer my congratulations to Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann on his election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-third session. I wish him every success. The United Nations mandate to establish and maintain peace and security has lost none of its urgency in 2008. The task remains. However, fulfilling it is more demanding than ever. When the Berlin Wall fell, no one had greater hopes than we Germans not only that Germany would be reunited but that a new age of global cooperation — beyond the traditional front lines — would begin. The Iron Curtain had divided the world into two blocs and when it came to dealing with crises and conflicts, often enough, loyalty within the blocs had priority; what was needed to improve the lot of ordinary people was of secondary importance.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)