YouSaid · the spoken record

Joschka Fischer

lines on the record: 103
first: 1999-09-24
most recent: 2004-09-24
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

“It has at its disposal the instruments to manage political conflicts and the underlying development problems that nurture hatred and despair. A comprehensive strategy against terrorism must concentrate primarily on prevention. Developing such a strategy means nothing less than drafting a policy for a cooperative world order for the twenty-first century, a policy that no longer tolerates areas characterized by a breakdown of order, a policy that has as its goal a world order under which all peoples can claim their full and equitable share. This includes making economic globalization more socially just for more people and supplementing it with the political globalization so urgently needed.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“If this is achieved, 11 September could go down in history not only as a horrific day for humanity, but also as the beginning of a new era of cooperation and multilateralism. What drives people to commit these inconceivable crimes and to blow up themselves and thousands of innocents? From where does such uncontrollable hatred come? How can it be curbed? How can it be conquered? It is certain that in any attempt to develop an effective counter-strategy we must, while waging the war on terrorism, analyse the full range of causes and circumstances that permit such hatred and violence to grow. The United Nations is uniquely suited to the task ahead. It provides the forum required for the creation 12 of a universal coalition. Only it can give international legitimacy to the response to terrorism.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“International terrorism is a challenge above all for politics, the military, the police and the judiciary, as well as for the economy and — very importantly — for culture. At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the issue of peace and security has thus taken on an entirely new perspective. Humanity has rarely been as united as it was on that terrible day two months ago. This unity was born not only of horror and compassion, but also of the realization that we can successfully counter this new deadly threat only if we combine our full force and energy. The day of 11 September was a defining moment that altered the direction of world politics. A new alliance was created. It must now be strengthened and developed into a genuine partnership.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“These horrific terrorist attacks struck not just Americans, but also innocent people from over 80 countries, members of all the major world religions and cultures. They targeted us all. It must therefore be a common concern of humanity to prevent a recurrence of this tragedy or indeed something even worse. The events of 11 September thrust a dangerous future upon the world. We now live in the terrible knowledge that no country in the globalized world is invulnerable and that enemies within, who are determined to kill and to die, can perpetrate mass murder at any time. This eerie, awful danger has at a stroke dramatically altered the foundations of security policy as we know it. The fight against internationally operative terrorist networks will require new responses from the community of States.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Only a few moments ago, we were informed of the crash of a commercial airliner not far from here, in Queens. At the moment, we do not know the cause of this disaster, but we are shocked and horrified. I would express to the bereaved families and to the American people our sincere condolences and sympathy. It has been only two months since thousands of innocent persons lost their lives in the World Trade Center here in New York. Today, we are seeing the extent to which the people here have been affected. In the entire history of the United Nations, there has never been a situation like this one. Throughout the world, people have expressed their sincere solidarity with and commiseration for the victims and their families.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Allow me to conclude with a quote from the Secretary-General's Millennium Report: No shift in the way we think or act can be more critical than this: we must put people at the centre of everything we do ... Only when that begins to happen will we know that globalization is indeed becoming inclusive, allowing everyone to share its opportunities.'”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Last week Chancellor Schroeder reaffirmed Germany's willingness to take on more responsibility in this connection. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friend and colleague Robin Cook for the clear language that he used before the General Assembly just a few minutes ago. The General Assembly must structure its work, debate global problems in a more focused fashion than hitherto and identify courses of action. The synergetic potential between United Nations organizations, for example in the environmental field, must be better used and resources pooled to a greater extent by merging organizations. Reform of the United Nations will play a decisive role in ensuring that the twenty-first century is safer and more just than the twentieth century.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“We must therefore muster the strength to resolutely implement the Millennium Declaration. We need a world Organization that is strong and we must use its scarce resources more effectively. An important prerequisite for this is that the United Nations be placed finally on a solid financial footing. Together with its European Union partners, Germany has put 17 forward proposals for a fairer, more balanced scale of assessments, which must continue to be based on Member States' ability to pay.. The Security Council no longer reflects the political reality of our world at the dawn of the new millennium. We share the Secretary-General's view that this central steering organ of the international community must become more representative, legitimate and effective, also involving the developing countries.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Why do we not seriously consider within the United Nations creating under international law a convention that meaningfully promotes genetic engineering and safeguards the freedom to research and the findings of this research, while, at the same time, defining an ethical basis and guaranteeing protection against abuse? The Millennium Declaration points the way ahead. But what help will that be if an increasing number of Members allow the world's real problems to be dealt with and decided somewhere else? If we do not succeed in adapting the United Nations to deal with the challenges of the twenty-first century and in modernizing it fully, it will be sidelined, with fatal consequences for peace and development, human rights, the environment and social progress. We will all, rich and poor, lose out.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“It must be in the interest of all States to bring about the transition from the oil to the hydrogen age as quickly as possible. The most important thing now is to finally overcome the deadlock in the climate-protection negotiations and to ensure that the Kyoto Protocol can be implemented by 2002, 10 years after the Rio Summit. Another key issue for humanity, the future of genetic engineering, can only be mastered within the framework of a global consensus. Genetic engineering has the potential to revolutionalize medicine and agriculture. At the same time, it raises more ethical and human rights questions than any other technology. Do we not need clear, binding rules for dealing with such a powerful new technology?”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“In the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea it is to be hoped that the ceasefire that has finally been concluded will be consolidated and that the United Nations peace mission will be lent the full support of the parties to the conflict. The third issue, protection of our natural environment, will probably become the crucial issue affecting our planet. In the course of the twentieth century the world's population quadrupled, while consumption of energy and raw materials increased tenfold. We must end the squandering of natural resources and switch to renewable energy sources as quickly as possible. This cannot only be a matter for industrialized nations. We are witnessing at this very moment what a burden high oil prices places on poor countries in particular.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The triangle between Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East is full of destabilizing factors oil, religious fundamentalism, terrorism, drugs and the nuclear arms race and this area is threatening to become the crisis region of the century ahead. A new comprehensive regional process, along the lines of the Helsinki model, which fosters cooperation instead of confrontation, could play an important stabilizing role. Germany is prepared to take part in such a process. In Africa, regional approaches have gained in significance. In the main, however, it is, unfortunately, too early to talk of effective peacekeeping structures. Unfortunately, the efforts on the part of the United Nations and of the Organization of African Unity to resolve the conflicts in the Congo and Sierra Leone have not achieved a breakthrough so far.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty must remain as a cornerstone of strategic stability and the basis for further nuclear-disarmament measures. In poor countries the excessive stockpiling of small arms must be stopped. We must therefore do everything we can to achieve tangible progress at the United Nations small arms conference to be held in 2001. This presupposes the inclusion of all aspects, including the legal transfer of production and stockpiles. Regional cooperation has proved to be an extremely effective means of preventing conflicts. The United Nations can do much to help here. Allow me to mention two regions where progress is particularly urgent.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“I call upon all States to respect the integrity of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, to sign and to ratify it, so that the Court can commence work soon. There can be no exceptions to the Rome Statute. 16 One of the greatest dangers facing humanity remains the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The risk of regional arms races, particularly in South Asia, has increased. Further developing the international arms-control regime therefore continues to be one of the United Nations key tasks. This will require resolute implementation of the results of the sixth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Against this background, President Clinton's decision not to commit now to the development of a national missile defence system is very welcome.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The protocols relating to the involvement of children in armed conflict and to the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography must enter into force as early as possible. The equality of women must be advanced in all spheres. I call upon all states to ratify quickly the new Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and to abolish all laws that discriminate against women by 2005. The World Conference against racism, to be held in 2001, must tackle all aspects of this issue. Out of a sense of responsibility for our history, our State and our society will stand up firmly against all forms of right-wing radicalism, racism and anti-Semitism, both in our own country and in the world.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“In addition, we are drafting a plan for training civilian experts for peace missions, thus creating a pool of qualified personnel who can be deployed at short notice. The prevailing form of conflict today is conflict within States. Therefore the main task of peacekeeping must be to address the internal roots of conflicts. In addition to focusing on an improvement in socio- economic conditions, our efforts must focus on promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, aptly said that the human rights violations of today are the wars of tomorrow. Numerous concrete tasks are on the agenda.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The Secretary-General showed the way ahead with the Brahimi report. The recommendations it contains should be examined and implemented as quickly as possible. Germany will play its part. Peace missions need a more robust mandate, as well as more personnel and equipment. Member States must do considerably more to ensure the rapid secondment of well-trained troops, police officers and civilian experts. The further development of the police concept is one of the most important tasks in this connection as the last few months and years have, in fact been teaching us. The German Government will offer German training for civilian peace-mission personnel and offer civilian capacities to the United Nations stand-by system.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“This is contingent upon initiatives in the field of education, as well as the availability of the necessary resources. However, how can poor countries ever catch up economically if they are, at the same time, afflicted to a much greater degree than the North by terrible diseases? The fight against the disastrous spread of the AIDS virus, particularly in Africa, must be priority for us all. The focus must be on prevention. At the same time, access to medicines must be improved and vaccine research must be intensified. The World Bank's promising idea of establishing a future fund for the purchase of vaccines deserves every support. Particularly in the fight against AIDS, new partnerships between Governments and companies are crucial. The second major issue of this General Assembly is peacekeeping.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The industrialized nations have a special obligation to support the poorest of the poor. With the Cologne debt initiative launched by Germany, we are combining debt relief with a strategy to combat poverty. The 20 poorest developing countries should be debt-free by the end of the year. The least developed countries should be granted access to world markets with the greatest possible exemption from duties and quotas. We must, also by way of liberalization steps in the World Trade Organization, prevent these countries from being socially excluded even further. This applies in particular to the new economy. The United Nations and its Member States must intensify their efforts to make it easier for these countries to use the information and communication technologies.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Greatly strengthening the United Nations capacity to act is, therefore, a crucial question for the whole of 15 humanity in the twenty-first century. In addition to the crucial reform of the Security Council, this will entail the United Nations entering into creative partnerships with industry and civil society. Germany strongly supports the Secretary- General's idea for a global compact with major companies. The German initiative for a resolution in the General Assembly on global partnerships will take up this and other issues relating to the globalization process. Global poverty is the key problem in North-South relations. It lies at the root of many global risks and threats to peace. The Secretary-General provided precise and stimulating analyses of this in his report.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“If market forces are not balanced by a political corrective mechanism, it is to be expected that injustice in the world will increase further. Those who have been hitherto excluded from the advantages of globalization must be included to a greater extent. They must be given more say in the political decisions made about steering global processes and they must be given an opportunity to gain a fairer share in the development of the world economy. In the twenty-first century, we will, more than ever before, need a form of global governance if we are to solve global challenges. The United Nations will play a key role here. It is the only organization within which the injustice between rich and poor can be overcome and where a reconciliation between peoples and regions, global peace and sustainable development can be achieved.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Particularly for developing countries, globalization offers great opportunities. If it nevertheless provokes strong opposition, this lies in the imbalances of this historical process. Indeed, just under a decade after the end of the cold war, our world is today at risk from a new divide, one between the winners and losers of the economic globalization process. In his impressive Millennium Report, the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, rightly highlights the growing inequalities in the distribution of income, resources, investments and access to new technologies. In view of this situation, the international community must make every effort in the coming decade to ensure that globalization benefits all peoples.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The implementation of this Declaration should be a main focus of the consultations of this and future sessions of the General Assembly. I propose that the Secretary-General make use of the opportunity to draw up review reports at the beginning of the next session of the General Assembly. There was one issue in particular which dominated this debate, namely globalization. It will radically change the economy and finances, politics and culture everywhere. The question is, will a new order which guarantees peace, justice and an equal share in our common progress be established or will a new divide evolve in the world? Will the future of the globalized world manifest its pluralist character in a multilateral order? Only the future can provide the answers to these questions.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“First of all I would like to warmly congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly, and wish you every success with your work. I would like to thank Foreign Minister Gurirab for his dedication in chairing the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly. I welcome Tuvalu as the one hundred and eighty-ninth member of the United Nations and congratulate it on its accession. I endorse the statement of my French colleague, Hubert VÈdrine, on behalf of the European Union. At this session of the General Assembly, the first in the new millennium, we are asked to determine the future tasks of the United Nations and which reforms are necessary in order to master them. The Millennium Declaration, which we all adopted on 8 September, shows us the way forward.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“For that reason, the twenty-first century, with its more than 6 billion people and their States, will need a United Nations that is capable of taking action. The United Nations and its Members can therefore be certain that we Germans will be their staunchest allies in the efforts to strengthen the United Nations.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Strengthening the United Nations, which must begin by guaranteeing its financial basis, is therefore one of Germany’s most important foreign policy objectives. During the past 50 years, and for the first time in its history, Germany has been opting wholeheartedly for integration into multilateral structures, thereby achieving democracy, freedom and reunification. Today, out of a sense of deep conviction and historical responsibility, our country is committed to peaceful reconciliation of interests and to multilateralism. We are taking this conviction with us to our old and new capital, Berlin. In the international State system of tomorrow the answer to the challenges of globalization will come from multilateralism alone. Our world will always be plural, and no form of unilateralism can therefore work in the long run.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“This will entail a transformation of traditional power into justice, the reconciliation of interests and a greater role for civil society in the international political system, with the ever-greater involvement of representatives of civil society and industry. Reaching agreement on minimum standards with regard to social issues — on the issue of child labour, for example — will be possible in many cases only in a global context. I support the proposal put forward by Secretary-General Kofi Annan that a global pact on common values and principles be concluded within the framework of a public/private partnership, between the United Nations and major companies, in order to lend the law of the market a human face. The United Nations must become the core of effective global governance.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The world does not have much time left to 14 remap a course towards sustainability. This will also require a much more active population policy, including a long-term strategy to deal with the ageing of our world’s population. The International Plan of Action on Ageing, adopted in 1982, is in need of urgent revision. We intend to hold a ministerial conference in Germany on this issue under the auspices of the Economic Commission for Europe. With the leap into the next millennium, the nation State principle will continue to diminish in importance. It will no longer be possible to find answers to major global problems within the framework of the traditional nation state. Rather, this will take place in a strengthened international structure and with a transfer of power to international organizations, with the United Nations at their head.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The destruction of the environment has long since ceased to be a soft issue, but, rather, has become a very hard question which will have an increasingly strong impact on international security. According to the new study by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), global warming and water shortages will be the biggest problems facing humanity in the coming century. UNEP also rightly draws attention to the close connection between environmental destruction, poverty and excessive consumption. The deadlock in the climate protection negotiations must finally be overcome and the Kyoto Protocol implemented. The destruction of the rain forest must be stopped and further desertification prevented, and we must halt the squandering of our planet’s natural resources and switch to renewable energy as quickly as possible.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The economist Jeffrey Sachs made the interesting suggestion, for example, that a millennium vaccine fund could be established, with guaranteed markets in the future for vaccines against tropical viruses such as tuberculosis, malaria and, above all, AIDS. Furthermore, in the context of the emergence of a global knowledge society, the international regime for the protection of intellectual property must be revised in order to ensure that the world’s poor do not lose a large part of their rights and freedoms in the near future. Rich and poor countries should get together with one another more frequently to discuss such proposals. During its presidency of the Group of Eight, Germany made a start by meeting the non-aligned countries and the Group of 77.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The rich countries have a responsibility to help poor countries take advantage of globalization and enable them to have a fairer share of the world economy by assisting them with internal reforms and by opening up markets. Within the framework of its European Union and Group of 8 presidencies, Germany launched substantial initiatives, which must be further developed in the form of the 1999 Köln Debt Initiative and the commencement of negotiations on a follow-up arrangement for the Lomé Convention. Development cooperation in the broadest sense must become one of the United Nations core tasks to a greater degree than hitherto. Science and technology are geared far too much to the problems of rich countries. Why do we not make greater use of the United Nations framework to build bridges here?”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“To this end we will shortly be extending invitations to a conference to be held in Germany. The United Nations third major task alongside peacekeeping and promoting human rights in the coming century will be to bring about a reconciliation between rich and poor countries. The tenth Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme came to the sad conclusion that globalization has further widened the gap between rich and poor countries. The international community must endeavour to counter this trend. The development of the poorer and the poorest countries must not be left to the invisible hand of the global market. The individual, not the market, must be the focus of the globalization debate. This will also require greater steering at the political level.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“In our view, the death penalty cannot be justified either ethically or legally. Together with its European partners, Germany will therefore continue to vigorously work towards ensuring the implementation of the joint resolution on abolishing the death penalty. Protection of press freedom must be improved. The freedom to inform is a reliable gauge of respect for human rights. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees the right to freedom of opinion. However, censorship, intimidation and reprisals are the order of the day in many countries. It is particularly shocking that year after year dozens of journalists are killed while on assignment. The United Nations should take a closer look at this issue and consider practical solutions as well as enhance legal protection for journalists.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Germany is doing all it can to bring about progress in the following fields of human rights. The heinous crimes of child trafficking and child prostitution must be banned throughout the world, as must the use of child soldiers. In the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts, the age limit must be raised to 18. In many countries women are still largely without rights and protection and subjected to discrimination and violence. This is an unacceptable injustice. Unfortunately, our world is still a long way from genuine equality, even with regard to fundamental rights. We must therefore aim to adopt the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The detention of Pinochet and the indictment of Milosevic by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia are milestones along the path towards creating a world in which the rule of law prevails. In future, dictators and perpetrators of human rights violations will no longer be able to rely on not being called to account for their actions. This must also apply to the murderers of Dili and those who issued the orders. Just like everywhere else in the world, internal peace is contingent upon justice. The adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court represented a quantum leap in the 13 development of international law. I call upon all States to respect the integrity of the Rome Statute, to sign it and to swiftly ratify it, so that the Court can commence work next year.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“We must continue along this path. Protection of human rights and the growing democratization of States form the basis for a preventive peace policy and civil conflict management. It is a historical fact that democracies with a well-developed civil society hardly ever wage war against each other. Lasting economic success cannot be achieved in the globalized information society of tomorrow without good governance founded on human rights, the separation of powers and a functioning legal and constitutional framework. In the field of human rights, welcome progress has been made towards broadening the legal basis for international relations, particularly during the last year.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“It is essential that the Geneva negotiations gain momentum, particularly in the fields of global nuclear disarmament and the verification of biological weapons, and in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Furthermore, Germany advocates the adoption of a convention on preventing the illegal transfer of small arms worldwide. Fourthly, peace-building is a prevention task of growing importance. With the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the United Nations is facing one of the most comprehensive tests in its history. Building public order by creating an efficient judicial system and quickly sending the pledged international police units is now crucial. Since the United Nations began incorporating national police units in the international standby system, they have been able to act more swiftly.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“However, on financial grounds and, above all, on humanitarian grounds, it is our duty and responsibility to revise our thinking here. Progress is urgently required in four areas. First, we must move on from early warning to early response. The United Nations has considerable resources at its disposal for preventive diplomacy, which must be used even more. There is also a great potential for synergy in cooperation with non-governmental organizations. Secondly, peacekeeping operations must be carried out before conflicts erupt. The United Nations mission in Macedonia has set a standard in this respect. Thirdly, disarmament and the non-proliferation of means of mass destruction are in need of fresh political impetus.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Both parties to the conflict must observe the agreements concluded and work closely together with the United Nations and the OAU so that the peace process now begun can be brought to a successful conclusion. The international community must focus on the causes rather than merely the symptoms of wars and conflicts in the context of multilateral peacekeeping. Secretary-General Kofi Annan rightly called for a “culture of prevention” to be developed in order to prevent the outbreak of wars and avert natural disasters more effectively in future. Everyone knows how difficult the transition from the “culture of reaction” to the “culture of prevention” will be. It takes a lot of persuading to summon up the political and economic will for measures intended to prevent something which we hope will never happen.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“We will send a medical corps to assist the peacekeeping troops and make further contributions towards rebuilding the destroyed country. I am confident that our Parliament will lend this plan its full backing. In Africa, the Great Lakes region, the Congo and Sierra Leone have for many years been the scene of terrible wars, mass murders, destruction and much suffering on the part of refugees. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and its Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) have done much to contain and resolve these conflicts. However, these organizations also need the support of the United Nations, in Sierra Leone, in the Congo and, in particular, in the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The United Nations, one of civilization's greatest achievements this century, as well as the values and principles it represents, would thus be at risk of subsiding into insignificance. We must prevent that. 12 The disaster in East Timor is currently demonstrating how necessary close cooperation is between a Security Council capable of taking action and the countries in the region. The Security Council's mandate to send a multilateral peacekeeping force must be fully implemented. Indonesia must now cooperate closely with the United Nations Mission and do everything in its power to guarantee its success. The bloodshed must end. The victims must be helped. Those displaced must be able to return home safely. Germany has already provided humanitarian and food aid.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“A second approach to making the international peacekeeping system more efficient would be via Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter, namely by strengthening the regional security systems and redistributing tasks and areas of responsibility among them and the United Nations. It is becoming clear that the regional organizations could be allocated an even greater implementation role. This would also foster the capabilities of regional organizations to engage in security cooperation, as well as their collaboration with the United Nations. However, the primacy of the Security Council remains absolutely essential. Without reforms in the area of peacekeeping, the Security Council will be circumvented more and more frequently, resulting in the erosion of the Security Council and, ultimately, of the entire United Nations system.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“According to the Charter, the Security Council acts with the mandate, and on behalf, of all United Nations Member States. But hitherto they have not been entitled to learn why a State has exercised its right of veto. This is not only neither democratic nor transparent, but also makes it easier for States to veto a draft resolution unilaterally for national rather than international interests. The introduction of an obligation for a State to explain to the General Assembly why it is vetoing a draft resolution would make it more difficult to do so and thus bring about substantial progress towards using the right of veto more responsibly. Why should not the General Assembly assume more responsibility in the future, too?”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Reform must involve enlargement to include both more permanent and non-permanent members, as well as a strengthening of its decision-making powers. As the Assembly knows, Germany has for some time now expressed its willingness to assume more and lasting responsibility in this connection. We stand by this unreservedly. In the debate on reform we must not avoid the issue of the permanent members' right of veto, a question of key importance for the Security Council's capability to act. The right of veto is regarded by many as outdated in its current form. However, it is a situation with which we have to reckon internationally for a long time to come. How then can decision-making in the Security Council be made more efficient?”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“This has been demonstrated by a long chain of decisions, from the apartheid resolution to the interventions in Iraq, Bosnia and Haiti. However, in Rwanda, Kosovo and the Congo, decision making in the Security Council was blocked, thus rendering it unable to live up to its responsibilities enshrined in the United Nations Charter, with disastrous results for the peoples in question. These conflicts are a pressing reason, particularly in view of the important Millennium General Assembly, to finally carry out the long-overdue substantial reform of the Security Council. The Security Council must be adapted to the new realities of the global political situation. It must have a more representative composition and, above all, it must be equipped to react to the crises and conflicts of today.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The only solution to this dilemma, therefore, is to further develop the existing United Nations system in such a way that in the future it is able to intervene in good time in cases of very grave human rights violations, but not until all means of settling conflicts peacefully have been exhausted and — this is a crucial point — within a strictly limited legal and controlled framework. In the twenty-first century the individual and his rights must take a more prominent place alongside the rights of States in the concept of security as defined by the international community. The reform of the Security Council, the central body for safeguarding world peace, must be oriented towards this principle. The Security Council is, in fact, authorized to act, and able to do so, where peace or security are at risk due to internal developments.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The unity of the European States and the Western Alliance, as well as various Security Council resolutions, were of crucial significance here. However, this step, which is only justified in this special situation, must not set a precedent for weakening the United Nations Security Council's monopoly on authorizing the use of legal international force. Nor must it become a licence to use external force under the pretext of humanitarian assistance. This would open the door to the arbitrary use of power and anarchy and throw the world back to the nineteenth century.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“(Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, I, para. 4) However, the Kosovo conflict also marks a change of direction in the development of international relations. How will the international community decide in the future — this question has just been raised once more in East Timor — when it comes to preventing massive human rights violations against an entire people? Two developments are conceivable. A practice of humanitarian interventions could evolve outside the United Nations system. This would be a very problematic development. The intervention in Kosovo, which took place in a situation where the Security Council had tied its own hands after all efforts to find a peaceful solution had failed, was intended to provide emergency assistance and, ultimately, to protect the displaced Kosovo Albanians.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“In many ways, therefore, the Kosovo conflict represents a turning point. The international community could no longer tolerate a State waging war against its own people and using terror and expulsion as a political instrument. As Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in his brilliant and trail-blazing speech to the fifty-fifth session of the Commission on Human Rights, no Government has the right to use the cover of the principle of State sovereignty to violate human rights. Non-interference in internal affairs must no longer be misused as a shield for dictators and murderers. The World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna reaffirmed this in 1993, with the approval of all United Nations Members States, with the words: “the promotion and protection of all human rights is a legitimate concern of the international community”.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Secondly, the role of the nation State has been considerably relativized by the increased importance of human rights and the globalization of the economy and society. Against this background, the question of peacekeeping arises more and more in an area of tension between traditional State sovereignty and protection of human rights. What is to be done when entire States collapse and the civilian population is massacred in never-ending civil wars from all sides? What if ethnic tensions in a State are partly provoked by criminal Governments, which then respond with pogroms, mass expulsions and mass murders, even genocide? Should the United Nations then regard State sovereignty as more important than protection of individuals and their rights? Rwanda, Kosovo and East Timor are dramatic examples of this.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)