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Kinkel

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS KINKEL

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65

first

1992-09-24

most recent

1993-09-24

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2

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un-general-debate

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1. “As a reunited and sovereign country we must assume all the rights and obligations of a Member of the United Nations to avoid any discrepancy between our verbal commitment to peace and human rights and our active involvement in their defence. The Government and the Parliament of my country will not forget that our history commands us to show particular restraint and judgment; but, while remaining aware of the past, we must derive the strength and courage to find a better future. Within the framework of its constitution Germany has already participated in United Nations operations for example, in Namibia, Angola, Central America, Cambodia and Iraq by providing logistic and organizational support, election observers, verification teams and medical personnel.”

   1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)

2. “If all other means fail, the law must, if necessary, be protected by military force against those who violate it. This is also a lesson from a past that was, for us Germans in particular, a disastrous one. This is anchored in the United Nations Charter. Germany's contribution to international stability will continue to focus on peacemaking, through economic cooperation, protection of human rights, humanitarian aid, and international measures to protect the environment. However, we must also establish the constitutional basis to enable us to make our armed forces available to the United Nations, with the approval of Parliament, for peace-keeping and peacemaking assignments.”

   1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)

3. “Anyone who holds a protecting hand over the aggressor must expect to be isolated, and anyone who breaks sanctions will likewise have sanctions to contend with. Crucial for collective security is close cooperation between institutions such as the United Nations or the CSCE on the one hand and collective defence alliances such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the Western European Union on the other. Initial steps have been taken in this direction in recognition of the fact that, even though the East-West conflict has ended, democracies must, firstly, remain capable of defending themselves and the new architecture must, secondly, become capable of defending itself. What is beyond dispute domestically must also be applied to international security if there is to be real order.”

   1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)

4. “Secretary-General, have made extensive proposals with the correct aim of making the United Nations, for the first time in its history, what the Charter intended it to be: the world community's chief custodian of peace; and that aim, I say here, can be achieved. "Nip it in the bud!" This must be the golden rule of conflict prevention. Diplomatic activity must start before an acute threat to security occurs. Such activity must, where necessary, be reinforced by the preventive deployment of peace-keeping forces. This proposal has our full support. It must be made absolutely clear to a potential aggressor, right from the start, that he must expect to be confronted with the whole range of political, economic and military sanctions provided for in the United Nations Charter.”

   1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)

5. “Only if the United Nations or the regional organizations prove capable of protecting individual States from external aggression and minorities from domestic persecution will it be possible, now that the East-West conflict is over, to make the desired transition from policies of national hegemony and armament to the rule of law, collective security and economic and social development. What will this require? Firstly, the system of collective security of the United Nations, and of regional arrangements such as the CSCE, must be made a powerful instrument of a new world domestic policy. Conflicts are, unfortunately, emerging faster than the instruments to contain them. You, Mr.”

   1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)

6. “Sahnoun will be able to restore peace to this sorely tried country and put it back on a sound economic foundation. What are the conclusions for the international community that must be drawn from this situation? Respect for international law and human rights as the foundation of peace and international order was one of the main lessons of the Second World War. That experience led to the creation of the United Nations and the European Community. The aim of overcoming nationalistic hegemony, the use of force and violations of human rights by means of international and supranational cooperation is still valid. Even setbacks must not be allowed to divert us from this just path of law and respect for human dignity. There is no reasonable alternative, unless we want to revert to the law of the jungle.”

   1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)

7. “We have been shocked by the report of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) mission on the crimes and atrocities perpetrated in the detention camps. We Europeans especially must be honest: each day on which innocent civilians are fired at and prisoners tortured undermines the credibility and authority of the new Europe we aim to build together. War also prevails in Somalia, the Sudan, Liberia, Afghanistan, Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Greed, anarchy and human suffering have assumed heart-wrenching dimensions, especially in Somalia. The community of nations, though late in doing so, has turned its attention to the starvation, misery and want of the people there. It is to be hoped that the efforts of the Secretary-General and his Special Representative Mr.”

   1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)

8. “It has initiated the Geneva negotiating process as a common, major effort of the United Nations and the European Community probably one of the last chances to secure a political solution in the foreseeable future. The co-Chairmen of the conference, Cyrus Vance and Lord Owen, have our full support. Germany will play its part in this peace conference. But one thing must remain clear: the community of nations will never recognize borders that have been changed by force. Those who hope to receive assistance from the family of nations later must stop fighting now at once. Despite cautious signs that the Serbian leaders are perhaps after all becoming aware of the consequences of being outlawed by the international community, murder and expulsion continue.”

   1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)

9. “There is a huge gap between people's expectations and the actual achievements of Governments, both internally and externally. Governments are under an obligation to achieve again greater consistency between verbal commitment and action. The historic process of European unification is currently being overshadowed by something that was considered inconceivable only a few years ago: the return of barbarity to the European house. A war of destruction and expulsion is raging in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a conflict which conjures up a terrible past. What is happening there and we cannot be clear enough about this is genocide. The London Conference has underscored the resolve of the community of nations to silence the weapons.”

   1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)

10. “In these times of change, when so much of what was valid yesterday is being challenged, when many people in the West see their standard of living, their personal security and their national and cultural identity threatened, when even more people in the East and in the South do not know today what they are going to live on tomorrow, when an army of refugees from war and poverty threatens to become a new migration, we shall have to find an answer to the question of whether the international community, through its new spirit of common endeavour following the cold war, will be capable of mastering the challenges of our time. There is doubt as to the ability of the political establishment as a whole to find solutions, and this applies not only to Europe.”

    1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)

11. “The European Community is not only a model of hope and prosperity for Eastern Europe; it has also developed new forms of cooperation and partnership with the developing countries. Its path towards integration has inspired many regional initiatives in Asia, Africa and Latin America. In the light of this global responsibility, too, Europe must come to speak with one voice here at the United Nations as well.”

    1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)

12. “It is the vision of a truly united Europe. The affirmation of this union by our French friends has kept alive the chance to make that vision a reality. However, Governments must also take their citizens along with them on this road to Europe. Europe does not grow out of treaties; it grows from the hearts of its citizens or it does not grow at all. Strengthening their confidence in Europe's common future remains the principal task of Community policy in the months ahead. Although the dissatisfaction, uncertainty and lack of understanding that have become apparent in nearly all countries cannot simply be dismissed, no changes to the Treaty of Maastricht are needed to cushion some of the effects.”

    1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)

13. “The termination of the East-West conflict has paved the way for the settlement of conflicts in the southern hemisphere as well, conflicts which for decades seemed insoluble. In the Middle East, in southern Africa and in Cambodia the parties involved are moving towards each other in a manner that would have been inconceivable in the days of the ideological proxy wars. Thus my message is: let us continue to be guided by the vision of a better, a more equitable world. With great perseverance, we have ended the East-West confrontation. We now need the same commitment, the same stamina, to build a new order. We must keep in mind the new energies that have been released and harness them for peace and for mankind. By establishing European union, the European Community is trying to seize. the chance of the century for the entire continent.”

    1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)

14. “Since then we have come back down to earth. Freedom has opened the door not only to historic opportunities but, unfortunately, to the old demons as well: blind nationalism and hegemonic aspirations, xenophobia and religious fanaticism. In this process, the dramatic changes to the political map are far from having settled down. The impact of the quake cannot yet be fully assessed, nor can we rule out further tremors. But despite all our new problems we must not forget that hardly any previous generation had such opportunities to live in peace, harmony and prosperity with its neighbours. We can therefore look to the future with confidence. And this opportunity extends beyond Europe.”

    1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)

15. “In electing you to your high office last week, Mr. President, the General Assembly also identified itself with the victory of freedom and democracy throughout Europe. I should like to congratulate you on this and greet you as the representative of a country with which we have a close and long-standing friendship. For you, Mr. Secretary-General, this is the first session of the General Assembly since you took office. For the determination and energy with which you have set about the huge tasks ahead you deserve the appreciation of us all. I extend a special welcome to the representatives of those countries that have been admitted to our Organization since the last session of the General Assembly. The world breathed a sigh of relief when the East-West confrontation ended at long last. There was an almost tangible euphoria of peace.”

    1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)