YouSaid · the spoken record

Klaus Kinkel

lines on the record: 150
first: 1994-09-24
most recent: 1998-09-24
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

“We have provided a list of experienced intermediaries for the tasks of preventive diplomacy. The example of Macedonia shows what the preventive deployment of United Nations Blue Helmets can achieve. I am very happy about the agreement that has been achieved between Greece and Macedonia on this extremely important issue. Preventing fire can save countless lives and in any case it is cheaper than putting fires out. On my recent visit to Rwanda I was deeply shocked, in the truest sense of the word, by the atrocities that have been perpetrated there by human beings on other human beings. If the United Nations had intervened at an early stage and resolutely, many lives could have been saved. Germany has set up a substantial emergency aid programme for Rwanda. We are trying in particular to do something about the awful prison conditions.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“This commitment is consistent with the fundamental principle of our foreign policy, which is to give priority to multilateral cooperation. We have abided by that principle in pursuing European integration, and we believe that that same principle would help us play a useful role in the Security Council. The world finds itself faced with many new conflicts and challenges. It is crucial that in dealing with them we should focus our efforts more than we have done so far on conflict prevention. A political solution must remain the first option. That requires wider use of human rights observers, improvements in the United Nations early warning system, the promotion of democratization and the observation of election processes, as successfully done recently in Mozambique.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“More changes have been made to the Council’s 6 methods of work and more transparency achieved in the past two years than in the whole of the previous four decades. Like many other Member States, Germany considers that the Council should have more permanent and non- permanent members. The nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America need wider representation and I think we owe it to them. They have deserved it. The same applies to several countries with an important global role. Germany, with the support of many Member States, has announced its interest in permanent membership of the Security Council. Our willingness to assume greater responsibility, also within this framework, is for us the logical and consistent extension of our commitment to the United Nations.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The European Union and Germany have been particularly active in promoting peace and economic recovery in the Middle East. The recent agreement on the West Bank worked out by Yassir Arafat and Shimon Peres is another important milestone on the road to lasting peace in that region. I congratulate both sides on their courage and on their far-sightedness. The United States is playing a major part in this process in this region. We are grateful to them for that. Egypt has rendered an important contribution as an intermediary. Increasing the peace-keeping capacity of the United Nations also involves reforming the Security Council. There is now a global consensus, I believe, that this is necessary. The first steps towards reform have already been taken.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Neither of these two nations, Russia or Ukraine, should be left outside. To our Russian and Ukrainian partners and friends I say: Europe needs your contribution and it does so also in bringing peace to the former Yugoslavia. Here their new partnership with the European Union and NATO must — and, I add, will — prove its value. Many feared that when the East-West confrontation disappeared Europe would focus exclusively on its own affairs. That has not been the case. The European Union is intensifying its political, economic and cultural cooperation with the other regions of the world. In Asia, Africa and Latin America it is already a model for peace, prosperity and regional integration. In the United Nations the European Union is the principal partner for dialogue with the developing countries.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“To my mind, the conflict in the former Yugoslavia emphasizes how important and right it was for Western Europe to embark on a new course after the Second World War, a course that was directed against nationalism and against the use of force. For four decades, as a result of the East-West conflict, not all European nations were able to follow that route of the European Community, today’s European Union. The European Union is now striving to correct that terrible aberration and bridge the gulfs that separate it from Central and Eastern Europe. The goal is one Europe, a Europe in which the old big-Power politics and hegemonic aspirations can never again take root. That Europe must have a legitimate place for Russia, but for Ukraine as well. The European house does not consist solely of the European Union: it has many rooms.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“What is required here is an increased peace- keeping capacity — constructive help, not destructive criticism. And to those who over and over again have called into question the actions of the United Nations and its peace- keeping operations, I would like to address the following question: Is there an alternative? Who could take the place of the United Nations? Indeed, Europe has not been able to cope with this tragedy in its own house as well as we all hoped it would. But nor should we forget the European Union’s achievements in the former Yugoslavia. It paved the way for the Contact Group’s ongoing peace efforts.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Fifthly, we believe that the regional organizations must play a larger role than they have done so far. Not every problem must go straight to the United Nations. In Europe, for instance, and in other places of the world too, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) could assume much greater responsibility. However, we have to enable it to do so. Still, let there be no illusions. Peace-keeping is not just a fair-weather exercise. Such missions will always be apt to create problems for the world Organization. And, in view of the hundreds of thousands of lives that have been saved in Somalia and Bosnia, who can argue with an easy conscience that the United Nations should not have intervened? And many of these people have already been forgotten.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“First, the United Nations must confine itself to doing what is feasible. Its resources are obviously being strained beyond the limit. It cannot take on every responsibility. It 5 cannot solve all the problems that the world is confronted with. Secondly, the extent and duration of the commitment of the United Nations must be more precise, the political and military objectives must be clearly defined, and there must be a realistic and, above all, coherent mandate. Thirdly, if the world Organization is going to intervene, then it must act consistently and resolutely. There must be no repetition of what happened in Rwanda or Zepa or Srebrenica. Fourthly, cooperation between the United Nations and other organizations such as NATO must from the outset be planned in such a way that maximum speed and, above all, efficiency are assured.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“By sending medical personnel to Split and deploying Tornado fighters for the first time — fighters which we have made available in Piacenze, Italy — in a United Nations peace-keeping mission, we have also shown that we do not merely talk about taking on more responsibility, but that we act to do so. We will also meet our responsibility when it comes to implementing the terms of a peace settlement — and I hope that this settlement will come soon. The reconstruction of Bosnia’s economy requires a genuinely international cooperative effort, an effort on the part of the international community. The European Union — and Germany, of course, as a member of the European Union — will play its part. What lessons can and must we learn from what has happened in Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia?”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Anyone who continues to prefer bloodshed, to prefer military actions, will be taking a great responsibility upon himself. From the beginning, Germany has played an active part in these efforts. We have never taken sides, nor did we ever want to take sides, against one party; rather, we have always taken up the cause of the victims, those who have been tormented and driven from their homes. To date, the German Government’s humanitarian aid in the region amounts to more than 1 billion Deutsche marks. And I should like to stress strongly that we have no double standards, nor should we have double standards. In the short time since August, we have provided more than 6 million marks to help Serbian refugees from Krajina. My country has contributed in various ways to all peace-keeping operations.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Yesterday, here in New York, the parties to the conflict had another meeting with the Contact Group, of which Germany is a member. Another step forward was achieved on the constitutional issue following the result achieved in Geneva, and I believe this step to be a decisive one. For the first time since the conflict began there is a realistic prospect of a negotiated peace settlement. But I should like to warn against being over- euphoric. A lot has still to be done. We shall have to put one stone on top of another stone in order to finish this building. This time none of the participants should leave the conference table until an agreement has been reached — a peaceful agreement at the negotiating table, and not an agreement on the basis of military actions.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The problems have lain in its unsatisfactory mandate, in the lack of political will on the part of Member States, and, unfortunately, in the shortage of funds. It is we, the Members, who cause the difficulties. Following the holding of United Nations troops as hostages, the atrocities in Zepa and Srebrenica, and the terrible second bloodbath in Sarajevo’s market place, the community of nations has demonstrated that there is a limit to the amount of brutality and contempt for international law it will tolerate. And there has to be a limit. The resolve of the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has paid off — not only for the people of Sarajevo, who for three years have been starving and freezing and kept under constant fire, but also for the peace process.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“This we owe to all those who serve the United Nations. As we recap the events of the past year, we also have to consider the huge problems now confronting the world Organization. The ability to safeguard peace: that is the world’s main criterion when judging the United Nations. And here we have reached a critical point. Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia: these countries stand for disappointment and setbacks as well. However, I should like to make it very clear that in such cases the culprit is quickly found, too quickly. Nothing is more convenient than to point to the alleged inefficiency of the United Nations. And nothing could be further from the truth. When it has not been possible to help people, when United Nations troops have been humiliated in the former Yugoslavia, it has in nearly every instance not been the fault of the United Nations.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Indeed, the United Nations, in spite of some unjustified criticism, can take pride in what it has done for the cause of peace, freedom and human dignity. Especially worthy of our gratitude and appreciation are the more than 68,000 United Nations troops currently 4 serving on missions in all regions of the world. When servicemen from Asia, Africa or Latin America attend to the basic needs of refugees in Europe, in the former Yugoslavia, and keep the beleaguered people from starving, then that is, I believe, a marvellous indication that the “one world” is a reality. Lest we forget: nearly 5,000 of those troops, the Blue Helmets, have been killed or wounded in the line of duty. The Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel must be put into effect as soon as possible.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Millions of people all over the world owe their lives, their freedom and their health, their jobs and their homes, to the United Nations and its specialized agencies. Decolonization has been completed, apartheid has been overcome, and respect for human rights is no longer an internal affair. In the field of disarmament a historic breakthrough has been achieved: in May of this year the proliferation of nuclear weapons was halted. That constitutes a big step towards making the world safe for mankind. All these are considerable achievements which many critics of the United Nations have overlooked in this jubilee year, achievements on which you, in particular, Mr. Secretary-General, and your staff are to be congratulated.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Please accept my warm congratulations, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its fiftieth session. At the same time, I wish to thank your predecessor, Ambassador Essy, for his successful work. The United Nations 50 years on — that makes this session of the General Assembly an event of extra-special significance. The people of the world have high expectations. We must take stock, but in so doing we must, above all, look to the future. The representatives of 50 nations who assembled in San Francisco in the year 1945 were intended to be, as President Truman put it, “the architects of a better world”. What has become of their blue-print? Today the family of nations has 185 members.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Today we Europeans know that only integration and cooperation lead to the desired goal, and the international community’s response to the global problems is and has to be to strengthen the United Nations. Our central tasks for the future are: first, to secure peace world-wide; secondly, to respect human rights and the rule of law; and, thirdly, to create the conditions for lasting stability through economic and social development. Our common goal is to create a better world for all. But the determination with which we implement this goal in practice is the precondition for success against which we will be measured.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“In particular, we, the industrialized countries, therefore need a more environment-friendly and resource-friendly attitude on the part of producers and consumers and increased recycling of raw materials. Reducing carbon dioxide emissions must be tackled as a matter of urgency. The destruction of the forests continues mercilessly. Soil erosion, loss of bio-diversity and impaired regeneration are the consequences. This destruction must be halted. We Europeans will seek better international cooperation in the United Nations for the sustainable utilization and protection of the forests. The United Nations is the guardian not only of peace, but also of the environment. The historian Arnold Toynbee was right when he concluded that people are entirely capable of learning from disasters and finding responses to historic challenges.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The aim now must be for the Treaty to enter into force on 1 January 1995, as planned, and for the newly-established World Trade Organization to commence work. The treaty-based cooperation between the European Union and the other regions of the world is designed to further liberalize world trade. Every region should be able to participate in the European market. That is why we want to complete the forthcoming review of Lomé IV, including the new finance protocol, on time, and we are working to achieve that end. Speaking here last year I suggested the development of an early detection capacity for environmental disasters in developing countries, and for the European Union I can today say this: World-wide energy consumption is increasing, although the use of fossil fuels is already endangering climatic stability.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“In the Maastricht Treaty we Europeans for the first time made development policy an integral part of a treaty system for Europe. We undertook to seek the sustainable economic and social development of the South, to promote its integration into the global economy and to combat poverty. Despite the huge budget difficulties facing its member States, the European Union has increased its development assistance from over $1 billion in 1988 to almost $3 billion today. Funds for emergency disaster relief and food aid were increased to $1 billion this year. Even more important than such financial transfers, however, is the task of integrating the countries of the South into the world economy. Without doubt, the conclusion of the Uruguay Round improved the chances of growth for all States participating in world trade.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Poverty, increasing demographic pressure and irresponsible harming of the environment have made the 19 dangers to peace and stability greater, not smaller. The Conference on Environment and Development in Rio and the International Conference on Population and Development, which ended in Cairo a few days ago, confirmed that there are no simple answers to global problems. The two conferences none the less sent out an encouraging signal: there is growing recognition that we must tackle such problems together, and this I believe is a very important basis for the World Social Summit, which will be held next year in Denmark. In many countries women are still excluded from active participation in public life. We expect the World Conference on Women, to be held in Beijing next year, to heighten awareness of this.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“At the Berlin conference with the States of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) early this month the European Union initiated a new phase of cooperation with southern Africa. We in Europe want closer dialogue with the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on conflict prevention and security cooperation because we want partnership with the countries of Africa and thereby a greater United Nations peace-keeping capacity. Agreement on an agenda for development is becoming ever more urgent. One billion people in this world are still living in absolute poverty. Global expenditure on arms still amounts to as much as the income of half of the five and a half billion people on our planet.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Europe attaches great importance to security in the Mediterranean. From the outset the European Union actively supported the Middle East peace process, playing a leading role in international assistance for the development of the Palestinian economy and society. With the roughly $600 million earmarked for direct aid from 1994 to 1998, the European Union is the Palestinians’ largest international donor. Cooperation in southern Africa has made great strides. The course South Africa has embarked upon under Nelson Mandela shows that it is possible for former adversaries to be reconciled and to shape a common future, given the necessary political will and wise leadership.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We are following with interest ASEAN’s initiative to launch a policy dialogue on security in South-East and East Asia, and I wish to emphasize the European Union’s interest in and willingness to cooperate more closely with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (APEC). The European Council meeting in Corfu reaffirmed that it attaches great importance to relations with the countries of Latin America and with their regional associations. The institutionalized dialogue with the Rio Group has become for us an important element for the consolidation of democracy and peace. We intend to broaden the cooperation agreement with the States of the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR). Through its policy on the Mediterranean, the European Union will have made available a total of roughly $9.6 billion between 1975 and 1996.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“At the CSCE Summit in December the European Union will urge, on the basis of a German-Dutch initiative, that the CSCE be given priority in conflict settlement and prevention within its area and that it be equipped accordingly. The European Union wants to further extend and tighten its network of regional cooperation. Transatlantic relations with the United States and Canada remain the cornerstone of European policy. The Summit meeting between the European Union and the United States in Berlin in July this year confirmed our resolve to further strengthen transatlantic relations. We are seeking closer relations with the countries of Asia. In Germany a few days ago we discussed with the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) the possibilities for even more intensive political and economic cooperation.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The peoples in the reformist States fought for their freedom. We encouraged them in their struggle and we will not now abandon them. We will gradually smooth their path towards the Euro-Atlantic institutions. It is important to mention that there will be no pan-European order of peace without or against Russia. The European Union has concluded partnership and cooperation agreements with Russia and Ukraine. The North Atlantic Alliance’s "Partnership for Peace" enhances Europe’s security. The CSCE, as a new instrument of conflict-prevention, confidence-building and conflict resolution, can set an example for other regions of the world. And it can, as a regional arrangement under Chapter VIII of the Charter, relieve the United Nations as the guardian of peace.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“No one region 18 alone can master the global tasks confronting us. Nor can the United Nations accomplish everything itself. The burden on the United Nations can be substantially reduced with the help of regional associations and cooperation. We should strive to achieve that objective. For Europe, the post-war era has finally reached an end. A few weeks ago, the last Russian soldiers left Germany. Russian troops have also withdrawn from the Baltic States and other Eastern European countries. Now the aim must be to prevent new divides from emerging in Europe. The European Union will become not a "Fortress Europe" but a Europe based on partnership and solidarity. The European Union is supporting the countries of Central and Eastern Europe on their way to democracy and the establishment of market economies.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“As those dangers have a global dimension, action by the United Nations, too, is called for. At its summit meeting on 31 January 1992, the Security Council rightly stated that the proliferation of all weapons of mass destruction constitutes a threat to international peace and security. The United Nations, the Security Council and all of us must resolutely shoulder our responsibility to overcome these new threats. A fair balancing of interests through the ever-closer regional integration of States and ever-increasing cooperation between regions of our planet in the spirit of Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations are the necessary response to the huge economic, ecological and social challenges and the manifold ethnic conflicts we are facing today - unfortunately, I might add.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“In Geneva, we want to arrive at a universal and universally verifiable comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty. I believe that it is also high time that consensus was reached there on negotiations to bring about a ban on the manufacture of weapons-grade fissile material. The European Union, together with its partners, is providing considerable funds for improving the safety of nuclear plants in the neighbouring countries to our east. What happened at Chernobyl must never, ever be repeated. That would indeed be terrible. I appeal to all signatory States to ensure speedy ratification and implementation of the chemical weapons Convention at the national level in order for it quickly to become fully effective. The dangers I have just mentioned affect us all.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“In Europe, the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces has proved to be a milestone. Uncleared mines are amongst the worst legacies of war and civil war. We Europeans are in favour of the establishment of a United Nations fund for mine-clearing and of more stringent provisions under international law to protect civilian populations. The increasing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the continuing operation of unsafe nuclear plants and the smuggling of plutonium and other nuclear materials are among the new global dangers of our age. We must counter them at the national and global levels. We Europeans urgently appeal to North Korea to fulfil its international obligations. We in the European Union are committed to the indefinite, unconditional extension of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Work on the drafting of a convention for the protection of the work of humanitarian organizations must be brought to a speedy conclusion. One task of preventive policy as we understand it is to combat terrorism. There is no justification for terrorism. Drugs and organized crime are an ever-increasing danger not only to our young people, but also to the social and political stability of whole societies. To combat these dangers we need international alliances, and we need them urgently. The European Union offers comprehensive cooperation and the experience it has gained in this field. Disarmament policy, too, is preventive policy. Over the past few years, major successes have been attained in this field. These must now be made irreversible. The START Treaties must be implemented quickly.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“In Europe, the Pact on Stability is designed to promote political stability and the protection of minorities. We do not want to close our eyes to our own shortcomings. There must be no room for racism and xenophobia in Europe. That is why we have made it our goal to develop a Union-wide strategy against racism and xenophobia in the course of the coming year. We need more efficient management of humanitarian relief actions. The need for resources and measures to alleviate emergency situations through disaster relief operations is likely to increase rather than decrease. We expect the United Nations Disaster Relief Coordinator to ensure more effective coordination of measures within the United Nations system. He must be able to intervene before it is too late for the people affected. I should like to stress that point.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“17 The Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna calls for more active implementation. Our priority must be to support the High Commissioner for Human Rights. In addition, we must substantially increase the resources available in the United Nations for human rights activities. It is, I believe, inadequate for the United Nations to provide only 1 per cent of its funds for this task. Work on the establishment of an international criminal court must proceed apace. Human rights and the protection of minorities are indivisibly linked. Ethnic or cultural arrogance and the curtailing of minority rights are one cause of the ever-swelling refugee flows in our world today. That is why minorities need the protection of the United Nations. We Europeans are striving to implement this objective.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We cannot have a situation in which the United Nations has difficulty carrying out its responsibilities because individual Members feel exempted from their duties. It is always better to prevent a fire than to have to put it out. The European experience is that conflicts must be prevented -but this is not a purely European experience. We bank on the power of preventive diplomacy, confidence-building and the early detection of conflicts. The United Nations must further enlarge and strengthen its instruments of preventive diplomacy. This includes helping countries along the road to democracy and observing elections. The establishment of and respect for human and minority rights, as well as measures to bring about economic and social stability, are other basic elements of prevention.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The creation of the Office of Internal Oversight Services by the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session was an important step towards this objective, and the fact that a German has been appointed as the first head of that Office is a mark of confidence in my country. Members’ contributions must be brought more into line with their actual capacity to pay. The aim of comprehensive financial reform must be to establish a scale that is transparent and reliable, reflects Members’ financial situations, is automatically adapted to changed national circumstances, and gives consideration to the needs of countries with low per capita incomes. But it is crucial that all Members be willing to meet their membership obligations.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We therefore look forward to a report on enlargement of the Security Council membership and related issues from the open-ended working group, and to productive results. Transparency in the Council’s decision-making processes is important, particularly in peace-keeping, where the interests of contributor nations are involved. Indeed, the cost of establishing and consolidating peace is enormous. The explosion of the peace-keeping budget has almost brought the United Nations to a standstill. In order to overcome the financial crisis, three tasks must be accomplished. The United Nations urgently requires more efficient management and better organization.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“In the course of the forty-eighth session of the General Assembly a working group considered all aspects of the question of increasing the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council. The working group had a substantive and constructive discussion. Its report states that "... while there was convergence of views that the membership of the Security Council should be enlarged, there was also agreement that the scope and nature of such enlargement require further discussion." (A/48/47, para. 8) Security Council reform is an important issue which requires a productive outcome. These days, the most important decisions on security and peace are made in the Security Council.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The national preparation of Blue Helmets needs to be coordinated to a greater degree by the United Nations. What is needed for this are common training guidelines and the training capacity of the United Nations. Joint training and exercises are, at the same time, important steps in confidence-building. Speaking as the Foreign Minister of Germany, I would add that last year I stated in the Assembly that my country was willing to shoulder more responsibilities with regard to United Nations peace-keeping operations. Today I can confirm that Germany will be able to join fully in peace-keeping operations of the United Nations, the German Federal Constitutional Court having cleared the way a few months ago. The European Union looks for the revitalization of the United Nations and its various organizations.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Thirdly, the use of military force cannot be an end in itself. Successful peace-keeping presupposes an unequivocal mandate based on international law, a convincing political plan for settling the conflict, and the equitable participation of the Member States. Fourthly, we Europeans welcome the idea of stand-by arrangements developed by Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali. It can effectively help reduce the length of time between the decision to mount a peace-keeping operation and its actual implementation. Many members of the European Union, including Germany, are willing to contribute to stand-by arrangements. Fifthly, in many countries military training is geared solely to the traditional duties of the army. The specific tasks of peace-keeping require a completely different kind of training.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The members of the European Union have played, and are continuing to play, a major role in helping maintain or restore peace in many of the world’s trouble spots on behalf of the United Nations. We Europeans are guided by the following basic principles. First, for its peace-keeping measures the United Nations should be able to rely on the broadest possible support and involvement of its Members. Such operations ought to foster peace and unity among them but not divide the community of nations. 16 Secondly, we Europeans will always be in favour of giving priority to non-military means of safeguarding peace wherever possible. But aggressors must also realize that the United Nations is capable of military intervention where other means of achieving the aims of the Charter have failed, and that it has the will to take such action.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The United Nations envisages a world in which it is not the law of the strongest but rather international law that prevails. We Europeans share that vision. We are even more convinced by what has happened in the former Yugoslavia that a relapse into divisive nationalism must be prevented. We, the Members of the United Nations, must summon the strength to make a great joint effort to provide the United Nations and its Secretary-General with the means to meet their global responsibility. The United Nations must become what its founding fathers aspired to in their noble vision nearly 50 years ago: mankind’s principal guardian of the peace. But we, the Members of the United Nations, must above all be prepared to stand up for the cause of peace.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The European Union is trying to help, and we shall continue to do so. For that reason we have established an administrative office in Mostar, which began its work in July under the courageous leadership of Hans Koschnick. The entire international community must constantly make it unmistakably clear to the Bosnian Serbs that in rejecting the peace plan they cannot reckon with tacit approval. There must be no toleration of a policy of war and expulsion. We seek a solution for the Croatian territories under UNPROFOR protection which will be acceptable to both sides. The territorial integrity of Croatia must be respected. Autonomy arrangements will have to be found for the Krajina Serbs. We Europeans believe that an extension of the mandate of UNPROFOR is absolutely essential for this purpose.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“NATO and the WEU are already helping the United Nations to carry out its difficult mission in the former Yugoslavia. Because our interests are interwoven as they have always been, we will not allow ourselves to be discouraged by set-backs and will therefore do our utmost to bring about a peaceful settlement in the former Yugoslavia. The United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) has our unreserved support. The terrible war of destruction in Bosnia and Herzegovina must be brought to an end. Federation is, we believe, a first and indispensable step towards a peace settlement. Winter will be here soon and the people will once again have cold and hunger to contend with. But the precondition for lasting progress and for peace is the will for reconciliation among all ethnic groups.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Following the disaster of the Second World War, Europe had the opportunity for political renewal and it took that opportunity. We Europeans derive courage and strength from that renewal. No other region in the world has such a dense network of regional, intergovernmental and supranational institutions, and no region in the world has such close relations with other nations and their organizations. In the field of security, therefore, it is our aim to create a network of mutually supporting institutions which will include, together with the European Union (EU), the Western European Union (WEU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). All must work closely with the United Nations.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The European Union sees a response to these global challenges in a strengthening of the United Nations and of the multilateral system for the safeguarding of peace world wide, in more intensive preventive diplomacy and conflict prevention within the United Nations and regional institutions, in respect for human rights in the world and for the rule of law, and in closer development cooperation in and among the regions. We Europeans therefore welcome the report of the Secretary-General on an Agenda for Development. An Agenda for Development must soon find its place alongside the Agenda for Peace. With his report, Mr. Boutros-Ghali has again pointed the way for our Organization’s future development and work. I wish to convey to him the appreciation of the European Union. We pledge a constructive contribution to the debate on this document.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The United Nations can be only as good as its Members allow it to be. It needs their active support. Many of its personnel, both soldiers and civilians, have done their utmost to help alleviate distress and save lives. No small number of them have lost their own lives in the process. We pay tribute to them and honour their memory. 15 Many of us believed that the ending of the cold war would usher in an era of peace. Today we know, unfortunately, that that hope was premature. Day in and day out, hundreds of people are falling victim to hostilities and thousands more are dying of starvation or disease. What has happened and is still happening in Bosnia, Somalia and Rwanda is appalling.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The founding of the United Nations was the response to that catastrophe, which had its origins in Europe. Today we can look back on impressive achievements by the United Nations. The 51 members in 1945 have grown into a membership of 184. The United Nations has thus developed into a truly universal Organization. By recently concluding the negotiations on the Law of the Sea Convention, the United Nations has made outstanding progress in promoting the reconciliation of interests and the peaceful settlement of disputes around the world. The choice of Hamburg as seat of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is a token of confidence in Germany and an obligation for my country. The achievements of the United Nations are considerable, yet it is often the object of unfair criticism.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“I am speaking for a Europe that is committed to world peace and development and whose political actions are determined by its belief in individual freedom, democracy and the rule of law, a Europe which sees in the realization of justice a crucial precondition for avoiding war and the use of force and which is prepared to play its part in promoting the economic development of all regions, the struggle against hunger, and measures to protect the Earth’s natural sources of life. But I am speaking above all on behalf of a Europe that wishes to place the United Nations in a better position to meet its foremost obligation as guarantor of peace and security in the world. Next year’s fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations coincides with that marking the end of the Second World War.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“First, I should like to offer you, Sir, my personal congratulations on your election as President of the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session, and also those of the European Union, on whose behalf I am addressing the Assembly today. We wish you luck and success in your high office. We thank Ambassador Insanally for the wise leadership with which he guided the forty-eighth session of the General Assembly to a successful conclusion. I am addressing the Assembly on behalf of a Europe that has become more closely integrated as a result of the Maastricht Treaty, a Europe which in a few weeks’ time will admit four new members, and which intends to broaden its cooperation based on partnership with the world’s other regions as well.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)