YouSaid · the spoken record

Graf Zu Rantzau

lines on the record

174

first

1992-07-16

most recent

1995-06-30

sittings or episodes

28

sources

un-security-council

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

1. “It is an honour for me, Mr. President, to speak today in the Security Council under your able guidance. Your vast experience as a seasoned diplomat will serve you well in ensuring progress in the work of the Council under your able guidance. The massacre of innocent civilians in Sarajevo has profoundly shaken the international community. These crimes must be stopped. The siege of Sarajevo must be lifted. Germany, ever since the outbreak of fighting in the former Yugoslavia, has given full support to the efforts of the Security Council and of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to put an end to hostilities and achieve a peaceful settlement. Germany has also actively contributed to the European Union's peace efforts. Most recently Germany, together with France, initiated the European Union's Action Plan.”

   1994-02-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3336Resumption1 (1994) · source

2. “The game being pursued by the Serbs can no longer be tolerated. We must put an end to the destruction of a State Member of the United Nations. Guaranteeing the physical and political survival of the Muslim community in its own State of Bosnia Herzegovina must now become an absolute priority. If one party had truly been ready to envisage a political solution on the basis of a military victory of the Serbs, today's debate should eliminate all doubt that the policy of force being pursued by the Serbs will never enjoy international recognition. The Serb leadership should be clearly informed about the price Serbia will have to pay for a military triumph which in the long run could in any case be no more than ephemeral. It is now up to Serbia to opt for a timely return to the way of the community of civilized States.”

   1993-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3201 (1993) · source

3. “To continue to tolerate this situation would bring in its wake the threat of irrevocably losing credibility and would entail consequences that would go beyond the confines of the current conflict. This loss of credibility is all the more imminent inasmuch as the international community cannot shirk its share of responsibility in the current situation. The Serb leadership has been able unscrupulously to take advantage of the fact that the arms embargo has contributed to weakening the weakest still further. They have pursued a stalling strategy and, as we have noted today, they have negotiated in appearance only so as to pursue in the meantime their policy of conquest and also make the most of the patience shown by the international community. We must now draw the inevitable conclusions in the light of all these facts.”

   1993-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3201 (1993) · source

4. “And it is thence that propaganda is broadcast, the unbridled nationalism of which is responsible for the vitiation of all moral scruples vis-a-vis the non-Serbian civilian population. If we look at what has been happening over the last 18 months we must find that a sincere readiness to accept a political solution based on patterns for a solution worked out by the international bodies responsible for settling the conflict and adopted by the international community as a whole has never existed on the Serb side. At no time has the Serbian party been prepared to honour obligations entered into at the London Conference. This amounts to an enormous challenge to the international community and its institutions. The latter have constantly been taken advantage of and their representatives on the scene have been humiliated time and time -again.”

   1993-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3201 (1993) · source

5. “In sum, all of this implies that the Serbs' policy of force against the smallest and weakest of the nations of the former Yugoslavia is being 'pursued. It signals in particular a continued drive to exterminate the Muslims, who represent the largest national community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, The intellectual, material and political centre of this war of nationalist conquest is in Belgrade. Its strategic direction is controlled from that city. The weapons terrorizing the population to exhaustion come from that centre. It is thence that assistance in materiel and personnel is sent. The paramilitary units of Serbia and Montenegro, at least, are financed, equipped and transported from Belgrade.”

   1993-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3201 (1993) · source

6. “Any support lent to a possible evacuation can only be justified as interference aimed at saving the civilian population from massacre and oppression. At the same time, those responsible for this barbarity - whose names are well known to us - should be reminded that they will have to answer personally for their acts. For that matter, developments around Srebrenica represent only a part of an overall and particularly alarming development. The Serbian party has rejected the peace plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina. It will also most likely repudiate the April 6 cease-fire in Croatia once again. The oppression of the Albanian majority in Kosovo is deepening. The minorities of Sandjak and Vojvodina are subject to unrelenting pressure. Less than ever before can one speak of their rights being respected.”

   1993-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3201 (1993) · source

7. “It is one more sign that the patience of the international community is running out. As to Srebrenica, everything has already been said in resolution 819 (1993). I should like only to draw attention to two aspects. The population of the district of Srebrenica was 75 per cent Muslim before the conflict erupted. The Vance-Owen plan did not attach that district to a province with a Serb majority. This speaks volumes about the Serbs' approach. Just as we must strive to spare the civilian population further suffering, we must also be aware of the fact that that city has almost fallen. Any evacuation of the civilian population, however orderly or peaceful, must be viewed as "ethnic cleansing" by force originated by the Serbs and therefore as a crime.”

   1993-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3201 (1993) · source

8. “Mr. GRAF ZU RANTZAU (Germany) (interpretation from French): Today is my first opportunity, Sir, to speak before the Council under your presidency. Please allow me, therefore, to offer you my congratulations. I have no doubt that the work of the Council will benefit this month from your. high competence and that it will register important advances at a time when the international community, through the United Nations, has been prompted to assume greater responsibilities. I also take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to Ambassador O'Brien for the manner in which he guided the Council's work in recent weeks. Apart from the adoption of Security Council resolution 820 (1993), unreservedly endorsed by Germany, the current debate on Bosnia and Herzegovina is not irrelevant.”

   1993-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3201 (1993) · source

9. “More specifically, the Federal Government has earmarked resources to support UNPROFOR in Bosnia in the area of logistics. If the human suffering and the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina are to end, all parties must honour the obligations arising out of the Security Council resolutious and the Yugoslavia Conference. Together with its partners in the European Comnunity, Germany will do everything within its power to contribute to a peaceful settlement of the conflict.”

   1992-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3135 (1992) · source

10. “Apart from its efforts to help the affected population on the ground, Germany has taken in more than 250,000 refugees from the former Yugoslavia, and tha effurts of my Government have been complemented by an extraordinary willingness on the part of citizens of my country to help the refugees. Germany pays respect to the members of UNPROFOR and UNHCR deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in Croatia. These men and women daily risk their lives. German pilots are among them. UNPROFOR's efforts to get humanitarian assistance to where it is needed 'n Bosnia and Herzegovina must neither be obstructed nor subjected to unacceptable danger. The ban on military flights must be observed. Germany will continue to support UNPROFOR efforts.”

    1992-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3135 (1992) · source

11. “Our efforts will be coordinated with the European Community's uowly established task force. We shall continue to work closely with UNHCR. Germany, together with France, will further study the possibility of establishing safety havens in the region of Bihsc. In this contoxt we be.ieve that the arguments put forward by Mr. Mazowiecki should be given careful consideration. The opening of additional corridors for humanitariaa convoys and the establishment of security zones within Bosnia and Herzegovina could make a significant contribution to aiding those in need.”

    1992-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3135 (1992) · source

12. “The imminent winter and tke looming refugee disaster require wide- ranging humanitarian relief measures. The European Council reacted to this situation by substantially increasing emergency measures at its maeting at Birmingham on 16 October. In implementing the Birmingham decisions Germany is at the same time stepping up its bilateral aid. As part of the international community's burden-sharing, Germany has made available some DM 275 million for humanitarian assistance since the outbreak of the confiict. After the European Community Commission, it is the largest donor of huxanitarian aid to the former Yugoslavia. A large proportion of this aid is going to the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where it is distributed without regard to nationality.”

    1992-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3135 (1992) · source

13. “At the same time we must be willing to respond in a positive manner to constructive proposals. in this context Germany believes that Prime Minister Panic's proposal regarding the deployment of international observers on the border between Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina deserves consideration. The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with its inhumane practices of "ethnic cleansing", barbaric camps, torture and murder, does not even spare innocent refugees, children, the old or the sick. This terror is not a concomitant but the key element of the Serbian war against the majority of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The second report by the Special Rapporteur of the Commissioa on Human Rights, Mr. Mazowiecki, which was presented recently, makes this terribly clear. The Muslim population's very existence is at stake.”

    1992-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3135 (1992) · source

14. “Germany firmly supports the Security Council position that the acquisition of territory by force and the practice of "ethnic cleansing" are unacceptable. All displaced persons must be enabled to return in peace to tneir homes. All parties must recognize that the international community will not accept the results of a policy of forces. This applies first and foremost to attempts to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina, whatever the label applied. The monitoring of cease-fire lines does not imply recognition of the status quo. Serbian leaders must know that they cannot exploit the presence of UNPROFOR for their purposes. Sanctions must remain in place until the Serbian side is willing to renounce the use of force and reverse territorial gains as well as the results of mass expulsion.”

    1992-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3135 (1992) · source

15. “I should like to a phasize Germany's strong support for the constitutional framework for Bosnia and Herzegovina drawn up at the Conference. Despite the tireless commitment of the Conference's Co-Chairmen, despite the efforts of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as well as those of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) end the European Community Monitoring Mission, the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains extremely alarming. One cannot fail to note that Serbian extremists have used their participation in international negotiations as a smokescreen behind which they have pursued their goals with undiminished intensity.”

    1992-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3135 (1992) · source

16. “The Council is taking this step because it cannot ignore the numerous violations of obligations assumed at the Yugoslavia Conference and contained in its earlier resolutions. It is primarily the Serbian side which is responsibie for these violations as it continues its war of conquest and expulsion in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, there have also been other developments that give rise to concern, such as the recent clashes between Croatian and Government forces. The International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia haa achieved sigrificant pregress in a number of areas. Wo are all indebted to its Co-Chairmen, Secvetary Vance and Lord Owen. It is the only framework within which a peaceful solution can be attained.”

    1992-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3135 (1992) · source

17. “Allow me to join the other speakers in congratulating you, Sir, on Hungary's assumption of the presidency of the Security Council, It is an honour for me to speak under your able guidance, and I am confident that your work will be as successful as was that of your predecessor, the Permanent Representative of France, Ambassador Merimee. r should like to thank High Commissioner Ogata, Spacial Rapporteur Mazowiecki, Secretary Vance and Lord Owen for their statements. They have provided the sobering basis for our debate. Germany fully supports the draft resolution on Bosnia and Herzegovina before the Security Council, It is more than regrettable that the need for a new Security Council resolution on Bosaia and Herzegovina has arisen.”

    1992-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3135 (1992) · source

18. “We deplore the interruption of the process of negotiations and appeal to all parties to be aware of the historic importance of the CODESA process, and therefore to resume negotiations without delay and with a view of concluding them as soon as possible.”

    1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source

19. “In this context, we refer to the Declaration of the Lisbon Summit meeting of the European Community, as well as to the Final Declaration of the Munich Summit of the G7, and we reiterate our preparedness to contribute, jointly with our European partners, to the limitation of violence and the continuation of the negotiating process. We expect the South African security authorities to respect the political rights of everybody and to adhere strictly to the principle of adequacy of means. We also expect the organizers of mass actions to obey the principle of non-violence - a principle that some decades ago shad taken its origin in South Africa, subsequently to conquer public opinion around the world.”

    1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source

20. “However, recent events in South Africa provoke the question whether opponents to this process believe that they might halt or reverse the course of history by fomenting violence, seeding hatred, delaying essential reforms, or by deviating from the path of compromise. We believe the process to abolish apartheid cannot and will not be halted. All the more do we deplore the senseless sacrifices now weighing heavily on the process of reconciliation, and we mourn those who died. We appeal to ail parties to the conflict to stop violence. We urge steps towards a more effective control of police forces and towards the prevention of further unlawful use of force, notably by implementing the recommendations made by the Goldstone Commission.”

    1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source

21. “Together with the overwhelming majority of South African citizens who aim at a democratic South Africa through peaceful change, where all citizens without discrimination can live together and work for a better common future, we insist that this historic chance must not be lost. CODESA must reconvene without delay. The encouraging beginning of the CODESA negotiations and its broad support among the people of South Africa gave rise to the expectation that the process leading towards the dismatlement of apartheid is irreversible. Jointly with our European partners, we honoured this expectation.”

    1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source

22. “In this spirit my Government supported the "Declaration on Apartheid and its Destructive Consequences in Southern Africa" of December 1989. As reflected in the following consensus documents of the United Nations that Declaration constituted a turning point which, indeed, brought the dismantling of apartheid and its replacement by a democratic, united, non-racial society into prospect. Today my Government commends the important steps undertaken by President de Klerk and his Government on the one hand, and by the African National Congress, under the leadership of Nelson Mandela as well as by other South Africans committed to democracy on the other hand, that opened the way into the CODESA negotiating process.”

    1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source

23. “My Government welcomes the initiative of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to call for this meeting, the importance of which is highlighted by the presence of a large number of Foreign Ministers, of the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity, and of Mr. Nelson Mandela. Over the last few years, a good number of outdated ideologies have been thrown overboard - irrevocably, we hope. This development strongly encourages all those who - within South Africa and here at the United Nations - fight for the immediate abolition of the inhuman system of apartheid and subsequently for the establishment of a new democratic order by way of a systematic negotiating process. Germany has welcomed the increasing signs that South Africa has reached the threshold of a new era.”

    1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source

24. “It is an honour for me to take the floor today in the Security Council under your wise and efficient chairmanship, Sir. As your distinguished predecessor did, you will, I am confident, in masterly fashion live up to the task of leading the Council's work to a successful conclusion. This debate takes place ata moment of great challenge and of historic opportunity, not only for the people of South Africa, but for the whole region of southern Africa. Together we have achieved a peaceful settlement of the Namibian question. Serious efforts are being made to implement a peace agreement in Angola and to find a political solution through negotiations in Mozambique. Now the whole international community is united in its support for fundamental change in South Africa by peaceful means.”

    1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source