FOREIGN MINISTER KINKEL, AT DINNER IN HONOUR OF SECRETARY-GENERAL, STRESSES GERMANY'S STAUNCH SUPPORT TO UNITED NATIONS
Press Release
SG/T/2064
FOREIGN MINISTER KINKEL, AT DINNER IN HONOUR OF SECRETARY-GENERAL, STRESSES GERMANY'S STAUNCH SUPPORT TO UNITED NATIONS
19960620 Following is the text of the statement delivered by the Foreign Minister of Germany, Klaus Kinkel, at a dinner in honour of Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali held in the Guest House Petersberg, in Bonn, on 19 June:Welcome to Bonn, which is about to become a "United Nations city". As of tomorrow the blue flag of the United Nations will be waving alongside the German and the European Union flags. We know, Mr. Secretary-General, what part you have played in this. Thank you very much! In future we will have an even greater reason to welcome you with a greeting common in your own country: our home is your home!
The United Nations, the common house of the international community, is being rebuilt, and an end to the construction work is not yet in sight. The need for reform is great.
At this difficult juncture Germany staunchly supports the United Nations. There is no better organization. The Charter of San Francisco is the great formative vision of this century, and it has lost none of its relevance. The United Nations has done much to make reality correspond more closely to the vision contained in the Charter. We must never relent in our struggle for peace, freedom, human rights and humane living conditions for everyone. My country acknowledges this obligation. We have confidence in the United Nations. We are proud of our reliable commitment, also as a contributor.
Only in the United Nations can we find the right answers to the central problems of the whole of mankind. Mr. Secretary-General, you have taken up and advanced these issues at series of world conferences: the environment in Rio, human rights in Vienna, population growth in Cairo, social development in Copenhagen, the situation of women in Beijing, and, just a few days ago, the problems of urbanization in Istanbul.
With the Agenda for Peace and the Agenda for Development you have given the United Nations a programme which focuses on the individual, his rights, his dignity, his trials and tribulations.
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The world has not become more peaceful since the ending of the East-West conflict. The number of conflict has risen dramatically. In 1995 alone the United Nations counted 40 armed conflicts. Worldwide, the United Nations is looking after 27 million refugees daily -- most of them war victims. The dangerous and deeply disturbing aspect of these conflicts is the prevailing atmosphere of hate.
Securing and shaping peace is, and will remain, the international community's central task. United Germany is prepared to play a role in this, also in military terms. Four thousand German troops are part of the international Implementation Force (IFOR) in the former Yugoslavia. They are helping to finally bring back peace to that region. We have contributed 150 policemen to the United Nations police contingent. We have made available military observes in Georgia, and in Angola we are helping to clear mines. More than 7,000 kilometres of road will be safe from mines once this programme has been concluded.
Mr. Secretary-General, you said in Geneva that banning mines would be a worthy present for the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. You are right, this terrible scourge must be done away with. In Cambodia, I saw children who had survived mine accidents: They were horribly maimed and scarred for life. The Federal Government has set an example by fully and unconditionally renouncing anti-personnel mines. I call for a worldwide ban of these mines.
The Federal Government intends to notify the United Nations of the first contingents under the stand-by agreements during the next few weeks for mine clearance and in the field of sanitation.
The Federal Government is aware that Germany is expected to assume greater responsibility in the United Nations in future. You pointed this out yourself in a speech and also stated that the fundamental problem regarding enlargement of the Security Council is not the permanent membership of the two economically most powerful Member States after the United States. Rather, it will be vital to achieve a political balance by admitting additional members from the third world. It was the third world which proposed the reform of the Security Council because it rightly feels that it is not adequately represented in this body. A reformed United Nations Security Council, including important third world States, in addition to Germany and Japan, would be well-equipped to tackle the challenges ahead.
On the threshold to the twenty-first century in the fiftieth year of its existence, the United nations is more important than ever. Two totalitarian and inhumane ideologies have left in indelible mark on this century. The path is now clear for what matters: the inalienable rights of the individual and our duty to hold the world in trust for future generations and not to destroy it.
Mr. Secretary-General, this is your fifth visit to Germany since assuming office. Informal groups within the United Nations which stand by the Secretary-General are called "friends of the Secretary-General". A large group of friends who follow your work with interest and goodwill is gathered here this evening on the Petersberg. We wish you continued good fortune, much success and good health in mastering your great task.
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