SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS GERMANY'S STRONG ROLE IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS IS REASON MANY SUPPORT IT FOR PERMANENT COUNCIL SEAT

18 October 1996

Press Release
SG/SM/6087

SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS GERMANY'S STRONG ROLE IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS IS REASON MANY SUPPORT IT FOR PERMANENT COUNCIL SEAT

19961018 Dinner Toast also Includes Review of United Nations Reform Efforts Leading to 'Dramatic Transformation' of World Organization

This is the text of a toast by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali at a dinner given by the Foreign Minister of Germany, Klaus Kinkel, at Lubeck, Germany, on 17 October:

It is a pleasure to be in Germany again, and to meet again with the people of Germany -- Government officials, parliamentarians, members of civil society and ordinary citizens. These encounters continue to impress upon me Germany's steadfast commitment to the ideals of the United Nations Charter.

Your Excellency, less than a month ago, in your address to the General Assembly in New York, you said the United Nations "must continue to be the world's conscience". You also stated: "No country, no region and no group of States can bear all of the world's burdens and troubles alone. All, even the strongest among us, need solidarity, need the help of others".

Germany is putting these words into practice throughout the world. In Bosnia, Georgia and Western Sahara, and along the Iraq-Kuwait border, United Nations peace-keeping operations are benefiting from the presence of German police, troops and observers.

In Africa, Germany is a leading supporter of the conflict prevention mechanism of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Germany also contributes generously to African development and democratization, and promotes the continent's integration into the world economy. In Latin America, Germany is the main donor to a pilot programme aimed at protecting Brazil's tropical forests. Germany also hosts, in Bonn, the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. And in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation, Germany has signed the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty and taken decisive action to ban land-mines.

In short, Germany is an exemplary global citizen. It has demonstrated, again and again, the political will to tackle difficult issues with both

staying power and imagination. Germany's success, its status as the third largest contributor to the regular budget of the United Nations, and its leading role in the international community, are the reasons why a large number of Member States are in favour of a permanent seat for Germany on a reformed Security Council and a greater say for Germany in matters of international peace and security.

Reform of the Security Council is only one aspect of the dramatic transformation that the United Nations has been undergoing. Another is enhanced internal oversight. Your compatriot and my senior colleague, Under- Secretary-General Karl Paschke, has provided an indispensable dimension to all our efforts at managing -- and accelerating -- this change. Reform is a process, not an event. We are creating what we hope will be a long-lasting culture of reform. Already, a wide range of managerial and institutional initiatives have taken root. We have adapted peace-keeping and humanitarian assistance to new features of international life. We have brought greater coherence to development efforts.

We have moved definitively towards creating a mission-driven institution devoted to enhanced performance, higher productivity, full accountability and increased cost-effectiveness.

To sustain this momentum, the United Nations needs your understanding and support. I would therefore like to propose a toast: to our distinguished host; to our guests; to the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Germany; and to ever greater collaboration between Germany and the United Nations so that the Organization can effectively serve the peoples of the world in the twenty-first century. Thank you.

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