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Germany Strongly Committed to UN, Development Goals

Berlin: The UN Secretary-General made his first official visit to Germany.
© BPA; by Kugler

Germany works closely with the United Nations on a variety of issues ranging from peacekeeping missions to development efforts and climate change mitigation. These were all on the agenda during talks between Chancellor Angela Merkel and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Berlin.

The Chancellor promised the Secretary-General that she would actively promote the Millennium Development Goals at the next UN General Assembly, saying that a "strong signal" was needed. The aim is to halve the number of people experiencing hunger and poverty by 2015. The General Assembly will take place on September 25 in New York.

"Germany is strongly committed to providing development aid", Merkel stresed. This was most recently demonstrated at the G8 Summit in Japan, when the German government pledged 600 million euros for rural development in Africa.

Darfur

Merkel expressly thanked the UN Secretary-General for his untiring efforts in mediating international conflict. She made particular reference to the situation in the Middle East and Lebanon, and the tensions in Zimbabwe and Sudan.

Praising Ban Ki-moon’s work, the Chancellor said the UN Secretary-General had "personally held numerous talks on the crisis in Darfur." She added that while Ban’s personal intervention had brought slow but sure progress, the situation remained less than satisfactory.

Yesterday, Luis Moreno Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, ordered the arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The president is accused of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Merkel stressed that despite the ICC’s independent status, its work naturally has an impact on attempts to solve the problems in Darfur. This is evident in the reaction shown by those working in the region, she said, adding aid workers might well withdraw from the crisis zone.

In his speech, Ban Ki-moon made it clear that "peace and justice should go hand in hand." Peace without justice, he said, has no future. He called upon the Sudanese President to create the conditions needed to allow operation of an ongoing UN peacekeeping mission. Some 16,000 international aid workers are currently in Sudan to oversee and help more than 4 million refugees and displaced persons.

Myanmar and Afghanistan

Merkel asked the UN Secretary General to continue his efforts with the Myanmar military government. She said the issue at hand was to accelerate the process of democracy and diplomacy.

In matters concerning Afghanistan, Merkel and Ban agreed that the UNAMA Mission must be stepped up. The Chancellor said she believed that "Afghan self-rule will only be possible once robust civil structures are in place."

Set up in March 2002, the UN mission is designed to support Afghan institutions in implementing the Bonn Accord. This involves establishing the rule of law and promoting equal opportunities and human rights.

On Wednesday, Ban Ki-moon was to meet German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung. He then traveled to Bonn, Germany’s UN City and home to no less than 17 UN organizations.

Source: REGIERUNGonline

July 17, 2008

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Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations, New York

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