Press conference by the Secretary-General and Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel
Press events | Kofi Annan, Former Secretary-General
In our bilateral talks we did of course address the major problems we face today, firstly the reform of the United Nations. Germany has a really major interest in progress on the reform programme, and in turn to ensure that the United Nations is able to act. To my mind we have to ensure that the United Nations is made into a player that in a conflict situation has the authority to act.
Then of course we talked about the conflicts that we face at the current time, of course Iran and the offer made by the E3 –the European Union, the United States, China and Russia –to the country. We of course have a great interest in ensuring that Iran offers a positive response to this proposal.
The Secretary-General was able to see for himself that we are keen to assume responsibility in the Congo -- the European Union, but more especially Germany itself. This is of course for us a new step, that we feel that in so doing we can contribute to stability in Africa.
We agree of course that the Middle East is currently in a very complicated situation and we agreed that we had to seek all possibilities to ensure that the negotiating process is brought back on track in line with the provisions contained in the road map.
I would like to extend once more a very warm welcome to the United Nations Secretary-General and assure him that Germany will shoulder its international responsibility.
We are happy to take on this responsibility through, of course, the United Nations institutions in Germany and, more especially in Bonn. And I would like to assure him, in turn, that we will continue to co-operate very closely when it comes to resolving the world's problems
SG: Let me in my turn, ladies and gentlemen, thank Chancellor Merkel for the wonderful reception that has been reserved for me, my wife, and my team, and to say how wonderful it is to be here in Germany at this time, at a time when all the eyes of the world have been on Germany for the past couple of weeks, where you've been able to not only organise one of the best World Cups ever, but really lived up to your motto Time to make friends and you have made friends.
And you can imagine how important this experience is for me, not only as an individual, but as a Secretary-General of the United Nations, an organisation that tries to promote co-operation, understanding, friendship and respect for human dignity.
I think the Chancellor has given you a good indication of the issues we discussed, in addition to Afghanistan and the international efforts on the ground there, and our determination to press ahead with the reform of the United Nations, including the reform of the Security Council, which, in my judgement, is essential and I have always maintained that no reform of the United Nations will be complete without the reform of the Security Council. We definitely need to bring the structure of the Security Council in line with today's realities. It is no longer acceptable that major countries and major national powers are not at the table, and these are the powers we turn to when we have problems in regions. But when it comes to the centre, where these decisions are taken, they are absent. We need to make the Council more democratic, more representative, and I believe that if we do that it will gain an even greater legitimacy.
And finally, I had the opportunity to thank the Chancellor for the strong support and the strong role Germany plays in the United Nations, and I think if there are a limited number of ideal member states, Germany is one of them, and I am really happy to be here today with the Chancellor to open the UN Campus. We have lived together for a long time, for 10 years, 10 years is a long time. Today we are going to make it formal.
FEDERAL CHANCELLOR [interpretation]: We have time for two or three questions.
Q: Secretary-General, you have just described Germany as a good Member State of the United Nations. Do you think that Germany should be awarded a permanent seat on the Security Council?
SG: Well, that is part of the reform that we are looking at and I think the issue of who gets a permanent seat on the Security Council is an issue for the 192 Member States to decide and, as Secretary-General, I have been very careful not to usurp the prerogatives of the Member States. Germany plays a very important role, has been a very active member of the organisation, has a leadership position, but I think that the decision belongs to the Member States, and don't get me into trouble! Thank you.
And I have provided them solid proposals to look at for the reform of the Security Council, and I urge them to proceed on that basis.
Q: Regarding the United Nations' reform, may I please ask you whether the United Nations depend too much on the United States?
SG: Well, let me say that the United Nations is an organisation of 192 sovereign states, including the United States. The United States is the only superpower in the world. It has a leadership role within the Organisation, but it cannot act alone. It has to act with the other Member States. The UN needs the United States and the United States needs the UN, and we need to work together, and I think by and large on many occasions we are able to work together, but we do have our differences. There are situations where we differ and I think it ought to be possible for us to differ and still work together. I think the UN works better when all its key Member States and all the Member States share a common position and a common view of which direction the Organisation should go in. If there are bitter differences between the US and the UN, either with the other UN Members or with the Secretary-General and the Secretariat, it does lead to problems, but I think we can function and do function with the US despite some of the difficulties we have had, and which is natural. We shouldn't be too overly upset about it. The main thing is that we should accept the UN's interest to serve the interests of all states, large and small, and that it is the only indispensable organisation we have and we must all support it.
Q: I work for South African media. I have a question on Sudan. The Federal Minister of Defence Mr. Jung has said that if the EU mission becomes a UN mission in Sudan, that Germany will be involved. Did you address the question as to what Germany would be making available for such a mission and would this be in an EU framework or a NATO framework?
FEDERAL CHANCELLOR [interpretation]: This is a question we have not yet addressed in detail. Of course there is the possibility that the United Nations will engage in Sudan and in Darfur. This is a real possibility, but this is of course an ongoing process and at the current time we are concentrating very much on our mission in the Congo, and that is precisely what I told the Secretary-General.
Q: [interpretation] The influence of the United Nations flows through Bonn and the German influence flows through the United Nations itself. We've seen in Germany great success through the World Cup, we see a growing role at international level, in Africa with the Congo, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, right up to Iran. We're gaining credibility we have to say, but how do you see Germany's role? Do you think it's going to have a greater role, one comparable to the role of America, Russia, China, Britain and France?
FEDERAL CHANCELLOR [interpretation]: Who was your question addressed to? All I can say is that Germany will of course continue to do justice to its international responsibility. We have seen that its responsibility has been growing, but in turn we mustn't overvalue ourselves. We can only work together with other countries, first and foremost in the European Union framework. We have seen many developments in defence and security policy in recent years and at the end of the day, as I say, Europe and Germany will shoulder its responsibility and continue to co-operate. Especially for that reason it is particularly important that the United Nations should be a capable and functioning organisation.
SG: Just to add to what the Chancellor has said, I think this is a country that firmly believes in multilateralism. A country that was one of the pioneers of the European Union and has worked with other countries to build Europe, to build the European Union, into what it is today and which is the envy of other regions around the world. Each country has to make its own contribution, its own way. The US has a contribution to make. Germany, France, Brazil, India, China, they all have contributions to make. Germany played a very key role in the decisive moments of the discussions, leading in the Security Council, on the issues of war and peace. Germany very soon would have the leadership of both the G8 and the European Union, and will have a role to play in helping decide on key issues of our time, so it does have responsibility but I am re-assured that it is taking those positions, given this impeccable multilateral approach, and this is what we need in the world of today. Thank you.