What role can the UN play in shaping a new world order?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

One should never be too quick to predict the demise of something. This also applies to the United Nations, to which there is still no alternative. Indeed, the UN will take on even greater importance in the future:

• It will become increasingly important for the developed states, for it alone provides a framework of rules to fight against terrorism and the collapse of states.
• It will become increasingly important for the poor countries, for it alone can summon up the staying power needed to fight poverty and under-development.
• It will become increasingly important for the whole world, for it alone, as a forum of peoples, can prevent a situation where new blocs of influence face each other in an atmosphere of confrontation.

The end of the East-West conflict means that the United Nations finally has a new opportunity. It is our responsibility to seize this opportunity. Particularly countries as large and important as the People's Republic of China should work actively to this end. Only through close cooperation can the consequences of globalisation be dealt with. Not only must the will to take on responsibility be present; it is also important to realise that there is no alternative to reforming the UN.

UN Reform

The need for reform is obvious. Not only the Charter, but also the organs and the specialised agencies must be modified and improved. The UN Security Council is at the centre of the current debate. Despite Kosovo and Iraq, responsibility for security and peace in the final instance still lies with the Security Council. Powerful states, regional organisations and "coalitions of the willing" are not entitled to decide on war and peace. They may only act when the Security Council has given the necessary authorisation. And we must not forget that the primary role of the Security Council is not to provide legitimisation for the use of force, but to solve conflicts peacefully.

We must not carelessly endanger that which we have achieved so far. The transfer of the monopoly of force from nation-state level to an international organisation was the correct response to the lessons learnt from numerous wars. We must not return to the previous state of affairs. Only the Security Council has the legitimacy under international law to counter threats to world peace. Yet in order for it to do so, the necessary resources must be made available. Complaints about the weaknesses of the Security Council are justified - yet these weaknesses are caused by the states themselves. Thus, the reform of the Council must be viewed as an opportunity to restore the authority of the United Nations system.

The composition of the Security Council no longer accurately reflects the international system. Neither the South - Latin America, Africa, South-East Asia - nor industrial nations like Japan and Germany have permanent representation. This means that the Council does not adequately represent the world. A United Nations reform must therefore mean the inclusion of new permanent members in the Security Council. Thus, the shape of the Security Council should be changed now.

A permanent seat for Germany?

You are undoubtedly aware that Germany is seeking to gain a permanent seat in the Security Council. German foreign policy stands for multilateralism, a balance of interests and for international law. As the third largest contributor to the United Nations, Germany therefore has a duty and a desire to accept responsibility in the Security Council too.

A "European seat" in the Security Council would have been an even greater step forward had it been possible. The presence of a European foreign minister in the Council would have been a completely new type of representation. Yet we are still a long way from an effective and unified European foreign policy. The current United Nations Charter only provides for individual states to have seats. In addition, the UK and France both see their permanent seats as vital. At the moment therefore, it is not possible to imagine these interests being represented through a European seat.

There is another point we should not forget. Although I believe a reform of the Security Council to be important, the debate must not be narrowed down to the enlargement of the Security Council. In addition, there are serious doubts as to whether the Security Council will actually be reformed in the end. This would require the support of two thirds of the 191 Member States, including all five permanent members. Unfortunately, it is precisely those states whose support is required for a reform who apparently have least interest in such a reform. At present, none of the permanent members of the Security Council is prepared to relinquish its veto and even their agreement to enlarging the Council is far from certain.

I would also like to mention something else which cannot be stressed often enough. The United Nations does not only consist of the General Assembly and the Security Council. It encompasses numerous organisations which are vital for peace and humane development. It is these institutions in particular whose capacity for action must be improved. Only in this way can the United Nations fulfil its mandate of "saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war".

Regionalisation

The increasing trend towards regionalisation represents another of the building blocks for the new world order and the United Nations. Regional alliances are important factors of global stability - the Charter expressly acknowledges this. So regional organisations must increasingly provide support to and relieve the burden of the United Nations. Regional alliances and economic organisations must make a contribution wherever possible. It was the lessons of history which prompted the states of Europe to join together in the European Union. They have achieved a new dimension in multilateralism. Today, they form a security community where conflicts are no longer solved through armed force. The ASEAN states could in future play a similar role. Multilateralism and regional and global cooperation are needed. In view of the interdependencies and interrelations which exist throughout the world, we need a United Nations with a close network of ties to these regional organisations.

What role should the UN play?

What role should the United Nations play in the world of today and tomorrow? We should be realistic on this question: the UN will not fade into insignificance, yet neither will it be transformed into a new world government. Undoubtedly too, the Charter does not represent the best of all worlds. It is designed around the nation-states. So we should not have any illusions about the character of the UN. It is not yet a worldwide "system of collective security". It remains essentially a concert of the great powers. The United Nations' "monopoly on the use of force" must also be developed further. The comparisons with the nation-state monopoly on the use of force fall somewhat short. The United Nations is not a world state and the Security Council is not a world government. At the same time, however, the insistence on adherence to legal procedures is by no means mere formalism - it is absolutely vital for an international legal system. The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court make an essential contribution to this.

The United Nations must become more efficient. And, indeed, there is no lack of suggestions for reform. We should seize the opportunity on offer. Yet, however important the reform and expansion of the Security Council may be, I believe the real key questions to be answered at the beginning of the 21st Century are the following ones:

• How can we fight hunger and disease successfully?
• What institutions and instruments do we need to tackle crises?
• How can we deal with problems and conflicts at an early stage, i.e. take preventive measures?
• How can the over six billion people on this earth coexist peacefully?

In order to solve these issues, we need a system of global cooperative security. And this framework can be provided by the United Nations. Because it is only the UN, with its numerous subordinate agencies, which has the instruments that we need to ensure security, peace and development in the world. It has decades of experience of conflict prevention, crisis management, "nation building" and reconstruction.

I strongly believe the development of such a security system to be the central political task of the 21st Century. This task can only be carried out successfully by means of cooperation between nations. Only if the major states of the world work together will we in future be able to prevent crises, tackle conflicts and promote economic progress and ensure respect for human rights on all continents.

The United Nations must play the central role in a new world order. Security, justice and solidarity can only be achieved together. The United Nations provides the framework needed. The nation-states, for their part, must endow it with the means it requires.

I would like to end my remarks with this statement of commitment to multilateral foreign policy and would like to thank you very much for listening.
Speech on the seminar of the Communist Party of China in Peking, 18 October 2004