USA trip ends in New York
Baerbock calls for reform of the UN Security Council
September 17, 2023, 3:48 a.m
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On her extensive US trip, Baerbock reaches her last stop, New York. Before the UN general debate, the Green Foreign Minister is calling for a new operating system for the United Nations. The Security Council in particular needs reform.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for fundamental reforms at the United Nations in light of her arrival in New York for the UN general debate. Germany is committed to “making the UN system fairer, more inclusive and more capable of acting,” explained the Green politician in New York. This also includes a reform of the UN Security Council, which Germany has been campaigning for for years together with Brazil, India and Japan in the so-called G4.
“A UN Security Council that still represents the world of the 20th century is no longer appropriate,” warned Baerbock in her statement. “Only if the United Nations ‘updates’ its operating system to adapt to the world of the 21st century will it be the long-term place where the global community can solve its problems together.”
The minister explained that in order to contribute to such modernization, Germany and Namibia are leading the negotiations for the UN Future Summit in 2024. First of all, the UN general debate next week will focus on numerous major challenges: “about peace, about the further development of the… international law, about good climate, health and development policy and also about the rights of girls and women in countries like Afghanistan. This means that the “heart of the world” will beat in New York in the coming days.
Scholz also takes part
The general debate in the UN General Assembly, in which Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is also taking part, begins on Tuesday. A summit for sustainable development will take place in New York on Monday. With this in mind, Baerbock advocated “that we put the sustainable development goals at the center of the United Nations.” This includes “more ambition to contain the climate crisis, the biggest threat of our time.” In addition, the UN, the international financial institutions and health bodies must finally be positioned so that our partners in Africa, Latin America and Asia receive the voice they deserve there.
The Federal Foreign Minister has been in the USA since Tuesday. Among other things, she visited the state of Texas and held talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other political decision-makers in Washington.