Heiko Maas, Minister for Foreign Affairs of German, addresses the general debate of the 73rd Session of the General Assembly of the UN (New York, 25 September - 01 October 2018). German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told the General Assembly that the United Nations “thrives on our common pledge of together first” describing the Migration Compact signed by 190 countries as a “victory for multilateralism.” Addressing the Assembly today (28 Sep), Maas said the world faced a crisis in multilateralism which makes conflicts around the world appear irresolvable. He stressed that Germany has faith in multilateralism as its postwar success story was also a success of the system. He said the UN was “built on our courage to reach compromises” and thrives on “our common pledge of together first” adding that common ground is created when “we put people at the heart of what we do.” The German Foreign Minister noted the UN must tackle the root causes of conflict, including climate change. He said, “Action based solely on nationalism, with the objective of putting ‘my country first’, reaches its limits here – not least because our climate knows no borders. The alarm bells have rarely sounded as loudly as they did in the summer of 2018 - in almost all parts of the world.” On Iran, Maas said the nuclear agreement reached in 2015, also known as the JCPOA, may not have been perfect but it had prevented the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon and averted a very likely escalation scenario. He said Europeans stand together by the agreement but underlined that this did not mean that they are “turning a blind eye to Iran’s destructive role in the region or to its ballistic missile programme.” However, he added that not having the agreement would “not make the search for solutions in Yemen, Syria or elsewhere any easier.” The German Foreign Minister said his country would be motivated by the opening words of the UN Charter “We the peoples” when it joins the Security Council in a few weeks as a non-permanent member. He emphasised his view that the Security Council must become more representative and inclusive. SOUNDBITE (German) Heiko Maas, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Germany: “The world’s population has more than tripled since 1945, while the number of UN member states has almost quadrupled. However, the Security Council has hardly changed at all. That’s why we should stop beating around the bush and finally start real negotiations on Security Council reform, as the vast majority of the member states has wanted for a long time.” Maas also sounded the alarm on autonomous weapons systems or “killer robots.” He said the world’s common rules must keep in pace with technological developments, “otherwise, what currently sounds like science fiction may very soon become deadly reality.” He called on member states to support Germany’s initiative to fully ban autonomous weapons “before it is too late.” ----------------------- Watch General Debate of the General Assembly (in original language) unwebtv.live/73_UNGA_FL ‎متابعة باللغة العربية أعمال المداولات العامة رفيعة المستوى للجمعيه العامة unwebtv.live/73_UNGA_AR 敬请收看联合国大会一般性辩论（中文同声传译） unwebtv.live/73_UNGA_ZH Suivez le débat de l'Assemblée générale (en français) unwebtv.live/73_UNGA_FR Transmisión del debate de la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas (en español) unwebtv.live/73_UNGA-ES Смотрите Общие прения Генеральной Ассамблеи (на русском) unwebtv.live/73_UNGA_RU #UNGA #UnitedNations

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