Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Reem Alabali Radovan on the UNVereinten Nationen, englisch: United Nations80 Reform

29. Juni 2026 Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Reem Alabali Radovan on the UN80 Reform

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Dear Amina Mohamed,
Again it's so great to have you here.
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

At this very moment, there are 65 active conflicts worldwide. 13 of them are classified as wars. Almost 250,000 people were killed in these conflicts last year. These are the highest figures since World War II.

Last year, almost 120 million people were forcibly displaced.

And even though the global community has made progress on fighting hunger, about 670 million people, especially children, are facing starvation.

All of this is happening while the gap between the rich and the poor keeps growing year by year. Just recently, we heard it, the world acquired its first trillionaire. Inequality is becoming more extreme.

It is obvious that these challenges can only be addressed on an international level. And there is nothing like the United Nations.

The United Nations remains the only forum where 193 countries are represented with one voice. Where they all come together peacefully to seek solutions.

Sometimes this works well, sometimes less well. But the UN is - and remains, and we heard it today from the Federal President of Germany in his opening - it is essential for the world.

Yet the UN is facing a dilemma.

While it seeks to address those multitudes of highly complex global crises, the United Nations itself is in crisis. A financial crisis and a crisis of trust.

This is why UN Secretary-General Guterres launched the UN80 reform initiative. And Germany strongly supports this effort.

We support you, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohamed, in shaping the tools needed to tackle the world's crises more effectively.

And we will remain a steadfast partner of multilateralism and rules-based international cooperation.

At the same time, Germany is just one player among the many that support the UN. To advance our interests within the UN and globally, we need partners and alliances. Partners with whom we can advance common goals.

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, and it was cited a lot, emphasized this in his keynote speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos: the old world order is breaking apart, and new alliances must be forged.

The "Supporters of the UN Development System" is one such alliance.

Last year at the Munich Security Conference, Germany and its partners launched the alliance of "Supporters of the UN Development System".

Right now, we are more than 20 countries from all over the world, from all regions. What makes us unique? This alliance brings together countries from the Global South and from the Global North on an equal footing.

It aims to act as a bridge-builder. From Somalia to Switzerland, from Colombia to Canada.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our newest member, who joined us just a few days ago: the Netherlands. Thank you for supporting us. With you on board, we can only become stronger! I call upon other countries to join our alliance.

What unites us? We want to protect and strengthen development within and through the United Nations.

The ultimate goal of all our efforts is to improve impact for people on the ground. To make a tangible difference in their lives - by reducing poverty and inequality. And by fostering peace and security for everyone

Our motto is "Reform, Support, Deliver". And we have developed an initial joint proposal for the UN80 initiative, which we are honoured to present to you today, Deputy Secretary-General.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Before we look at our proposal in more detail, I would like to invite all alliance members to gather for a "family photo" after the remarks of Amina Mohamed, and to jointly present the document with our 10 suggestions for a successful UN80 reform.

I look forward to working together to make the United Nations stronger. Only with a strong United Nations can there be a strong global order - a global order that is the foundation of our shared future. So let's start this now.

Thank you all for being here, for having a full house on that very important matter. That is a good signal.

Thank you very much.