Annalena Baerbock as a UN diplomat: Does Germany want to further damage itself internationally?

Germany once had a very good international reputation in the United Nations (UN). Our country played an active role in the further development of international law, for example in the adoption of the Conventions on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; in the Convention against Torture; and of course, in the Women’s Rights Convention.
  Germany is the fourth largest contributor to the United Nations. Germany also makes large voluntary contributions to United Nations peacekeeping missions. The UN General Assembly has welcomed by a large majority the willingness of the German government to take the lead on United Nations reforms in cooperation with the government of Namibia. This cooperation enabled the UN General Assembly to adopt a pact for the future of the United Nations in September 2024.

In terms of foreign policy,
Baerbock has left a lot of blood
on the carpet

Nevertheless, Germany’s image worldwide is no longer one that does us honour. Time and again, the outgoing government has shown no backbone in terms of UN Charter law and the Geneva Conventions, in its reactions to the major crises of our time, particularly the war in Ukraine and the asymmetrical conflict between Palestine and Israel.
  The one-sidedness of German policy in its statements has repeatedly been met with incomprehension at home – and even more so abroad. At a major international conference in Istanbul in 2023, in discussions with two former foreign ministers, one from the Middle East and another from Europe, we were told how disappointed they were with German foreign policy.
  As former long-standing employees of the United Nations, we have a large network of global contacts. What is important, however, is that these show time and again that German foreign policy has relegated us to a narrow track. Germany continues to lose prestige and influence in Europe and the world.
  “Foreign policy is made in the Chancellery”, SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich once said. Nothing has come of this. The foreign policy China shop was smashed by department minister Annalena Baerbock. In the words of Jeffrey Sachs, the well-known former professor at Columbia University and advisor to three UN Secretaries-General: “Baerbock is a warmonger. I can’t believe what comes out of her mouth.” Sachs reminded the audience that as a diplomat, a foreign minister must be prepared to talk to everyone.¹ But Baerbock’s public behaviour has shown time and again that she is not prepared to do so.
  She does not want to support the reduction of tensions or peace negotiations with a willingness to compromise. She is anything but a bridge-builder. Ms Baerbock has repeatedly shown that she does not understand international law and the spirit and ethics of the United Nations Charter. She has proved this with statements such as: We have to harm Russia so much that “economically, it won’t get back on its feet for years,” and regarding Ukraine: “We’ll stand by you as long as you need us, no matter what my German voters think.”

Other countries do not
want to be lectured by Germany

For Baerbock, “peace through strength” means military security, not human security, as repeatedly called for by the United Nations, particularly by the children’s charity UNICEF, the UNDP development programme, the World Food Programme (WFP) and, of course, by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
  There is no need to emphasise that the still Foreign Minister has caused considerable damage to Germany and Europe through her many trips, most of which have been unsuccessful in terms of international relations. The governments of countries such as India, China and Malaysia, as well as others, have confirmed to the German Foreign Minister during her visits that her attempts to lecture and her know-it-all attitude are not welcome.
  Why are we pointing this out? Because we do not understand why the outgoing German government favours Annalena Baerbock for the post of President of the UN General Assembly for 2025/26 instead of Helga Schmid, despite her inferior work. Annalena Baerbock has neither multilateral nor bilateral experience, while Helga Schmid, as former Secretary General of the OSCE and diplomat in leading positions in the Federal Foreign Office, has exactly the experience that is urgently needed in the United Nations.
  We believe that the new government should seriously consider how Germany can adequately fill the important position of President of the UN General Assembly in order to avoid further damage to our reputation in the world. And this at a time when many governments – especially in the non-Western world – and non-governmental organisations are campaigning for a more just and multilateral new order, as envisaged in the UN Covenant for the Future of the United Nations. •

¹ Berliner Zeitung from 2 February 2025

* Hans-Christof von Sponeck (born in 1939) is a former assistant UN Secretary-General. Michael von der Schulenburg (born in 1948) is a former assistant UN Secretary-General and is currently a Member of the European Parliament for the Alliance led by Sahra Wagenknecht.

First published in Berliner Zeitung on 25 March 2025;
eprinted with the kind permission of the authors.

(Translation Current Concerns)