III

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. RES. 78

Encouraging Germany to assume full and active participation in international

efforts to maintain and restore international peace and security, and

for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 10 (legislative day, MARCH 3), 1993

Mr. COHEN submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on Foreign Relations

RESOLUTION

Encouraging Germany to assume full and active participation

in international efforts to maintain and restore international peace and security, and for other purposes.

Whereas for more than four decades following the Second

World War, Germany was a divided nation;

Whereas, notwithstanding the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949, and the German

Democratic Republic on October 7, 1949, the Four Allied

Powers retained rights and responsibilities for Germany

as a whole;

Whereas the Federal Republic of Germany acceded to the

United Nations Charter without reservation, ‘‘accept[ing]

the obligations contained in the Charter . . . and solemnly undertak[ing] to carry them out’’, and was admit-
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ted as a member of the United Nations on September 26,

1973;

Whereas the Federal Republic of Germany’s admission to the

United Nations did not alter Germany’s division nor infringe upon the rights and responsibilities of the Four Allied Powers for Germany as a whole;

Whereas these circumstances created impediments to the

Federal Republic of Germany fulfilling all obligations undertaken upon its accession to the United Nations Charter;

Whereas Germany was unified within the Federal Republic of

Germany on October 3, 1990;

Whereas, with the entry into force of the Final Settlement

With Respect to Germany on March 4, 1991, the unified

Germany assumed its place in the community of nations

as a fully sovereign national state;

Whereas German unification and attainment of full sovereignty and the Federal Republic’s history of more than

four decades of democracy have removed impediments

that have prevented its full participation in international

efforts to maintain or restore international peace and security;

Whereas international peacekeeping, peacemaking, and peaceenforcing operations are becoming increasingly important

for the maintenance and restoration of international

peace and security;

Whereas United Nations Secretary General Boutros BoutrosGhali has called for the ‘‘full participation of Germany in

peacekeeping, peacemaking, and peace-enforcing measures’’;
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Whereas the North Atlantic Council, meeting in ministerial

session on June 4, 1992, and December 17, 1992, stated

the preparedness of the North Atlantic Alliance to ‘‘support, on a case-by-case basis in accordance with our own

procedures, peacekeeping activities under the responsibility of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe’’ and ‘‘peacekeeping operations under the authority

of the United Nations Security Council’’;

Whereas the Federal Republic of Germany participated in

these North Atlantic Council meetings and fully associated itself with the resulting communiques;

Whereas the Western European Union (WEU) Ministerial

Council, in the Petersberg Declaration adopted June 19,

1992, declared that ‘‘As the WEU develops its operational capabilities in accordance with the Maastricht

Declaration, we are prepared to support, on a case-bycase basis and in accordance with our own procedures,

the effective implementation of conflict-prevention and

crisis-management measures, including peacekeeping activities of the CSCE or the United Nations Security

Council’’;

Whereas the Federal Republic of Germany presided over this

Western European Union Ministerial Council meeting

and fully associated itself with the Petersberg Declaration;

Whereas the Federal Republic of Germany, by virtue of its

political, economic, and military status and potential, will

play an important role in determining the success or failure of future international efforts to maintain or restore

international peace and security;
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Whereas Germany is currently engaged in a debate on the

proper role for the German military in the international

community and, in this regard, on how to amend the provisions of the Federal Republic’s Basic Law that govern

German military activities;

Whereas an important element in the German debate is the

question of whether the international community would

welcome or oppose full German participation in international peacekeeping, peacemaking, and peace-enforcing

operations;

Whereas it is, therefore, appropriate for the United States,

as a member of the international community and as a

permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, to express its position on the foregoing question; and

Whereas distinctions between peacekeeping, peacemaking,

and peace-enforcing measures are becoming blurred,

making absolute separation of such measures difficult, if

not impossible: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That (a) The Senate commends the German

2 people for their efforts over several decades—

3 (1) to acknowledge forthrightly the evils per4 petrated during the National Socialist period;

5 (2) to construct a democratic state deeply root6 ed in German society; and

7 (3) to integrate Germany into international in8 stitutions designed to strengthen, protect, and pro9 mote democracy and international peace and secu10 rity.

11 (b) It is the sense of the Senate that—
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1 (1) an appropriate response under current cir2 cumstances to Germany’s past would be for Ger3 many to participate fully in international efforts to

4 maintain or restore international peace and security;

5 and

6 (2) the President should strongly encourage

7 Germany to assume full and active participation in

8 international peacekeeping, peacemaking, and peace9 enforcing operations and to take the necessary meas10 ures with regard to its constitutional law and policy

11 and its military capabilities so as to enable the full

12 and active participation of Germany in such oper13 ations. 

14 SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit

15 a copy of this resolution to the President.

Æ