Germany’s Overall Role in International Organizations


I’m Nasimuzzaman Sabbir from Bangladesh. I am 20 years old and a student of undergraduate (Level-II) under the faculty of Agricultural Economics & Rural Development in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University.


Bangladesh | June 27, 2020 | Student Essay

Germany is a Western European country with a landscape of forests, rivers, mountain ranges and North Sea beaches. It has over 2 millennia of history. Berlin, its capital, is home to art and nightlife scenes, the Brandenburg Gate and many sites relating to WWII. Munich is known for its Oktoberfest and beer halls. Frankfurt, with its skyscrapers, houses the European Central Bank.

International organization

An international organization is an organization established by a treaty or other instrument governed by international law and possessing its own international legal personality, such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization and NATO.

Though Germany plays an important role in a country’s development as well as international organization and NGOs, I’m going to discuss about Germany’s role as international organization below.

Germany’s International organization participation:

ADB, AFDB, Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CD, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCT, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO,NATO, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMISS, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC.

Germany’s Role in International Organizations

Germany maintains diplomatic relations with 195 countries and has a global presence with 227 missions, 153 of them embassies. Germany has permanent representatives at 12 international organizations.

Germany is a member of the Council of Europe, European Union, European Space Agency, G4, G8, International Monetary Fund, NATO, OECD, organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, UN, World Bank Group and the World Trade Organization.

Germany assumes responsibility in multilateral organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), the North Atlantic ­Alliance (NATO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the European Council, the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Germany’s Role in the United Nations

Germany believes that the UN is indispensable in addressing these global problems. Indeed, the most pressing challenges of our time-climate change, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, poverty and abuses of human rights – can only be addressed through a multilateral effort.

The United Nations is therefore a key pillar of German foreign policy. This is reflected in our long-standing commitment to the values of the UN and through substantive contributions to the work of the organization. Germany is the fourth largest contributor to the UN budget, but its voluntary contributions make it the second largest contributor overall. Moreover, Germany contributed around 6% of the UN Peacekeeping budget in 2019 and is a donor in many other UN programs and funds for sustainability, humanitarian aid and development.

Germany is the largest net contributor to the United Nations and has several development agencies working in Africa and the Middle East. The development policy of the Federal Republic of Germany is an independent area of German foreign policy. It is formulated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and carried out by the implementing organizations. The German government sees development policy as a joint responsibility of the international community. It is the world’s third biggest aid donor after the United States and France. Germany spent 0.37 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on development, which is below the government’s target of increasing aid to 0.51 per cent of GDP by 2010. The international target of 0.7% of GNP would have not been reached either.

Maastricht Treaty

Most of the social issues facing European countries in general: immigration, aging populations, straining social-welfare and pension systems – are all important in Germany. Germany seeks to maintain peace through the “deepening” of integration among current members of the European Union member states.

Germany has been the largest net contributor to EU budgets for decades (in absolute terms – given Germany’s comparatively large population – not per capita) and seeks to limit the growth of these net payments in the enlarged union.

NATO

Under the doctrine introduced by the 2003 Defense Policy Guidelines, Germany continues to give priority to the transatlantic partnership with the United States through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. However, Germany is giving increasing attention to coordinating its policies with the European Union through the Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Conclusion

More and more war zones, populism on the rise, and an ever increasing number of people who are suffering as a result of conflicts and the adverse impacts of climate change – the world is in turmoil. In these turbulent times, interviewees would like to see Germany assume more responsibility, partly or indeed particularly as a counterweight to the USA, Russia and China.


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