Foreign Minister Steinmeier and Environment Minister Gabriel welcome the nomination of Achim Steiner as Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

March 16, 2006

In response to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's decision to present Achim Steiner to the General Assembly as his recommended candidate for the post of Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued the following joint statement on 16 March:

"The Federal Government welcomes Kofi Annan's decision to propose to the General Assembly the appointment of Achim Steiner as new Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

In his previous functions as Director General of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and Secretary-General of the World Commission on Dams Achim Steiner has shown himself to be a highly competent and committed campaigner for international protection of the environment.

Under Klaus Töpfer UNEP has become the leading player in international environmental policy. That the running of this Programme is once again to be entrusted to a German national is further encouragement to the Federal Government to remain a pacesetter in the field of global environmental protection.

The projected reform of the United Nations also means changes in the Organization's environmental activities and the UNEP. In this connection Klaus Töpfer has already taken a number of preliminary steps. Given the urgency of the challenges that international environmental policy needs to address – climate protection, resource and energy efficiency, preservation of biological diversity, chemical safety – the Federal Government and its European partners strongly support these efforts. In the Federal Government's view – a view shared by its European partners – UNEP should be transformed, however, from a UN programme into a fully-fledged UN environment organization ("UNEO") that is capable of addressing these challenges over a broad front and with all due vigour."

Advanced Search    Help

Statements & Speeches

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

1996

Subscribe Here You can also read the current issues here.

Printer-Friendly Page