Germany lobbies for Security Council seat

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Germany joined an initiative of 10 countries in calling for a world without nuclear weapons as Berlin is lobbying to get a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.

The initiative was launched on the sidelines of the 65th U.N. General Assembly this week in New York and is aimed at working toward nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.

"The only guarantee against the use and threat of nuclear weapons is their total elimination," said a statement released Wednesday by the 10 countries. Participants are: Germany, Poland, Japan, Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, the Netherlands, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who has in the past urged Washington to remove its nuclear weapons stockpile from European soil, said nuclear proliferation is a major threat to global security.

"Disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation is of no less importance for humanity than our fight against climate change," Westerwelle Thursday told German public broadcaster ZDF. The more nations collect nuclear weapons, the greater the chance that terrorists get their hands on them, he said.

"This would be a huge endangerment of humanity's safety. That's why German foreign policy is not just focused on peace but also on promoting disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation."

The initiative comes as Germany is lobbying for a non-permanent seat at the U.N. Security Council. Five of 10 non-permanent seats for the 2011-12 period are up for grabs in an Oct. 12 vote, with two seats reserved for Western states.

Both Westerwelle and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have in the past days voiced optimism of getting a non-permanent seat, with observers expecting Canada as a runner-up.

Germany has in the past also set eyes on joining the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China with a permanent seat on the council.

Asked whether Berlin was still pursuing such a target, Westerwelle told The Wall Street Journal that "this discussion can only take place in the wider context of reforming U.N. structures."

"Independently of our German ambitions we are convinced that others too are underrepresented," he said. "The fact that neither Africa nor South America has a permanent seat on the Security Council and that Asia is underrepresented doesn't truly reflect the architecture of world politics."