Angela Merkel Acknowledges the Binding Nature of the UN Migration Pact

Martin Hebner is a member of the Bundestag for the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland, Alternative for Germany). In the following video Mr. Hebner addresses questions to Chancellor Angela Merkel about the UN migration pact, which Germany signed last week in Marrakesh. In the back-and-forth of their exchange, Mrs. Merkel tacitly admits that the pact she signed is legally binding on the signatories once it is confirmed by the UN General Assembly.

Many thanks to MissPiggy for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Video transcript:

00:00   The AfD has the next question.
00:04   Madame Chancellor, concerning the refugee and migration policy, you have always emphasised
00:11   the significance of a European solution. Now with the one-side confirmation of the
00:15   Global Migration Pact you have deeply divided Europe. Countries neighbouring Germany
00:20   have rejected this pact — an overwhelming majority. In this way, you have further isolated
00:27   Germany. Why did you condone this? And to assure that this pact was not legally binding
00:31   the German Parliament, in this case namely, the coalition government adopted
00:35   a motion for resolution. Why didn’t you submit that as a letter of intent in the name of
00:42   the German Parliament or in the name of the German government while in Morocco?
00:46   —The motion underscored what the German government negotiated. In addition to that,
00:54   the motion intensively dealt with false information that originated from that side of the room.
00:58   Allow me to point out, or actually I have to assume on your part that you understand
01:07   that from the 28 member states, the number that accepted the Migration pact is larger
01:12   than those that did not. And thirdly, certain countries that withdrew from the pact,
01:18   were involved in the negotiations on behalf of the EU right up until the last moment.
01:22   Obviously, I must accept that. However, those countries leaving are the ones violating the unity
01:28   among those accepting the pact; with the exception of Hungary which did not accept
01:34   the pact from the beginning. —Mr. Hebner has an additional question.
01:45   In this case, many countries, not just Hungary, that have withdrawn from this pact. Austria…
01:49   Should we both count through them? Then you’ll see it is less than 14.
01:57   Gladly, we can count them. I can see how nervous you’ve become, because you insist
02:01   on interrupting me. You can see for yourself clearly that during the conference,
02:07   the spokesperson for Morocco emphasised that the agreement was legally binding.
02:11   He said clearly, in a literal sense, that there is a corresponding legal bond for all nations
02:16   taking part as well as an obligation of implementation. You and your delegation did not
02:21   raise a single word of objection to that statement, but idly accepted it. I would like to emphasise
02:26   that the parliamentary motion was not presented at the conference. —I will remind you to
02:30   submit your inquiry. Yellow turned to red already, hmm? Now Madame Chancellor.
02:36   Of course I want to excuse myself for the interruption, but I had to say, as a physicist,
02:41   when it comes to numbers, they need to be the truth. So then, during the UN General Assembly
02:53   next week, the pact will once again be up for debate and a decision will be made on whether
03:01   to accept it. At this time, a member state can demand a vote. When two-thirds of the
03:05   represented countries agree then it is valid for all. That’s how majority decision-making works.
 

2 thoughts on “Angela Merkel Acknowledges the Binding Nature of the UN Migration Pact

  1. An international pact that is binding on all members whether or not they voted for it? This WILL lead to war.

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