Italy, 1995

Mr President, let me

congratulate you and your country, Portugal, on your

election as President of the fiftieth session of the General

Assembly. At the same time, I wish to thank your

distinguished predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Amara

Essy.

Italy fully supports the statement made by the

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Spain in his capacity as

Chairman of the European Union, and wishes to add the

following considerations.

The fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations is an

opportunity for us to reflect on the Organization’s past

achievements and future role. The fundamental challenge

of the United Nations has always been the maintenance of

international peace and security, to which Italy has

contributed by participating in several peace-keeping

operations, in which some of our young men have lost

their lives. Our experience has convinced us that the

United Nations should expand its role in the areas of

preventive diplomacy, peace-keeping and peace building.

The activity that has provoked more controversy in recent

years, peace enforcement, must take place under the

mandate of the Security Council, but the Council can

delegate such operations to coalitions of States or regional

arrangements, thereby drawing on their valuable military

expertise, particularly in matters of command and control,

and preventing an overextension of United Nations

resources.

The responsibility for peace-keeping operations must

be shared by the international community as a whole, and

thus they should be financed through assessed rather than

voluntary contributions, to be calculated on the basis of

consensus, and in accordance with international

commitments.

In the former Yugoslavia, we have welcomed and

constantly supported the diplomatic initiative undertaken

by the United States Government and we sincerely hope

that it marks the turning-point in the crisis.

The renewal of diplomatic action has thus far scored

major achievements: the Geneva agreement of 8

September on basic principles for a settlement in Bosnia,

the Framework for a Cessation of Hostilities within the

Sarajevo Exclusion Zone signed by the Bosnian Serbs in

Belgrade on 14 September, and the joint statement issued

on 26 September. For the first time in three years, there

seem to be real prospects for a viable and stable peace in

Bosnia and we cannot afford to miss this opportunity. It

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is essential that Europe, the United States and Russia work

together to overcome the remaining difficulties in the way

of a general cease-fire and a peace agreement. We call

upon all the parties concerned to come to the negotiating

table, to show good faith and to resist the temptations to

resort to military action to gain political advantages.

We should also prepare well in advance for the

reconstruction and rehabilitation of the former Yugoslavia

by crafting an approach that would reaffirm respect for

human rights and the rights of minorities and foster civil

and cultural coexistence, development and welfare

throughout the area.

In the Middle East and the Mediterranean, Italy

applauds the determination and courage of Prime Minister

Rabin, Foreign Minister Peres and Chairman Arafat in

reaching yesterday’s agreement on the second stage of

self-government. Every effort should be made to implement

it, starting with the holding of democratic elections in the

Palestinian territories as soon as possible. Italy will

continue its commitment to provide economic support to the

Palestinian people.

Other situations in the Middle East give rise instead to

tension and instability. We must contribute ideas and

initiatives to efforts aimed at defusing these tensions and

encouraging dialogue between opposing forces, except those

whose programme and policy are violence. At the same

time, Italy expects those countries trapped in self-inflicted

isolation to engage in a constructive dialogue with the

international community.

It is of the utmost urgency that an international

conference be convened in the Great Lakes region of Africa

under the sponsorship of the United Nations and the

Organization of African Unity, with the goal of fostering

the process of national reconciliation and allowing a rapid

repatriation of the millions of refugees still living in camps.

But there have also been positive developments in

Africa, such as the historic events of 1994 in South Africa,

the reconstruction currently under way in Mozambique, the

agreements that brought an end to the bloody conflict in

Angola, and the political and constitutional developments in

Ethiopia. My country’s commitment did not stop at the

participation of its military personnel in Mozambique. We

also responded positively to the Secretary-General’s request

for military advisers to train de-mining personnel in

Angola.

Latin America has made significant progress in the

reaffirmation of democratic laws and respect for human

rights. Italy supports the peace process in Guatemala and

has sent a contingent to the United Nations human-rights

monitoring Mission there, as it did to the peace-keeping

operation in El Salvador.

The Asian continent is teaching all of us a lesson in

realism, hard work and investment in human resources. Its

growing force and economic success have brought it to

the forefront of the community of nations.

Italy will actively participate in the new Working

Group for the reform of the United Nations, paying

special attention to the economic and social sectors, which

need improvement and streamlining. While proceeding

with determination, we must avoid hasty decisions in

areas where caution and diligence should be the rule. We

must keep our sights on results and effectiveness rather

than on symbolic and artificially-imposed deadlines. This

is true not only for the economic and social sectors, but

also for the reform of the Security Council, which is

already the subject of a detailed Italian proposal inspired

by the principles of democracy, equitable geographical

representation and efficiency. It aims at reconciling the

aspirations and interests of the greatest possible number

of countries. Our goal is a Security Council with more

non-permanent members that is able to express the

feelings and political will of the international community

as a whole. Only a Council that is truly representative of

the entire United Nations membership and closely linked

to the General Assembly can make this goal a reality.

However, if the financial crisis of the United Nations

is not solved, budgetary problems could derail any reform

proposals and send the entire system down the road to

bankruptcy. The Secretary-General has repeatedly made

this point, as has the President of the Council of the

European Union. In the review of the scale of

assessments, Italy hopes that the Member States will

approve much-needed reforms, confirming beyond a

shadow of a doubt their will fully and promptly to honour

their financial obligations.

In some sectors of weapons of mass destruction,

important limitations have been agreed on and

implemented. As we recently learned, biological weapons,

among the most horrifying arms known to man, are still

in our midst. It is our wish that the prohibition of

biological weapons be backed up by an effective system

of verification.

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As for nuclear weapons, the indefinite extension of the

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons paves

the way for new goals in the field of disarmament. The

primary goal is the conclusion of a comprehensive test-ban

treaty by 1996. It is imperative that we achieve an outright

ban on all nuclear testing, and my country will do its part

to see that this becomes a reality.

The Agenda for Development should be finalized by

the end of the current session. The Agenda must reflect the

conclusions and commitments made in the series of world

conferences on the major social issues of our time, which

will conclude with the World Conference on Food being

hosted by Italy in the fall of 1996.

The growth of the economy and of employment is

fundamental to international political stability in an era of

interdependence. An effective form of coordination

between the United Nations system and the financial

institutions of Bretton Woods should be devised.

Multilateral trade and the free flow of investments could

enhance the spread of equitable and sustainable

development. With regard to the persistent problem of the

debt of developing countries, Italy ranks second among

creditor countries in its reduction of the external debt of

countries with grave economic difficulties.

The Italian Government is pleased with the work of

the Ad Hoc Committee on the Establishment of an

International Criminal Court and with the draft statute of

the court prepared by the International Law Commission.

Significantly, this draft explicitly does not include the

death penalty among the sentences that can be handed

down, in line with a position that Italy defended in this

same Hall. My country hopes that the debate in the Sixth

Committee will set the basis for convening a diplomatic

conference in 1996 or 1997, which Italy has offered to

host, to adopt the statute of the court.

The Italian Government believes that the United

Nations should step up its efforts, as should its

specialized agencies and international financial

institutions, to channel more resources towards

human-centred activity. Democracy and respect for human

rights must become the hallmark of our efforts to build a

better future for our children.