San Marino, 2006

On behalf of

the Government and the people of the Republic of San

Marino, I wish to congratulate Her Excellency Haya

Rashed Al-Khalifa on her election as President of the

General Assembly at its sixty-first session. I am

confident that her abilities and expertise will be key to

the success of this session. Along with my satisfaction

on the election to such a high position of a woman after

so many years, I add my best wishes.

I also wish to thank the outgoing President,

Mr. Jan Eliasson, for his valuable work and total

commitment and resolve in implementing the reform

programme started by the Secretary-General.

The Republic of San Marino firmly believes that

the role of the United Nations needs strengthening in

order to enable the Organization to operate as

efficiently as possible and with optimal coordination

among its bodies. With special reference to the General

Assembly, the most important decision-making body of

the United Nations, San Marino believes that it should

focus more closely on the actual implementation of its

resolutions and create mechanisms to make its

decisions more binding.

For the small and medium-sized countries that

represent the majority of the Member States, the

revitalization of the General Assembly — the main and

sometimes only forum in which they can make their

voice heard — is essential. Indeed, the General

Assembly is the organ that fully implements the

principles of democracy and equal representation upon

which this Organization is founded.

There is no doubt that Security Council reform is

the other major objective of the United Nations. San

Marino believes that it is necessary to resume dialogue.

In our opinion, the new Security Council should be

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founded upon a flexible base so that it can adjust

appropriately to future changes. The enlargement and

democratization of the Council can only improve peace

processes and thereby the defence of the weakest

Member States.

San Marino also expresses its deep satisfaction

with the new Human Rights Council, which is already

fully operational. We hope that there will be a clear

division of tasks between the Human Rights Council

and the General Assembly in order to avoid duplication

and ensure complementarity and efficiency in a

balanced relationship and mutual independence.

San Marino followed with great interest the

intense negotiations leading to the adoption on 30 June

of the resolution on the follow-up to the 2005 World

Summit, including the Millennium Development

Goals, and fully endorses the call of the President of

the Assembly to focus attention at this general debate

on setting up a global partnership for development.

That goal is a fundamental step towards the eradication

of poverty and the achievement of the other

Millennium Goals. To do so, however, cooperation at

all levels is essential and San Marino is ready to make

its own concrete contribution.

The development goals are also the key points of

the programme that San Marino will present when it

assumes the chairmanship of the Committee of

Ministers of the Council of Europe in mid-November.

During its chairmanship, which is extremely important

to the Republic, San Marino will also address other

global issues, such as intercultural and interreligious

dialogue.

The Republic of San Marino, in line with its

centuries-old history of peace, democracy and freedom,

is particularly sensitive to the need, in today’s

international context characterized by growing tensions

and violent contrasts, to promote dialogue among

cultures and religions based on respect for diversity

and universally recognized human rights.

In that regard, I wish to reiterate the

determination of the Government and institutions of

San Marino to guarantee all possible support to the

international community for the achievement of those

objectives. It is in that spirit that my country has

consistently demonstrated its solidarity with the most

disadvantaged people and circumstances and has

acceded to legal instruments particularly important to

the promotion and achievement of international

cooperation in the search for dialogue and the

affirmation of the principles of tolerance and

understanding. Thus, intercultural and interreligious

dialogue constitutes the basis of any peace process and

the most powerful tool to reject all forms of extremism,

which unfortunately, as we know, often turns into

terrorism.

During our chairmanship of the Committee of

Ministers, to begin in November, I will seek to

organize a meeting with the Assembly on that

important subject.

In that context, we cannot but think of the Middle

East, in particular the situation in Lebanon, where the

United Nations is committed to a new difficult peace

mission, which we sincerely hope will have a

successful outcome. Only a year ago, San Marino

expressed from this rostrum its confidence and hope in

the peace process and in the good will of the parties

involved in the protracted conflict. After a series of

violent attacks, mostly against civilians and innocent

people, as always, the only achievement so far has

been an unstable ceasefire. To help alleviate that

suffering, San Marino has decided, in line with its

centuries-old tradition of solidarity, to offer a special

contribution for humanitarian aid in Lebanon.

San Marino has welcomed with great satisfaction

the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission as

the ideal institutional response to post-conflict

situations. The history of my country is deeply rooted

in the values of peaceful coexistence among all

peoples, and the newly elected Government has

decided to include in its programme, for the first time,

a specific mandate for peace. The objective is to

promote, also in collaboration with volunteer

associations and by supporting international

cooperation, any useful initiative to affirm and

safeguard that important objective.

Therefore, the institutions of San Marino, in

response to the United Nations appeal, decided to

celebrate the International Day of Peace on

21 September. That occasion was also marked by the

opening of a public subscription to raise funds for the

victims of conflicts to be devolved to the Office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

My country will guarantee its active support for

the Pan-European Campaign on Violence against

Women, in particular domestic violence, which will be

launched during San Marino’s chairmanship of the

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Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, in

parallel with the celebration of the International Day

for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Moreover, it will strongly support the development of

the Council of Europe programme “Building a Europe

for and with Children”.

Another particularly important occasion will be

the participation of San Marino in the United Nations

Global Youth Leadership Summit, which will examine

the contribution of young people to the achievement of

the Millennium Development Goals, with particular

reference to sport, development and peace, and will

provide the youth organizations with the necessary

guidelines for future action.

San Marino greatly appreciates the successful

outcome of the work of the group established to draft

an international convention on the protection of

persons with disabilities. Indeed, my country is

becoming increasingly aware of and attentive to the

problems and rights of disabled people. In this regard,

only two weeks ago, the San Marino Parliament

approved an agenda inviting the Government to sign

and ratify the Convention as soon as possible and to

take measures in support of the principles contained

therein.

Let me underscore how, despite all the difficulties

and divisions, the United Nations still demonstrates its

ability to put in place all initiatives and activities

which are at the core of its very existence. It is,

therefore, a duty for all States to keep alive the flame

of ideals and the determination that constitute the

foundations of the Organization’s identity and, at the

same time, the crucial point of reference for all of our

actions, both at the national level and also in terms of

international cooperation.

Prompted by this conviction, and strongly

committed to guaranteeing a constant and constructive

contribution, we would like to express our best wishes

to the President, to the Secretary-General — to whom

we reiterate our most sincere appreciation and highest

esteem for his dedicated commitment during these

years at the helm of the United Nations — and to all

colleagues and representatives who share the same

conviction.