San Marino, 2008

On behalf of

the Government and the people of the Republic of San

Marino, I wish to congratulate Mr. d’Escoto

Brockmann on his appointment as President of the

General Assembly at its sixty-third session. Please rest

assured that the Republic of San Marino is eager to

offer all its support for the success of this session.

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I would like to express our appreciation for the

excellent work carried out during the sixty-second

session of the General Assembly by the outgoing

President, Mr. Srgjan Kerim, in particular for the

commitment and determination he demonstrated while

presiding over the Assembly and promoting the United

Nations reform agenda.

I would also like to give special thanks to the

Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for the great

energy and dedication he has displayed in leading this

Organization and, in particular, for his admirable

commitment to the United Nations reform agenda and

his continuing vigilance and determination in the face

of emergencies and events of international political

importance.

Furthermore, I would like to express San

Marino’s appreciation for the consideration the

Secretary-General has shown to all United Nations

Member States, without distinction, including small

States, and for the attention he has paid to particularly

delicate and urgent issues, such as climate change and

the global food crisis.

The United Nations reform process is of

fundamental importance to world equilibrium and must

remain the focus of our efforts. We must not allow our

failure to reach agreement on United Nations reform to

lead to the decentralization and weakening of the

Organization’s pivotal role.

The key role played by the United Nations is of

the essence in present international conditions, marked

by wars and national conflict. In these early stages of

the twenty-first century, we are witnessing a series of

new conflicts ever more driven by economic interests

and clashes of civilizations, both ethnic and religious,

often within the same country.

More than 60 years ago, the signatory States of

the Charter of the United Nations assumed the shared

responsibility of maintaining international peace and

security. They undertook to work together to prevent

and remove threats to international security, to

suppress acts of aggression and to resolve, through

peaceful means, disputes within and between States

that could lead to war.

On the sixtieth anniversary of the creation of the

United Nations peacekeeping bodies, it is important to

remember the men and women who believe in those

ideals, who have dedicated themselves to the people of

the world, working tirelessly to promote peace and

stability worldwide in dangerous war-torn zones with

resolve, dedication and professionalism while always

remaining impartial and neutral.

However, in spite of all their work, we are still

far from attaining those goals and the United Nations

has not had a full impact on many international crises.

The reform of the United Nations in this context has

thus become even more essential. Reform would enable

the United Nations to have the necessary strength to

act, fully respecting the ideals and objectives that it set

itself at its founding.

The Republic of San Marino has always

supported the United Nations reform process and, in

particular, believes the process of the revitalization of

the General Assembly to be fundamental. Those

reforms are necessary to reaffirm the role of the

General Assembly as the most representative body of

the United Nations.

The Republic of San Marino believes that the

strengthening of the General Assembly is of even

greater significance for, as a profoundly democratic

body of the United Nations, it currently represents the

most important forum in which a small State can be

heard and bring its own contribution at the

international level.

Greater efficiency would make the General

Assembly more complementary in its relations with the

other main bodies of the United Nations, thus avoiding

any duplication of activities and establishing

mechanisms that would effectively implement the

provisions of resolutions adopted by the Assembly.

The process of democratization within the bodies

of the United Nations assumes fundamental importance

for a small State such as the Republic of San Marino.

Greater representation and democratization of the

Organization’s main bodies can guarantee States with

small territories and populations the possibility of

participating and having a larger role in the decision-

making process within multilateral bodies.

I am convinced that smaller States like San

Marino can contribute in a fundamental way to the

Organization precisely because they do not have

macroeconomic, military or geopolitical interests.

It is of parallel importance that small States

establish efficient forms of collaboration and

consultation in order to coordinate their actions so that

43 08-51851

their voices can be adequately heard within

international organizations.

In the framework of contacts with other small

European States, which are frequently renewed,

including on the occasion of our participation in the

work of the General Assembly, San Marino has

promoted a meeting with other small European States

with which it is already collaborating on specific

humanitarian projects, to consider other forms of

multilateral collaboration.

Having participated with a group of small States

in the financing of a UNICEF project for children

affected by HIV in Gabon, this year the Republic of

San Marino, in concert with the private sector, is taking

part in other UNICEF projects aimed, in particular, at

protecting the rights of disabled children.

Strong involvement in the protection of children’s

rights has characterized relations between San Marino

and UNICEF for many years. That commitment was

further expressed last December through the

participation of Their Excellencies the Captains Regent

at the commemorative plenary meeting of the General

Assembly on the follow-up to the outcome of the

special session on children, an event that lent further

impetus to the States’ activities and underscored the

need for their cooperation.

Population growth, climate change and the spread

of new diseases, as well as economic and financial

instability and armed conflicts, are seriously

threatening the achievement of the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs). In particular, the subject

of climate change has become a priority in the United

Nations agenda over the last two years because of its

impact on our habits and the future needs of all

countries without distinction. Those regions that are

most vulnerable due to their geographic position, as

well as developing countries, and small islands in

particular, are facing an even graver emergency

situation.

In addition, the global food crisis and rising

prices present a trend that is increasingly distressing.

The United Nations and the specialized agencies play a

central role in confronting those emergencies. In

particular, the Republic of San Marino would like to

express its full support to the High-Level Task Force

on the Global Food Security Crisis, established by the

Secretary-General last April with the precise objective

of coordinating all ongoing activities aimed at

stemming the crisis.

On the occasion of the opening of the fifty-

second session of the Commission on the Status of

Women, the Secretary-General announced the launch

of the campaign “Unite to End Violence Against

Women”. San Marino intends to work in support of that

campaign to protect the rights of women, which

parallels a commitment undertaken during its

chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the

Council of Europe.

I would like to add that the campaign to combat

violence against women was also carried out at the

national level, where we tried to raise public awareness

of an issue too often ignored or underestimated.

Following that initiative, the Parliament of San Marino

recently adopted a new law: the Prevention and

Repression of Violence against Women and of Gender-

Based Violence. It is a decisive and innovative legal

instrument for our country that provides for, inter alia,

the introduction of preventive measures addressing

violence against women and gender-based violence, as

well as the protection of victims during criminal

proceedings.

The Republic of San Marino also pays particular

attention to the problems faced by persons with

disabilities and the protection of their rights. San

Marino has in fact already ratified the International

Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the

Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities and its

Optional Protocol.

The Republic of San Marino is pleased to

celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights.

The Republic of San Marino has always been

committed to the promotion of the principles of

peaceful coexistence and the mutual respect between

individuals and peoples, in the knowledge that the

understanding of others and mutual respect are the

fundamental prerequisites of justice and peace. The

promotion of intercultural dialogue is a concrete tool

for attaining those values and for affirming one of the

guiding principles of the United Nations: peace

founded on justice and international cooperation.

San Marino is committed to and continues to

work towards the promotion of intercultural dialogue,

in particular in its religious dimension. At the regional

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level, in the context of its activities in the Council of

Europe, San Marino this year coordinated the Council’s

first meeting on the religious dimension of intercultural

dialogue, which was held on an experimental basis.

Representatives of member States of the Council of

Europe, religious leaders, experts and representatives

of civil society participated in the meeting. The

development of dialogue among and with religions at

all levels of society makes a fundamental contribution

to preventing tensions which may endanger the

peaceful coexistence of peoples, as stressed at the

high-level meeting on that subject promoted by the

United Nations.

In conclusion, I would like to wish the President

great success in his important task and to assure him of

our full support during the sixty-third session of the

General Assembly.