Holy See, 2009

As you, Sir,

assume the presidency of the General Assembly at this

sixty-fourth session, my delegation wishes you all the

best in your endeavours and looks forward to working

with you to address the many challenges facing the

global community.

Every year, anticipation surrounds the General

Assembly in the hope that Governments will be able to

find points of agreement on the persisting problems

that afflict humankind and to adopt a common

direction for resolving them in a peaceful manner for

the well-being of all. Understandably, the deliberations

of the preceding session of the General Assembly were

dominated by preoccupation with the world financial

and economic crisis. It is only fitting that this year

delegations have been asked to focus on the theme

“Effective responses to global crises: strengthening

multilateralism and dialogue among civilizations for

international peace, security and development”.

In view of a political and cultural dialogue

oriented towards the harmonious evolving of the world

economy and of international relations, we would do

well to revisit the Preamble of the Charter of the

United Nations, where it affirms that “We the peoples

of the United Nations determined … to reaffirm faith

in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth

of the human person, in the equal rights of men and

women and of nations large and small”.

The various world crises that have intertwined in

the past months bring to the discussion presuppositions

of thought and principles of individual, social and

international behaviour that extend well beyond the

financial or economic fields. The idea of producing

resources and assets — which is the economy — and

strategically managing them — which is politics —

without seeking together with the same actions to carry

out also the good — which is ethics — has been proven

to be a naive or cynical and fatal delusion. The more

solid and profound contribution that the General

Assembly must make to the solution of international

problems lies in promoting the principles contained in

the Preamble and in Article 1 of the Charter of this

Organization in a manner that such high human and

spiritual values serve to renovate the international

order from within, where the real crisis lies.

A first element of truth is found precisely in the

phrase “We the peoples of the United Nations”. The

theme of peace and development, in fact, coincides

with that of the relational inclusion of all peoples in the

unique community of the human family that is

constructed in solidarity. Evident in the various Group

of Eight, Group of 20, regional and international

meetings, held in parallel with the work of the

preceding General Assembly, was the necessity to give

legitimacy to the political commitments assumed and

to confront them with the thoughts and needs of the

entire international community so that the solutions

devised would reflect the points of view and the

43 09-53165

expectations of the populations of all continents. That

is why efficacious modes must be found to connect the

decisions of the various groupings of countries to those

of the United Nations, where every nation, with its

political and economic weight, can legitimately explain

itself in a situation of equality with others.

It is in that context of truth and sincerity that the

recent appeal of Pope Benedict XVI can be seen in

perspective. As he notes in his encyclical “Charity in

Truth”, in the face of the unrelenting growth of global

interdependence there is a strongly felt need, even in

the midst of a global recession, for an urgent reform of

the United Nations, and likewise of economic

institutions and international finance, so that the

concept of the family of nations can acquire real teeth.

Such reform is urgent in order to find innovative ways

of implementing the principles of the responsibility to

protect and of giving poorer nations an effective voice

in shared decision-making.

Admittedly, building the United Nations as a true

centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the

attainment of those common ends is an extremely

difficult task. The more the interdependence of peoples

increases, the more the necessity of the United Nations

becomes evident. The need to have an organization

capable of responding to the obstacles and increasing

complexity of the relations between peoples and

nations thus becomes paramount.

As we consider the nature of development and the

role of donor and recipient countries, we must always

remember that true development necessarily involves

an integral respect for human life, which cannot be

disconnected from the development of peoples.

Unfortunately, in some parts of the world today,

development aid seems to be tied rather to the recipient

countries’ willingness to adopt programmes that

discourage demographic growth by methods and

practices disrespectful of human rights and dignity.

In that regard, it is both cynical and unfortunate

that frequent attempts continue to be made to export

such a mentality to developing countries, as if it were a

form of cultural progress or advancement. Yet such a

practice is by its nature not one of reciprocity but

imposition, and to predicate the decision to give

development aid on the acceptance of such policies

constitutes an abuse of power.

Every human being has the right to good

governance, that is, the right to participate in all social

actions, at the national and international level, whether

directly or indirectly, as a guarantee for all persons a

free and dignified life. At the same time, it is an

essential part of that dignity that everyone takes

responsibility for his actions and actively respects the

dignity of others.

Rights always exist inseparably from

responsibilities and duties. This applies to individual

men and women and, by analogy, to States, whose true

progress and affirmation depends on their capacity to

establish and maintain responsible relations with other

States and to express a shared responsibility for world

problems.

The implementation of the principle of the

responsibility to protect, as formulated at the 2005

World Summit and approved by the unanimous

consensus of all United Nations Member States,

becomes a touchstone of the two enunciated principles

of truth in international relations and of global

governance.

The recognition of the core objective and

indispensability of the dignity of every man and

woman ensures that Governments always undertake

with every means at their disposal to prevent and

combat crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing and any

other crimes against humanity. Thus, by recognizing

their interconnected responsibility to protect States will

realize the importance of accepting the collaboration of

the international community as a means of fulfilling

their role of providing responsible sovereignty.

The mechanisms of the United Nations for

addressing common security and the prevention of

conflicts were developed in response to the threat of

total war and nuclear destruction in the second half of

the last century, and for this reason alone they deserve

perennial historical remembrance. Moreover, the work

of peacekeepers have stabilized and ended innumerable

local conflicts and have made related reconstruction

possible.

Nevertheless, it is well known that the number of

conflicts that the United Nations has not been able to

resolve remains high and that many of them have

become occasions of serious crimes against humanity.

That is why the acceptance of the principle of the

responsibility to protect and of the underlying truths

that guide responsible sovereignty can be the catalyst

for the reform of the mechanisms, procedures and

representativeness of the Security Council.

09-53165 44

In this context, my delegation would like to recall

here the Honduran people, who continue to suffer

frustration and hardship from the already too long

political upheaval. Once more, the Holy See urges the

parties concerned to make every effort to find a prompt

solution in view of the good of the people of Honduras.

This session of the General Assembly began with

the special Summit on Climate Change, and in

December there will be the Copenhagen Climate

Conference. The protection of the environment

continues to be at the forefront of multilateral

activities, because it involves, in consistent form, the

destiny of all the nations and the future of every

individual man and woman.

Recognition of the double truths of

interdependence and personal dignity also requires that

environmental issues are taken as a moral imperative

and translated into legal rules, capable of protecting

our planet and ensuring future generations a healthy

and safe environment.

In closing, I would like to say that in these

changing times the international community — “we,

the peoples” — has the unique chance and

responsibility to ensure full implementation of the

United Nations Charter and thus greater peace and

understanding among nations.