Holy See, 2011

I have the pleasure of congratulating you, Sir,

on your election to the presidency of the General

Assembly at its sixty-sixth session. I assure you of the

full and sincere collaboration of the Holy See. I also

congratulate the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon,

who during this session, on 1 January 2012, will begin

his second term.

I would also like to cordially welcome the

delegation of South Sudan, which became the

193rd Member State of the Organization last July.

Every year, the general debate offers the

opportunity to address the principal questions that

concern humanity in search of a better future for all.

The challenges facing the international community are

many and difficult. They bring ever more clearly in

focus the profound interdependence within the family

of nations, which sees in the United Nations an

important agent, despite its limitations, for identifying

and implementing solutions to major international

problems.

Without attempting an exhaustive survey, my

delegation wishes to reflect on a few of the priority

challenges so that the concept of the family of nations

can increasingly take shape.

The first challenge is a humanitarian one. It calls

the whole international community — or better, the

family of nations — to look after its weakest members.

In certain parts of the world, such as the Horn of

Africa, we are, sadly, facing grave humanitarian

emergencies that force millions of people — the

majority women and children — to leave their homes,

large numbers of them being victims of drought,

famine and malnutrition.

The Holy See renews its appeal to the

international community, expressed many times by

Pope Benedict XVI, to amplify and support

humanitarian policies in those areas and to work to

concretely address the various factors that amplify

their vulnerability.

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These humanitarian emergencies make clear the

need to find innovative ways to put to work the

principle of the responsibility to protect, at the base of

which is the recognition of the unity of the human

family and the innate dignity of every man and every

woman. As is known, that principle points to the

responsibility of the international community to

intervene in situations in which Governments on their

own cannot — or do not wish to — comply with their

primary responsibility to protect their populations

against grave violations of human rights and the effects

of humanitarian crises. If States are no longer capable

of guaranteeing that protection, the international

community must intervene with the juridical means

foreseen in the United Nations Charter and other

international instruments.

However, it must be recalled that there is a risk

that that principle may be invoked in certain

circumstances as a pretext to use military force. It is

good to recall that even the use of force in keeping

with the United Nations rules should be a temporary

solution, a true emergency measure, accompanied and

followed by a concrete commitment to pacification.

For that reason, in taking up the challenge of the

responsibility to protect, we must engage in a deeper

search for the means to prevent and manage conflicts,

exploring all possible diplomatic avenues through

negotiation and constructive dialogue, noting and

encouraging even the weakest signs of willingness to

negotiate or desire for reconciliation on the part of the

parties involved.

The responsibility to protect must be thought of

not as military intervention alone — which should

always be the last recourse — but above all as a

requirement that the international community be united

in facing crises. It must create forums for genuine,

sincere negotiations, support the moral force of law,

seek the common good and encourage Governments,

civil society and public opinion to find the causes of

and offer solutions to crises of all kinds. I must act in

close collaboration and solidarity with the affected

populations and place above all else the integrity and

security of all citizens.

It is therefore important that the responsibility to

protect, understood in that sense, should be the

criterion and motivation that underlies all the work of

States and of the United Nations to restore peace,

security and the human rights. Moreover, the long and

generally successful history of peacekeeping

operations and the more recent initiatives in

peacebuilding can offer valuable lessons for conceiving

models for implementing the responsibility to protect

in full respect for international law and for the

legitimate interests of all the parties involved.

Respect for freedom of religion is a fundamental

factor in peacebuilding, the recognition of human

dignity and the safeguarding of the human rights. This

is the second challenge I would like to reflect on.

The situations in which the right to freedom of

religion is violated or is denied to believers of different

religions are unfortunately many. We have witnessed

rising intolerance for religious reasons. Christians are

the religious group that currently suffers the greatest

persecution because of their faith.

The lack of respect for freedom of religion

threatens security and peace and hinders authentic

integral human development. The particular weight of

a given religion in a nation should never mean that

citizens of other faiths are discriminated against in

social life or, worse still, that violence against them is

tolerated. In that connection, it is important that a

common commitment to recognize and promote the

religious freedom of every person and every

community be promoted by engaging in sincere

interreligious dialogue, encouraged and supported by

Governments and international bodies.

I reiterate the concerned appeal made by the Holy

See to authorities and religious leaders to adopt

effective measures for the protection of religious

minorities, wherever they are threatened. In that way,

believers of all faiths everywhere will be able to live in

security and continue to make a contribution to their

society.

In thinking about the situation in some countries,

I would like to repeat in particular that Christians are

citizens like any other citizens, connected to their

homeland and faithful to all of their national duties. It

is natural that they should enjoy all the rights of

citizenship, freedom of conscience and worship,

freedom in teaching and education and freedom in the

use of communications media.

Moreover, in some countries, although much

importance is placed on pluralism and tolerance,

paradoxically there is a tendency to consider religion

as something foreign to modern society or even as a

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destabilizing force. Various means are sought to

marginalize religion and prevent it from having any

influence on social life.

But how can anyone deny the contribution of the

world’s great religions to the development of

civilization? As Pope Benedict XVI stressed, the

sincere search for God has led to greater respect for

human dignity. For example, Christian communities,

with their heritage of values and principles, have

contributed much to making individuals and peoples

aware of their own identity and their dignity, as well as

to the establishment of rule-of-law institutions and the

recognition of human rights and their corresponding

responsibilities. From that standpoint, it is important

that believers, today as yesterday, feel free to offer

their contribution to the promotion of a more just

human order, not only through their responsible

involvement in civic, economic and political life, but

also through the witness of their charity and faith.

A third challenge that the Holy See would like to

bring to the attention of the Assembly is the continuing

global economic and financial crisis.

We all know that a fundamental element of the

current crisis is the deficit in ethics in the economic

structures. Ethics are not an external element of the

economy; the economy has no future if it has no moral

element. In other words, the ethical dimension is

essential in addressing economic problems. The

economy does not function only through market self-

regulation, and even less through agreements that are

limited to accommodating the interests of the most

powerful.

The economy needs an ethical raison d’être in

order to work for humankind. The notion of producing

resources and goods — that is, the economy — and of

managing them strategically — that is, politics —

without seeking to do good through those same acts —

that is, without ethics — has proven to be a naïve or

cynical illusion, and always fatal. Moreover, every

economic decision has a moral consequence.

The economy therefore needs ethics to function

properly — not just any ethic, but a people-centred

ethic that can offer prospects to new generations.

Economic and commercial activities oriented towards

development should be able to effectively reduce

poverty and alleviate the suffering of the most

disenfranchised.

In that regard, the Holy See encourages

strengthening official development assistance in

accordance with the Group of Eight commitments

made at Gleneagles. My delegation hopes that the

debates on this theme at the forthcoming High-level

Dialogue on Financing for Development will bring the

expected results.

Furthermore, the Holy See has repeatedly

stressed the importance of new and more in-depth

thinking on the meaning of the economy and its

objectives, as well as a forward-looking review of the

global trade and financial architecture to correct its

dysfunctions and distortions. This review of

international economic rules must form part of wider

efforts to forge a new global development model.

Indeed, the state of our planet’s environmental health,

and above all the cultural and moral crisis of

humankind — the symptoms of which have been

evident around the world for some time — demand

this.

These considerations should also inspire the work

of the forthcoming United Nations Conference on

Sustainable Development, to be held in June, on the

conviction that “Human beings are at the centre of

concerns for sustainable development”, as stated in the

Principle 1 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment

and Development.

The sense of environmental responsibility and

preservation should be guided by our awareness of

being a family of nations. The idea of “family”

immediately evokes something more than merely

functional relationships or a simple convergence of

interests. A family is by nature a community based on

interdependence, mutual trust, mutual aid and sincere

respect. Its full development is based not on the

supremacy of the strongest, but on the attention paid to

the weakest and most marginalized, and its

responsibility extends to future generations. Respect

for the environment should make us more attuned to

the needs of the most disenfranchised. It should create

a development strategy centred on the individual that

promotes solidarity and the shared responsibility of all,

including future generations.

This strategy can only benefit from the United

Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty, planned

for 2012. An unregulated and non-transparent arms

trade has significant negative repercussions. It hampers

integral human development and heightens the risk of

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conflicts, especially internal conflicts, and instability.

It fosters a culture of violence and impunity, which is

often linked to such criminal activities as drug

trafficking, trafficking in human beings and piracy.

These are becoming ever more serious international

problems.

The results of the current arms trade treaty

process will test the true willingness of States to

assume their moral and legal responsibilities in that

regard. The international community, conscious of the

great numbers of people affected by the illegal trade in

arms and ammunition and aware of their suffering,

must focus on concluding an arms trade treaty that is

effective and enforceable. Indeed, the primary

objective of the treaty should be not only to regulate

the trade in conventional arms and obstruct the black

market, but also and most importantly to protect human

life and build a world more respectful of human

dignity.

Indeed, the United Nations’ contribution to

building a world more respectful of human dignity will

demonstrate its ability to effectively carry out its

mission, which is to help the family of nations to

pursue the common objectives of peace, security and

integral development for all.

The Holy See is also concerned about the events

unfolding in some countries of North Africa and the

Middle East. I would like to take this opportunity to

renew the appeal made by the Holy Father Benedict

XVI, who called on all citizens, particularly young

people, to do their utmost to promote the common

good and build societies in which poverty is overcome,

in which every political choice is inspired by respect

for human beings and in which peace and harmony will

triumph over divisions, hatred and violence.

A final observation concerns Palestine’s request

for recognition as a Member State of the United

Nations, made here on 23 September by the President

of the Palestinian National Authority, Mr. Mahmoud

Abbas. The Holy See views this initiative as an attempt

to find a definitive solution, with the support of the

international community, to the question already

addressed by the General Assembly in its resolution

181 (II) of 29 November 1947. That fundamental

document sets down the legal framework for the

existence of two States. One of them has already been

born, while the other has not yet been established,

although nearly 65 years have passed.

The Holy See is convinced that if one desires

peace, brave decisions must be taken. It hopes that the

competent bodies of the United Nations are resolved to

help effectively implement the final objective, that is,

achieving the Palestinians’ right to have their own

independent and sovereign State and the Israelis’ right

to security, both States with internationally recognized

borders.

The response of the United Nations, whatever it

may be, will not be a complete solution. Lasting peace

can be achieved only through good-faith negotiations

between Israelis and Palestinians, avoiding actions or

conditions that contradict declarations of goodwill. The

Holy See therefore urges the parties to return to

negotiations with resolve. It urgently appeals to the

international community to increase its commitment

and stimulate its creativity and initiatives in order to

reach a lasting peace, in respect for the rights of the

Israelis and the Palestinians.