Italy, 1994

Mr. President, I am delighted

to begin by congratulating you and your country, Côte

d’Ivoire, on your election as President of the General

Assembly at this session. I also wish to thank your

distinguished predecessor, Ambassador Insanally.

Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta on its admission to

Observer status in the General Assembly.

My statement fully endorses and follows on that of

the German Foreign Minister, who spoke in his capacity

as Chairman of the European Council.

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From the very beginning of its membership in the

United Nations Italy’s foreign policy has been guided by its

active support for the Organization’s principles and

functions. Our contributions to United Nations

deliberations, peace-keeping operations and aid through

multilateral channels are tangible proof of Italy’s faith in

the project drawn up at San Francisco almost 50 years ago.

Our newly elected Government will remain steadfast

in this approach to supporting the United Nations and

building upon the historic opportunities offered by the new

international situation. Let me emphasize that, now more

than ever, Italy is firmly committed to fostering personal,

political, and economic freedom, protecting individual rights

and liberties and enforcing the rule of law. These are the

preconditions for peace and prosperity and the reasons why

Italy is presenting its candidature to the Security Council

for the period 1995-1996.

Unfortunately, the hopes that were kindled by the end

of the cold war, with its promises of peace and stability,

have not been met in international reality. At the same

time, there is little doubt that today we are facing fewer

global risks, despite local conflicts, intolerance and racial

and ethnic strife. It is thus our task to embark on a new

age of cooperation, democracy and development, in which

the United Nations must play a central role. Today, the

General Assembly can become the link between

expectations and commitment.

Italy will continue to play its part in peace-keeping, as

it is already doing in eight different missions, including

logistical support for the operation in former Yugoslavia

and training centres and permanent bases for peace-keeping

forces on its territory. The new United Nations base in

Brindisi is particularly significant in this regard.

However, we cannot ignore the high costs of the

proliferation of primarily internal conflicts. The budget for

peace-keeping operations currently amounts to

approximately $3 billion, three times the regular budget of

the Organization. The Presidency of the European Union

has noted this particular aspect of peace-keeping operations.

We must strengthen preventive diplomacy in order to avoid

over-extending our capabilities, becoming ineffective and

risking financial collapse.

In the wake of the crisis in Rwanda, my Government

is promoting the establishment of a task force for rapid

intervention in humanitarian emergencies. This matter is

now being considered in the appropriate forums and the

results will be presented to the United Nations. I welcome

the support expressed for an emergency humanitarian

instrument by the Presidents of the United States, the

Russian Federation and Argentina, and believe that our

ideas and proposals follow the same orientation.

Entrusting peace-keeping functions to regional

organizations is another option for crisis management.

My Government has moved consistently in this direction

at the national level and in its capacity as

Chairman-in-Office of the Conference on Security and

Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).

Italy attaches particular importance to an effective

and efficient functioning of the Security Council. The

matter of equitable representation on the Security Council

and of increasing its membership requires thorough

examination. To this end, Italy has submitted one of the

most realistic and comprehensive proposals to the Ad Hoc

Working Group. We hope that the General Assembly

will reach a consensus on the methods and timetable for

a truly equitable reform.

Many members question whether the pre-eminence

the Organization has given to peace-keeping in recent

years has not drained the other fundamental objectives of

the United Nations - namely, economic and social

development - of initiative and resources. The

Secretary-General has wisely acknowledged these

concerns in his recent agenda for development.

Mr. Seniloli (Fiji), Vice-President, took the Chair.

As that document states, peace is only one of the

dimensions of development. The others are the economy,

the environment, justice and democracy. To the extent

that democracy protects and promotes personal liberty and

economic freedom, it has a decisive impact on

development by encouraging the strongest force behind

economic growth and personal development - individual

creativity. A prosperous democracy will be free of the

internal tensions that have caused so many of today’s

conflicts. The United Nations will foster a more peaceful

world by promoting freedom and justice in addition to

continuing its peace-keeping functions.

In today’s world, the issue of trade is of paramount

importance. As I like to say, trade unites us; politics

divides us. At the Naples Summit, Italy, in its present

capacity as Chairman of the G-7, strongly advocated the

further dismantling of barriers to world trade in order to

foster the creation of wealth. We are convinced that the

leaders of the free world must avoid squandering the

unique opportunity for world peace and prosperity offered

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by current historic developments. They must resist the

pressure of interest groups and be ready to serve the

general interests of their nations and the nations of the

world, which today more than ever require the opening of

markets and the liberalization of trade. This will be the

role of the World Trade Organization.

In this spirit, we endorse the principles of the agenda

for development and are ready to help establish the

guidelines for their implementation. The fiftieth

anniversary of the United Nations Charter will provide an

opportunity for fostering such a process.

I should now like to address the United Nations

General Assembly in my capacity as Chairman-in-Office of

the CSCE. We are actively promoting peaceful solutions

to several regional crises. In the former Yugoslavia we are

engaged in restoring long-term missions, appointing

Ombudsmen for the Bosnian Federation, instituting a CSCE

mission in Sarajevo and admitting The Former Yugoslav

Republic of Macedonia to the CSCE.

We have lent our good offices to Ukraine, where a

CSCE mission will be instituted, and to Georgia for the

crises in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The CSCE

Presidency has also worked towards facilitating the

withdrawal of Russian troops from the Baltic States and

finding a solution to the problems of citizenship and status

of non-citizens in that area. Through the local CSCE

missions, the CSCE Presidency is also attempting to foster

a political solution to the Moldova-Trans-Dniester and

Tajikistan crises, while it actively supports the efforts of the

Chairman of the Conference on Nagorny Karabakh,

Ambassador Eliasson.

At the 1992 Helsinki Summit the CSCE declared itself

to be a regional arrangement under Chapter VIII of the

United Nations Charter and adopted specific guidelines on

peace-keeping. The ministerial meetings in Stockholm and

Rome led to the United Nations-CSCE Framework

Agreement in March 1993 and to the CSCE’s being granted

observer status at the United Nations. My recent letter to

the Secretary-General on developing and strengthening

cooperation between the CSCE and the United Nations was

a follow-up to these decisions, as was the establishment of

relations between the CSCE and numerous United Nations

agencies working in areas of common concern. One

specific proposal is to attribute primary responsibility to the

CSCE for issues concerning stability and security in its

area, without impinging on the statutory powers of the

Security Council.

Peace-keeping is an area that requires closer

cooperation. The two Organizations should adopt a

standard set of principles for the peace-keeping activities

undertaken by individual States or third parties.

I should like to address the European Presidency’s

statement and memorandum on our current international

policies, limiting myself to those issues which more

closely concern Italy for historical and geographical

reasons.

Italy warmly welcomes the acceptance by the

Croatian-Muslim federation and the Serbian-Montenegran

federation of the peace plan submitted to them on 6 July.

That plan provides a realistic solution to territorial

disputes and constitutional issues and ensures that Bosnia

and Herzegovina will retain its international identity.

Unfortunately, the repeated rejection of the plan by the

Bosnian Serb leadership is a source of deep

disappointment. This has made tougher sanctions against

Pale inevitable in order to force it to reconsider its

position.

The partial lifting of sanctions against Belgrade,

which we have advocated from the beginning, will

encourage the Serbian Government to pursue its new,

more constructive policy. This includes the agreement to

allow international monitors to ensure the effective

sealing of the border between Serbia and Bosnia. In our

ongoing commitment to find a solution to the intractable

crisis in Bosnia, we have been trying to involve other

important international forums, starting with the G-7,

enlarged to include Russia, in joint efforts to foster a

political solution.

With regard to the Middle East, Italy welcomed the

signing of the Cairo Accords, concluded on 4 May, which

authorized the start of self-government in Gaza and

Jericho. We also salute the subsequent transfer to the

Palestinian authorities of jurisdiction over the issues

covered in the Washington Agreements. Italy is pleased

to have contributed to the resumption of negotiations that

led to the Cairo Accords, through our participation in the

international temporary presence in Hebron to implement

Security Council resolution 904 (1994). Italy reaffirms its

commitment to contributing politically and economically

to the reconstruction of the Palestinian territories. The

Israeli-Jordan Accords of 25 July represent a milestone in

the construction of a new Middle East on the basis of

peace and cooperation. We hope that all these

developments will stimulate progress in other negotiations

between Israel and its neighbours.

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In the Mediterranean basin, serious instabilities and

tensions are spreading. Italy intends to make its efforts to

ensure that this region sets an example of tolerance,

economic cooperation and democracy.

As one of the main architects of the peace process in

Mozambique, Italy is pleased with the progress achieved in

recent months. Elections are now set for 27 and 28

October this year. We will continue to collaborate with the

United Nations and other donor countries in the

reconstruction of Mozambique. We also hope that regional

cooperation in southern Africa will help improve economic

conditions in Mozambique, thereby strengthening the

process of peace and democratization. We hope that

Mozambique will become another United Nations success

story, like the peace-keeping operations in Namibia,

Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala and elsewhere.

We would also like to encourage the trends towards

re-establishing peace in Angola on the basis of the Peace

Accords and the pertinent Security Council resolutions.

An area that has seen great progress in recent years is

the further strengthening of disarmament and non-

proliferation. The implementation of existing agreements

is a difficult task for our diplomacies, but the drive towards

more advanced forms of disarmament and arms control is

relentless. We look forward confidently to negotiations to

ban nuclear testing and to halt the production of fissionable

material. Progress in this field should also contribute to the

indefinite and unconditional extension of the Non-

Proliferation Treaty.

With regard to conventional weapons, I wish to take

this opportunity formally to announce the terms of Italy’s

moratorium on the export of anti-personnel mines. The

moratorium will apply to all transfers and be applied until

new international regulations become effective. This

commitment imposes an economic cost, but one that my

country is willing to pay. We urge all Member States to

adopt similar national moratoriums until the international

regime has been finalized.

But let us not forget that conflicts, especially internal

ones, are also created through the violation of fundamental

human rights. That is why we are in favour of

strengthening the mechanisms to monitor and protect those

rights by fully implementing the High Commissioner’s

mandate and strengthening the Centre for Human Rights.

When these rights are seriously violated, despite all

efforts, we are in favour of recourse to a fair judicial

process. In the same spirit with which we welcomed and

contributed to the International Tribunal on crimes

committed in the former Yugoslavia, we support the

creation of an international criminal court for the

adjudication of all violations of human rights, wherever

they may occur. This court must be allowed to inflict the

appropriate punishment, with the exception of the death

penalty, which Italy has consistently opposed. We are

particularly pleased that, after years of hard work, the

International Law Commission has completed a draft

statute for the court, and look forward to contributing to

the Assembly’s debate on the matter.

The strengthening of international security is closely

related to the fight against terrorism and organized crime.

From 21 to 23 November this year, Italy will be hosting

in Naples the ministerial World Conference on Organized

Transnational Crime, under the auspices of the Crime

Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch of the United

Nations.

Italy is also actively participating in the preparation

of the World Summit for Social Development, to be held

in Copenhagen in March 1995, by contributing its

experience in the three crucial issues on the agenda:

combating poverty, unemployment and discrimination.

We live in an exciting but complex world. Few of

us would disagree with the comment of Alfonso the Wise,

King of Castile, a medieval patron of astronomy, who is

quoted as saying, in effect, "If the Lord Almighty had

consulted me before embarking on the Creation, I would

have recommended something simpler."

While rereading the first address Italy delivered to

this Assembly at the eleventh session, I was deeply

moved, and not only because it was given by my father.

Rereading it, it made poignantly clear the far-reaching

changes since 1956, both on the international scene -

from decolonization to the end of the cold war - and on

the Italian domestic political scene. In that address, he

defined the United Nations as

"the most complete expression of that education of

the human race, acquired, as Lessing said, through

suffering and error". (Official Records of the

General Assembly, Eleventh Session, Plenary

Meetings, 588th meeting, para. 94)

And today, so many years later, it is an honour for

me to reaffirm the same profound conviction and to

pledge to this Assembly the total dedication of Italy and

its Government to the ideals embodied in the United

Nations Charter.