Italy, 2001

I wish to congratulate the

President on his election to head the first session of the

General Assembly of the new millennium. I am certain

that his experience and commitment will enable us to

achieve the high goals that we all share. I also renew

the Italian Government’s warmest congratulations to

Secretary-General Kofi Annan on his receipt of the

Nobel Peace Prize. His appointment to a second term to

the leadership of the United Nations is both welcome

and unanimously appreciated.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belgium

addressed the General Assembly yesterday, speaking

on behalf of the European Union. Italy fully shares his

views and supports his statement.

Like our Belgian colleague and previous

speakers, I would like to express once more, on this

solemn occasion, to the Government and people of the

United States our deep solidarity following the

appalling terrorist acts perpetrated against them. We

share their suffering over the shocking loss of human

life and the sorrow of thousands of families.

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These acts defy the most basic values of civil

coexistence. We condemn them and reaffirm our full

commitment to the fight against international terrorism,

a struggle on which the United Nations has conferred

full legitimacy. We believe that the United Nations

remains the central forum to which we must turn in

drafting a comprehensive response to terrorism.

This is why we need strict application of the full

range of measures adopted by the General Assembly

and the Security Council during the days immediately

following the 11 September attacks. Resolution 1373

(2001), in particular, must be implemented, urgently

and vigorously. I also hope that everyone shows the

necessary flexibility to allow a swift conclusion of the

negotiations on a comprehensive convention against

international terrorism.

On 7 November, by a majority of more than 90

per cent, the Italian Parliament approved the

Government’s decision to contribute ground troops,

naval forces and air units to operations against

international terrorism. This confirms my country’s

awareness that the stakes are high and proves the

robustness of our national consensus in facing this

challenge. The fight must be conducted in a targeted

manner, avoiding the loss of innocent lives, until the

objective has been fully achieved, without, however,

neglecting humanitarian assistance to the Afghan

people, both within the country and in the refugee

camps. But the problem of the political future of

Afghanistan, a problem to be solved only by the

Afghan people, must, of course, remain a high priority

in the agenda of the United Nations, together with the

objective of regional stability.

But in crafting a credible, diversified global

strategy to eradicate international terrorism, we must

also search for solutions to the most delicate regional

crises and to the global problems that loom over our

lives. These include hunger, poverty, ignorance,

inequality, underdevelopment, violation of human

rights and fundamental freedoms and threats to the

environment and health.

At the top of the list of regional crises is the

Middle East, an area physically close to Italy, and one

to which we pay close attention. Here, we are working

both in a national capacity and within the European

Union to create, as soon as possible, the conditions for

an end to the violence and a true return to negotiations

for a comprehensive, lasting peace in the region based

on the establishment of a viable and democratic State

for the Palestinians and an end to the occupation of

their territories and on Israel’s right to live in peace

and security within internationally recognized borders.

This framework should also include an ambitious

plan, like the one adopted to rebuild a devastated

Europe in the wake of World War II, for public and

private investments and inter-regional assistance

towards fostering solidarity among the region’s States

and peoples — in other words, a new Marshall Plan.

Special attention should be paid to the economic and

social growth and development of the Palestinian

population, to which Italy is fully committed and for

which it remains prepared to do more in the future.

In the Balkans, we have noted encouraging

progress despite persisting tensions. Our goal there is

to prevent destabilizing tendencies and to foster

regional cooperation and economic development,

including closer ties with the European Union.

As for the challenges of globalization, we should

first of all make the success of the World Trade

Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Doha a

primary objective. In fact, many of the global problems

I have listed can be alleviated by ensuring that the

international market economy and multilateral free

trade operate fairly and continue to foster

inclusiveness, integration and more equitable and

sustainable growth of all countries through agreed

rules. This latest WTO round should be one of growth

and development, focusing in particular on the

problems of the developing and least developed

countries.

But in order to assure a better response to

globalization’s most problematic aspects, other major

objectives must be pursued. And the universal

organization with the moral authority to meet this

challenge is the United Nations.

The first objective is the maintenance of

international peace and security. Italy’s commitment is

strong and long-standing. In fact, we are one of the top

three contributors of men and resources to peace

operations led and authorized by the United Nations. In

this light, we appreciate the reports that the Secretariat

has issued in the past two years, which suggest a vision

of peace activity as a single, three-sided concept,

encompassing conflict prevention, peacekeeping and

post-conflict peace-building.

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Italy also values the document that the Secretary-

General submitted to Member States on the prevention

of armed conflicts, emphasizing the direct connection

between safeguarding peace and fighting

underdevelopment. In fact, no peacekeeping action can

achieve lasting results unless it is coupled with

measures to strengthen government institutions,

safeguard the human, civil and cultural rights of all

communities and rebuild the economic and social fibre

of affected areas.

The second objective is to foster development and

eradicate poverty. We must ensure that all the countries

of the world benefit from the opportunities created by

interdependencies and progress, in particular in the

areas of information and communication technology.

The global United Nations conferences of the 1990s

laid the groundwork for the definition of poverty as a

multidimensional phenomenon. It is not only

characterized by low income and consumption, but also

a lack of food, health care, schooling and

environmental stability. This is a vicious cycle that we

must break, through coordinated and integrated

initiatives. To reverse the downward spiral, we must

enhance both the material and the human dimensions of

development.

The Millennium Declaration spells out the

objectives to be attained by 2015. Italy has shown its

commitment to these goals through the shaping of its

international actions and the shouldering of its

responsibilities during the year of its G-8 presidency.

One example was the substantive outreach initiative at

the Genoa Summit, involving a meeting with five

African Heads of State and the Secretary-General to

discuss the New African Initiative and launch a global

fund to combat HIV/AIDS and other infectious

diseases.

Finally, we must continue to nurture and

strengthen development assistance and reach the goal

of having the most developed countries dedicate 0.7

per cent of their gross national product to this pursuit.

In this context, debt relief is another essential tool to

free up the necessary resources in developing countries

in order to stimulate their economies, for instance by

promoting public investment in health care and

schooling. Italy is a leader in this field by virtue of

recent laws that allow it to gradually cancel the debt of

the poorest countries.

As I said before, the United Nations has the moral

authority to take on today’s new challenges. This fact

was highlighted by the awarding of the Nobel Peace

Prize to the Secretary-General and to the Organization

as a whole. However, its structure and procedures must

keep pace with the times. Italy believes in the reform

of the United Nations, a reform that should affect all of

its bodies, including the Security Council. Let me

reiterate the need for a comprehensive reform that

addresses the relevant issues in all their aspects. Such a

reform should be designed to produce greater

efficiency, legitimacy and transparency. It should also

meet the general expectations of democracy,

universality and inclusiveness.

In addition, to create the conditions for stable

growth of prosperity and security for all humankind,

we need more effective governance of globalization.

The documents prepared by the Secretariat make great

strides in this direction. Now is the time to translate the

commitments of the Millennium Declaration into

action. Italy will support every initiative undertaken for

this purpose.

Never have we had a better opportunity to solve

our problems, yet never have we faced greater risks.

The answer does not lie in denying the reality of

interdependence and growing globalization. It is within

our ability to promote better governance of the

international system. Never before has the world had so

many human, financial and technological resources at

its disposal. The answer lies in our hands, in our

collective will.