Italy, 2008

Today, we face the reality of

an international system that is becoming more complex

by the day. Globalization has created new

opportunities; it has also produced uncertainty and

insecurity. Sudden crises affect the fundamental

sources of our sustenance and progress: food, energy

and financial resources. Terrorism and nuclear

proliferation threaten our security. Climate change has

an impact on the future of our planet. Growing

instability characterizes the energy and financial

markets, widening the gap between rich and poor.

Those global challenges need a timely political

response. A national response would be inadequate and

illusory, for the right response can only be global and

cooperative. A dramatic new vision of global

governance for the twenty-first century requires rules

that all nations can embrace — a new vision based on

three principles: inclusiveness, effectiveness and

shared responsibility.

Effective global governance means a central role

for the United Nations, starting with its most

representative, democratic body, the General Assembly.

Effective global governance means a strong connection

between the United Nations and international

organizations, either universal or regional, such as the

European Union and the African Union. Effective

global governance requires a comprehensive and

consensual reform of the United Nations system,

including the Security Council. To achieve a reform of

this magnitude on the foundations of strong political

support, there is no alternative to general consensus.

We must immediately learn the lessons of the

turmoil in the world financial markets. Promoting

transparent and reliable rules in the marketplace is the

only way to protect our societies from falling prey to

those forces. We have to avoid squandering wealth and

instead ensure that it is distributed equitably among

every component of society. That is the vision that

Italy will promote during its upcoming presidency of

the Group of Eight (G-8). Through a broader dialogue

with the emerging economies and the least developed

countries, the G-8 will contribute to the shaping of a

new system of global governance in which formats will

be tailored to specific issues, leading to a gradual

assumption of shared responsibility.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are

priority challenges. They demand an urgent response, a

mobilization of greater human and financial resources,

new ideas and a true partnership between donor and

beneficiary countries that is fully inclusive of

governments, local organizations, the private sector

and civil society.

Italy is strongly committed to achieving the goals

of defeating hunger, strengthening health-care systems

and making education accessible to all. All this is on

the agenda of the upcoming Italian presidency of the

G-8, and Africa will be at the centre of our attention.

The right place to address the food crisis is the

United Nations, and we must equip the Organization to

tackle it effectively. Italy strongly supports the roles

and functions of the Food and Agriculture

Organization, the World Food Programme, the

International Fund for Agricultural Development and

all the other agencies that help to alleviate hunger and

guarantee food security. We also encourage the direct

involvement of the private sector in bringing

agriculture back to its rightful place at the centre of

economic policies. That will require a global

partnership to increase the flow of investments and

know-how, enhance productivity and contribute to the

development of national agro-industry; a global

partnership that will make a big step towards achieving

the first Millennium Development Goal: to eliminate

extreme poverty and hunger and to improve the lives of

the last billion, that portion of the global population

still on the margins of the world economy. That is,

indeed, an absolute priority.

The year 2009 will be crucial for international

negotiations on climate change. Italy and the European

Union are determined to reach an ambitious post-2012

agreement that includes mitigation and adaptation

measures. The fight against climate change is closely

connected to energy security. We need to promote

greater energy cooperation at the global level. We need

to promote solutions that reconcile the need for secure

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supplies with sustainable energy policies, energy

efficiency and clean energy technologies. We need to

promote research and development of alternative fuel

sources, including renewable and nuclear energy. We

need to promote a comprehensive dialogue between

producing and consuming countries, based on mutual

trust, solidarity, dialogue and cooperation.

Interdependence is the fundamental reality that

binds developed countries and emerging economies,

and in its capacity as the incoming G-8 President, Italy

will promote the energy dialogue and the global

negotiations on climate change.

Effective multilateral cooperation built on shared

responsibility is vital to tackling the main threats to our

safety and security, including terrorism and the

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Our

vigilance against terrorism must remain high and our

international cooperation intense. In the next few years

we should work together on a new global pact against

terrorism to be enacted in 2011 on the tenth

anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11.

The protection of human rights and the rule of

law must underpin our action. These values are

enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights, which is as relevant today as it was 60 years

ago. That is why Italy has a long-standing commitment

to a universal moratorium on the death penalty, with a

view to its abolition. And that is also why we are

working to combat impunity and to strengthen the

instruments of international law, including the

International Criminal Court.

The fight against the proliferation of weapons of

mass destruction is at the centre of our international

commitment. In preparation for the 2010

Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, Italy is

ready to do its part to strengthen the Non-Proliferation

Treaty, which is of fundamental importance to

preventing and countering proliferation and laying the

foundations for a world free of nuclear weapons. Yet

we must also maintain cooperation on the peaceful use

of nuclear technology, as expressly provided for by the

Treaty. We thus call upon the Iranian Government to

show responsibility by promptly meeting the

conditions for normal negotiations to reassure the

international community and the countries of the

region. Let me say very clearly that we strongly

condemn the Iranian President’s irresponsible remarks

on the State of Israel.

Global security and regional security are very

closely connected. We welcome the positive signals

from the Middle East, such as the continuation of the

negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, the

beginning of a national dialogue among the Lebanese

political forces to fully implement the Doha

agreements, and the new chapter in relations between

Lebanon and Syria.

In Afghanistan, the continuation of the

international commitment should be accompanied by a

gradual assumption of responsibility by the local

authorities and forces and the participation of

neighbouring countries in the stabilization process. In

the Caucasus, the recent crisis indicates the need, there

and elsewhere, to strengthen regional cooperation

mechanisms and prevent a competitive dynamic that

would lead to high costs and low benefits.

More than two hundred years ago a great Italian

political philosopher Cesare Beccaria wrote, “The

greatest happiness of the greatest number is the

foundation of morals and legislation.” True to these

words, so deeply rooted in my country’s democratic

vocation, Italy joins in the common effort to build a

world of peace, security, sustainable development and

a new democratic, transparent and effective global

governance.