On behalf of the Government of the Republic of San Marino, I would like to congratulate H.E. Csaba Korosi on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy- seventh session and to wish him a fruitful work. The Republic of San Marino supports the priorities of his programme and assures him of its full cooperation in all the work of the General Assembly.
I would also like to extend my special thanks to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his energy and determination in leading the United Nations in these difficult and challenging times.
I am grateful for the theme chosen for this session, “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges”. It gives Member States the opportunity to constructively contribute to the work of the General Assembly. The increasingly evident interrelationships among global challenges highlight the need for Member States, today more than ever, to work together to overcome difficulties. It is clear that there is a link between multilateralism and global challenges, the scope of which goes beyond the capacity of each individual State, even the most powerful or technologically advanced, to face them on its own.
Preserving the values of multilateralism and international cooperation that underpin the Charter of the United Nations and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is of fundamental importance for promoting and supporting peace and security, development and human rights. The Republic of San Marino considers it essential to continue to reaffirm its collective commitment to multilateralism, in particular in the framework of the General Assembly, as the most representative body of the United Nations on account of its deeply democratic nature, universal participation and undisputed legitimacy. However, multilateralism cannot be a mere statement of collective intentions; it must translate into concrete actions to improve people’s lives and leave nobody behind.
We are facing difficult times, with an unprecedented level of violence, mass atrocities and displacement. The armed conflicts across the globe are causing immense suffering to millions of civilians. The war of aggression against Ukraine has had dramatic consequences for the civilian population, including civilian deaths, the destruction of vital infrastructure and massive displacement.
The aggression against Ukraine has been strongly condemned by the international community. Resolution ES-11/1, “Aggression against Ukraine”, demands that Russia immediately stop its military aggression, unconditionally withdraw all forces from the entire territory of Ukraine, and fully respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence within its internationally recognized borders.
San Marino has decided to cooperate within the framework of international structures and mechanisms, foremost among which is the United Nations, because it believes in the strength of dialogue, democracy and respect for others. In line with our values, the Captains Regent of the Republic of San Marino, in their message at the opening of the session of the Parliament in July, called on all parties involved in the Ukraine conflict to renounce the use of force and to reopen the channels of dialogue and negotiation so that politics and diplomacy can prevail in the management of this crisis. No one should remain indifferent to war, but rather we should all work responsibly to create the conditions for dialogue and peace with the full involvement of international institutions.
San Marino is deeply concerned by the ongoing armed conflicts across the globe. We reaffirm our commitment to the principle of the responsibility to protect ,which is essential to the prevention of atrocity crimes. Accountability is indeed another factor that plays an important role in preventing and stopping such crimes. The Republic of San Marino reaffirms its full commitment to its obligations under human and humanitarian law, such as the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Geneva Conventions.
San Marino reaffirms its full support for the International Criminal Court, whose work is crucial in the fight against impunity for genocide and crimes against humanity and represents one of the core elements of the implementation of the responsibility to protect. The ICC, through its work, fosters accountability and thereby promotes prevention and reconciliation.
The Republic of San Marino would also like to reiterate its support for initiatives such as the Code of Conduct of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group regarding Security Council action against genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity and the French and Mexican declaration on voluntary restraint of the use of the veto by the permanent members of the Security Council.
Children and youth are uniquely and often disproportionately affected by conflicts and atrocities. San Marino stresses the need to strengthen child protection capacities and to put children and youth at the centre of efforts to prevent atrocities. At the same time, we also encourage Member States to adopt the relevant instruments on the protection of children, including the Paris Principles and the Safe Schools Declaration.
Being part of the Group of Friends of Children and Armed Conflict, San Marino is particularly worried about the difficulties in the implementation of child protection activities in armed conflict situations. San Marino commends the dedication of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and of her Office, and appreciates the engagement of all the child protection personnel and partners involved.
Moreover, San Marino is committed to the protection of women and girls and to supporting the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence.
In addition, persons with disabilities face additional risks and vulnerabilities in situations of armed conflict. Their needs should be duly taken into account and barriers to accessing information, evacuation and emergency assistance should be lifted.
San Marino is deeply disturbed and firmly condemns the growing number of deliberate attacks against schools, hospitals and places of worship. We also firmly condemn attacks against journalists, humanitarian workers, human rights defenders and peacekeepers. These stakeholders and civil society actors can play an important role for reconciliation and prevention and early warning mechanisms, and should therefore be supported and protected.
Today the threat of nuclear weapons being used is much higher than it has been in the last decades. We condemn the Russian Federation’s dangerous nuclear rhetoric. Any threat of use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable and of the utmost concern. What is needed today is a steady and genuine commitment to international institutions and to disarmament.
In that spirit, San Marino participated in the tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and in the first Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) earlier this year. We regret that, at this critical time, the tenth Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty was not able to adopt its final document. San Marino will continue to work for the full implementation of this fundamental instrument. San Marino welcomes the positive outcome of the first Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and urges all States committed to our final goal of a world without such weapons to join the TPNW. Only honouring and reinvigorating our multilateral agreements will we be able to put humankind on a new path towards a world free of nuclear weapons.
Since 1945, the world has witnessed the highest number of violent conflicts. Forced displacement has continued to grow in 2021 and 2022, while refugees have been at their highest number. The war in Ukraine has created one of the largest refugee crises of modern time. More than 7 million refugees — most of them women and children — have fled Ukraine and a further 7 million have been displaced inside the country. This refugee crisis confronts each Member State with its responsibilities.
The people of San Marino, guardians of a century- old tradition of peace and solidarity, have opened their doors to Ukraine refugees. Since the beginning of the war, the Republic of San Marino has welcomed more than 300 Ukrainian refugees, equal to 1 per cent of the entire Sammarinese population, thanks to the solidarity of public and private institutions and non-governmental organizations and with the help of many volunteers.
Together with the refugee crisis, the impacts of the conflicts may lead to a global food crisis. Food insecurity affects the lives of millions of people across the world and is mainly concentrated in conflict-affected regions. The vast majority of stunted children live in countries affected by violence and conflict. Armed conflicts displace farmers and can destroy agricultural assets and food stocks. Furthermore, they disrupt markets and vital services for the food systems. The ongoing war in Ukraine is disrupting supply chains and further affecting the prices of grain, fertilizer and energy. In the first half of 2022, that caused further food price increases. As reported in The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022, the number of people unable to afford a healthy diet around the world rose by 112 million to almost 3.1 billion, reflecting the impacts of rising consumer food prices during the pandemic.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has further expanded the fragilities in our agri-food systems and the inequalities in our societies, and increased world hunger and severe food insecurity. At the same time, we also should not underestimate the effects of climate change and climate disasters on aggravating food insecurity. For all these reasons, it is extremely important to keep food security on our agenda and to continue to incentivize the sustainable production, supply and consumption of nutritious foods in order to make healthy diets less costly and more affordable to all. Moreover, as promoter of resolution 74/209, establishing 29 September as International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, San Marino firmly believes that the fight against food loss and waste will contribute to promoting food security, and welcomes all initiatives aimed at developing awareness in such responsible behaviours.
It is widely acknowledged that the COVID-19 crisis has had a negative impact on global efforts to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By the end of 2021, the deaths caused by COVID-19 were nearly 15 million. With the overwhelming of global health systems and the disruption of many essential health services, the pandemic undermined years of progress in fighting other diseases, in particular in developing countries. Compared with the pre-pandemic level, an additional 75 million to 95 million people will live in extreme poverty in 2022. Billions of children have significantly missed out on schooling and over 100 million more have fallen below the minimum reading proficiency level.
Despite some encouraging signs, the global economy recovery struggles to grow due to COVID-19 variants and continued vaccine inequity, together with rising inflation, major supply-chain disruptions, policy uncertainties and unsustainable debt in developing countries. The impact of climate change continues to be felt across the world. COVID-19 has further delayed the urgently needed transition to greener economies. Demand for coal, oil and gas rebounded with the economy in 2021 and will bring, over the current decade, an increase of global emissions by almost 14 per cent. If current trends continue, the Earth could lose the natural wealth of its ecosystems, which would in turn jeopardize global food security, water supplies and livelihoods.
The interconnection of global crises—the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and armed conflicts across the globe — puts at great risk the achievement of the SDGs by 2030. As the Secretary-General has called for in his Our Common Agenda (A/75/982), a renewed commitment to international cooperation is needed, but the United Nations must adapt quickly to the new global challenges in order to be more effective in carrying out its mandate.
Reforms must remain at the centre of our actions because they are crucial to future world stability and the maintenance of international peace and security. We believe that Security Council reform should be an objective of all Member States. That reform goal can be achieved only through a continuous dialogue among States and the awareness that overcoming respective initial positions is essential to negotiating the broadest agreement possible.
In conclusion, a stronger multilateralism is essential if we want to build fair, just and peaceful societies in which young people can live in dignity, women can have the same opportunities as men, and all minorities and vulnerable groups are protected. I believe that the general debate is an important opportunity to renew our commitment to a stronger United Nations capable of coordinating economic, social and environmental policies and translating them into effective action at all levels.
The Republic of San Marino, in accordance with its history and its tradition of freedom and democracy, firmly believes in that mandate and will support any action that helps strengthen the United Nations in the process.