Italy has a long tradition of
mediation that has shaped our history and our approach
to international affairs. In the celebrations of the
150th anniversary of Italian unification this year, we
commemorated the vision of the founding fathers of
our nation and the sacrifices of so many patriots. We
also recalled the role of mediation in bridging the gap
between the aspirations for independence and the
reality of foreign occupation.
A century or so after unification, our vocation for
mediation was fulfilled when we were among the first
countries to launch the process of European
pacification. We helped restore peace and prosperity to
a war-torn continent by engaging Governments in
dialogue rather than disputes.
Our attitude to mediation is inspired by both our
history and our geography. Our territory is located
right at the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, making us
keenly aware that our security is not independent of
that of the region surrounding us.
For decades, Italy has emphasized the need to
bridge the economic and social gap between the
conditions of the northern shores of the Mediterranean
and the expectations of our neighbours to the south.
Despite this vision, we tended to overlook the
aspirations for civil and political rights of the peoples
of North Africa and the Middle East, peoples so close
to us geographically but far apart in terms of the rights
enjoyed by our citizens.
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On the face of it, the approach favoured by
European and the other Western countries — including
the United States — was to forge partnerships with
undemocratic regimes and place a priority on security,
counter-terrorism cooperation and migration policy. We
made a mistake.
The Arab Spring was a wake-up call, reminding
us that no political leader can maintain power at the
expense of his or her own people. It confirmed the
principle that there can be no mediation or compromise
where fundamental rights are concerned. And it
showed that cooperation for the sake of security and
stability is no alternative to promoting freedom,
economic and democratic growth and job creation.
Our response to the uprisings was consistent with
our values. We called for dialogue and deplored the use
of force against civilians. That was not enough in
Libya, however, where the regime had vowed to
slaughter its own civilians. The only way to prevent a
massacre was for the international community to
invoke the principle of the responsibility to protect.
By helping to implement that decision in military,
diplomatic and humanitarian terms, we shifted from a
culture of sovereign impunity to one of responsible
sovereignty, rooted in national and international
accountability for the most serious violations of human
rights. At the same time, we supported international
sanctions against the Syrian leadership.
The uprisings in North Africa and in the Middle
East send a message that the United Nations can do
more and do better. Let me be very clear. We do not
want less United Nations involvement; we want more.
Libya can be the first test case for a more prominent
United Nations role.
The United Nations is called upon to coordinate
and lead the international community’s assistance to
that country. The international community should
maintain cohesion and unity of purpose, avoid a
fragmented response and resist engaging in a first-past-
the-post logic. There should be no competition,
because there is only one winner: the Libyan people.
The United Nations should therefore chair the
international coordination mechanisms, with the
support of the relevant regional organizations, such as
the League of Arab States, the African Union and the
European Union (EU). At this juncture we need to
prevent resentment and extremism from gaining
ground.
We are ready to build respectful new partnerships
without imposing pre-packaged models. That is why
we have promoted the idea of a new Mediterranean
plan for growth and development. And we have
proposed a permanent conference on security and
cooperation, with the goal of building an inclusive
dialogue among equals on political, economic and
cultural issues. If we fail to respond, and if the Arab
Spring does not produce results soon, we will all have
a heavy price to pay.
Never has mediation been more necessary in the
tense stand-off between the Israelis and the
Palestinians. Confrontation has led nowhere. The time
has come to defuse this long-standing and disruptive
conflict through recourse to dialogue and the building
of mutual trust. We continue to strongly back American
efforts, and we welcome the Quartet’s new effort to
gather the necessary support to restart the negotiations
between the parties towards the creation, very soon, of
a strong and safe Palestinian State.
Within the European Union, which has to speak
with one voice, Italy is also ready to exercise more
leadership and political vision in relaunching the peace
process.
In Lebanon, Italy is playing a prominent role in
mediation. The Italian contingent in the United Nations
Interim Force in Lebanon was awarded the United
Nations peace medal for its contribution to maintaining
peace and stability in the country. This prize honours
the achievements of our soldiers in Lebanon, but also
the commitment of the Italian Government to
peacekeeping.
Italy is the sixth top contributor to the United
Nations peacekeeping operations budget and, since
2006, the top EU and Western European and Others
Group contributor of troops to the United Nations.
In Africa far too many people are still grappling
with the serious problems caused by regional conflicts.
Those conflicts undermine stability and prosperity for
millions of people, spreading the poisonous seed of
terrorism and piracy.
As a witness to the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement (CPA) between North and South Sudan,
Italy welcomed the Agreement’s implementation,
which has led to the birth of the new State of South
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Sudan. This achievement should be an incentive to
settle the post-CPA arrangements without further delay.
In the Horn of Africa, Italy has a traditional
commitment to contributing to peace, security and
development. In the past few months, we have financed
projects in many sectors: health, education, nutrition,
training, governance support, peace and security. But
our assistance is not enough. In Somalia people are
facing starvation and humanitarian disaster.
International support must be stepped up to deliver
basic services to the population and foster political
reconciliation.
The United Nations collective security system is
adapting its structure and practices to the new
challenges by making good and flexible use of its
fundamental, cost-effective tools. Mediation is one of
them. We are among the sponsors of the draft
resolution on strengthening the role of mediation in the
peaceful settlement of disputes.
We also encourage the United Nations to play a
more significant role in conflict prevention, the
settlement of disputes and peacebuilding efforts. To
that end, we rely on the impartiality and authority of
the Secretary-General. We commend him for his
leadership in crisis management, and encourage him in
this noble endeavour and in his commitment to
budgetary discipline.
We also commend all the efforts to promote a
strong solution to the reform of the Security Council, a
reform inspired by the United Nations core principles
of democracy, accountability, consensus and flexibility — a
reform that will gather the widest majority and with
which each and every Member State can identify.
Our humanistic heritage defines the human being
as the measure of all things. The principle of placing
people first underpins our active support for United
Nations campaigns on fundamental issues such as the
abolition of the death penalty, the protection of the
freedom of religion or belief and the ending of the
practice of female genital mutilation. The people-first
approach also entails mediation between the pressing
need for modernization and the goal of improving
individual quality of life.
We need to enhance food security by tackling the
crucial links between speculation, inflation of food
prices, and instability. We can count on the new bodies
created in the framework of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations and the Rome-
based United Nations agencies to reduce food price
volatility and its very negative impact on the most
vulnerable people.
We also pay close attention to urban development
and environmental sustainability, promoting important
international events such as the World Urban Forum,
which will be held next year in Italy, and a world
conference on the topic of the inter-ethnic city.
In conclusion, Italy wants to place the rights of
human beings, and the environment in which we live,
at the centre of society. True to this principle, Italy
wants to help create and consolidate a modern
humanism. There could be no better defence against
the hatred and criminal intolerance that struck this city,
this country and the world 10 years ago.