On behalf of
the Government of San Marino, I wish to congratulate
His Excellency Mr. John Ashe on his election as
President of the of the General Assembly at its sixty-
eighth session. His long experience as Ambassador of
Antigua and Barbuda and his in-depth knowledge of
the Organization are precious resources for the United
Nations. The Republic of San Marino supports the
essential elements of his programme, mentioned in his
inaugural address (see A/68/PV.1), and ensures its full
cooperation in all work of the General Assembly.
My country also wishes to express special thanks to
His Excellency Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his
energy, commitment and extraordinary determination
to the benefit of the United Nations. We appreciate
the sensitivity demonstrated by the Secretary-General
towards all Member States, without distinction, and
his constant presence in all international politically
relevant and emergency situations. His visit this year
to our Republic on the occasion of the Investiture
Ceremony of Their Excellencies the Captains Regent
marked a significant moment in the history and public
life of our small State, and was an honour for the San
Marino people.
The theme chosen this year’s session — “The post-
2015 development agenda: setting the stage” — places
at the heart of our debate the need to pursue the
Millennium Development Goals and to comply with
the obligations undertaken. It also serves to reaffirm
that it is only through the determined commitment of
the Organization that those Goals can be effectively
achieved.
We believe that significant progress has been made
in achieving many of the Goals, such as the eradication
of extreme poverty, access to drinkable water,
combatting HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and
the improvement of the health conditions of women
and children. However, we are well aware that the full
achievement of those objectives is still far off. Despite
the progress made, we are deeply concerned for regions
in the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, that require
urgent and effective action, as well as for those countries
experiencing conflicts and post-conflict situations
where the population lives in extreme conditions.
San Marino, like many other countries, believes that
in setting the fundamental objectives of the post-2015
agenda, due account must be taken of the challenges
that in the course of the past years — that is, since the
adoption of the Millennium Declaration — have become
more urgent. Among the challenges, peace and security,
the elimination of inequalities and environmental
sustainability are, in our view, top priorities, not only
among States but also within States, owing to their
magnitude and urgent nature.
Peace is the indispensable condition for building
and fully implementing a development model centred
on the human individual. Therefore, dialogue and
negotiation, as tools to resolve conflicts, should be
pursued with greater effort and determination by the
entire international community, which considers this
search to be a fundamental mission of the Organization.
Similarly, when crimes against humanity are
committed — crimes that the Secretary-General has
recently denounced and documented, after a strong
condemnation — united action to eliminate chemical
and nuclear weapons is needed in order to avoid
responding to violence with violence. Too many violent
conflicts have recently defined the internal life of some
States and the relations among them. There are far too
many dead, in particular civilians, to talk of satisfactory
conditions of peace. But peace can be founded only
on respect for human rights, social justice and the
emancipation of the weakest segments of society.
The Republic of San Marino reasserts its own
commitment to the goal of a world free of any form
of racism and racial discrimination, where the freedom
of expression and association, and above all the
freedom of religion, are guaranteed and the personal
fulfilment of individuals is ensured. To that end, we
shall be guided by the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. Furthermore, San Marino praises the high-level
meetings marking the first part of the session of the
General Assembly, because the themes discussed are
not only urgent but also extremely important.
The Republic of San Marino has always paid special
attention to the most vulnerable groups, such as women,
children, the elderly and the disabled. Today, women are
still the victims of discrimination and violence in many
parts of the world, including in the most developed
countries. In the poorest regions of our planet, maternal
mortality remains a challenge. Moreover, women are the
most vulnerable to HIV infection. Trafficking in women
is far from being resolved. Women are often subject
to abuse and to humiliating and degrading treatment,
including polygamy, child marriage, kidnapping and
sexual violence, including domestic violence. Women
living in conflict and post-conflict situations are often
subject to sexual violence, mass rape, torture, summary
executions.
The advancement of women’s rights and the
elimination of all barriers to their full participation in
political, economic and social life must be top priorities
for the United Nations, along with the promotion of their
economic opportunities and equality in all sectors.
The United Nations has the duty to protect children,
the most vulnerable victims of violence, abuse and
exploitation. In the most poverty-stricken areas of the
world, the infant mortality rate is still unacceptable
and a very high number of children suffer from chronic
malnutrition, which is the main cause of child mortality.
My country hopes for the universal ratification of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional
Protocols and their full implementation.
The international community must strive for the full
inclusion and participation of people with disabilities in
the economic, social and cultural life of the community.
Despite the significant steps forward taken over the
last years in terms of equality and non-discrimination
against disabled persons, much remains to be done for
the implementation of the Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities, through the adoption of
legislative measures and national and international
policies. The Republic of San Marino welcomes the
convening of the High-level Meeting on the Realization
of the Millennium Development Goals and Other
Internationally Agreed Development Goals for Persons
with Disabilities (see A/68/PV.3) and fully supports its
outcome document (resolution 68/3).
In particular, it must be stressed that the protection
of disabled persons can be more easily achieved if the
social and economic policies of individual States and
international organizations pay due attention to the
institution of the family as the natural environment
in which human beings are born and develop their
awareness of the rights and duties regulating coexistence
among people.
My country’s priorities include environmental
sustainability and the prevention of and response to
natural disasters. Over the last years, certain regions
of the world have been shaken by unprecedented
natural disasters. In Asia, Latin America and Africa,
in particular in the Horn of Africa, local communities
have suffered from extreme conditions, experiencing
the tragic consequences of their vulnerability and of
food and health uncertainty.
Our thanks go to the Secretary-General, the Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the
Central Emergency Response Fund for their prompt and
crucial intervention in favour of populations affected
by natural disasters. However, individual Member
States must do more and give rapid and effective
support to populations in emergency situations, both by
investing in the most vulnerable regions so as to build
the capacities necessary for preventive action and by
providing them with the moral and financial support
necessary to cope with disasters.
The Republic of San Marino attaches great
importance to the issue of preventing and responding to
natural disasters. Despite its small size, it ranks fifty-
first on the list of donors to the Central Emergency
Response Fund.
Lastly, the finalization of the post-2015 development
agenda cannot be separated from a discussion on the
strengthening of global governance mechanisms, since
the achievement of the new development goals will be
the result of cooperation among all Member States.
San Marino believes that the United Nations has the
duty to retain its leadership role in global governance
management.
My country is a traditional sponsor of the annual
draft resolution entitled “The United Nations in global
governance”, to be submitted in 2013 for the third time.
It reiterates the need for a more inclusive, transparent
and effective approach to solving the world’s problems
and recognizes the central role to be played by the
United Nations in global governance.
Indeed, the highly democratic nature and the
universal character of the United Nations grant it
indisputable legitimacy and a patrimony deriving from
the cultural diversities and the traditions it represents.
This leads to an approach focusing on humankind and
the promotion of human rights in which the needs of the
entire international community are taken into account.
Indeed, global problems require global solutions.
Against that background, our Organization must
adapt. The political role and authority of the General
Assembly, and reform of the Security Council, are the
core issues of such a reform process. The demands
made today by the peoples of North Africa and the
Middle East require a review of working methods
and the decision-making process in order to ensure
that solutions are reached in the context of which the
interests and positions of all parties concerned are duly
taken into account.
The Republic of San Marino has always believed
in the power of dialogue, democracy and respect for
others. That is why, in its centuries-old history, it has
never fought any war. Drawing on that experience,
we believe that — and this is our contribution to the
general debate — the Millennium Development Goals
and the definition of the post-2015 development agenda
need to be set within this perspective.