I wish to
congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of
the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session. We are
confident that your considerable expertise in the field
of foreign policy and economics will be decisive for
the success of all sectors of United Nations activity. I
also wish to thank the outgoing President, His
Excellency Ali Abdussalam Treki, for the excellent
work carried out during the Assembly’s sixty-fourth
session.
I would like to express special thanks to the
Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon,
for his energy and extraordinary determination in
leading this Organization. In particular, San Marino
appreciates the interest he has shown towards all
Member countries, without any distinction, regardless
of their size. My Government has particularly
appreciated the Secretary-General’s commitment in the
field of reforms and his constant presence in all
international politically relevant situations and in
emergency situations. His presence in Haiti and
Pakistan in the days following the terrible events that
we all witnessed demonstrates not only the
determination to affirm United Nations presence during
crises, but also a personal and particular sensitivity
towards tragedies deeply affecting people.
At a time characterized by major global
challenges that the international community is called
upon to face, the United Nations reform process
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becomes fundamental for future world stability and
must remain the target of all our efforts. We have the
duty to guarantee the full effectiveness of the
Organization’s activities, with a view to preserving and
strengthening its essential value as a point of reference
for the international community and for any individual.
We cannot afford to see the role of the United Nations
weakened through inability to reach agreement on the
measures to be taken to improve its functioning.
I have the pleasure to reiterate again this year the
support San Marino grants to the revitalization process
of the General Assembly. In that regard, I wish to thank
Argentina and Slovenia, Co-Chairs of the Ad Hoc
Working Group on the revitalization of the General
Assembly, for the Group’s recently approved report
(A/64/903), which is the outcome of considerable
efforts and many informal meetings with the States
Members of the United Nations.
This reform is particularly important for my
country, since the General Assembly is the most
democratic body of the United Nations and, as such,
the most effective and sometimes the only forum where
a small State can express its opinions. San Marino
therefore hopes that through this reform, the Assembly
may work more efficiently and improve its relations
with the other main bodies of the United Nations to
avoid duplication of activities and effectively
implement its resolutions.
The Republic of San Marino has been following
with interest the Security Council reform process since
1994, and it is grateful to the Afghan Chair of the
intergovernmental negotiations on Council reform for
the important work he has carried out this year and for
the wisdom and impartiality with which he has
presided over negotiations aimed at reaching the
broadest possible agreement. San Marino believes that
the reform should lead to a more democratic,
responsible, transparent and efficient Security Council.
The reform should also bring about a more balanced
relationship between the Security Council and the
General Assembly, as well as more effective
cooperation with the Secretariat. Those objectives can
be achieved only through a permanent dialogue among
States and increased flexibility in the respective
positions.
I wish to congratulate you, Mr. President, on the
choice of the theme for this year’s session — the role
of the United Nations in global governance. That is a
particularly complex subject, since it concerns the
global threats that affect the destinies of our peoples in
an increasingly direct way: climate change and
biodiversity, the economic, financial and employment
crises, food security, public health, disarmament and
the proliferation of weapons, and the fight against
terrorism.
Today, the theme of global governance is
inevitably linked to a new way of conceiving
multilateralism and to a new form of international
cooperation, one that acknowledges the interdependence
of the problems we face at the international, national and
regional levels. We have learned from the crises of the
last few years that it is necessary to adopt an integrated
and comprehensive approach, more efficient
mechanisms for coordinating our policies, and a global
and coordinated course of action.
San Marino believes that the United Nations has a
duty to be at the core of that process and to play a
leading role in managing global governance, not only
because of its deeply democratic nature, with universal
participation and undisputed legitimacy, but also
because — thanks to the richness and diversity of
cultures and traditions represented here — it can adopt
an approach that harmonizes the interests of the entire
international community and aims at sustainable
development for all peoples.
Last year, the world economy suffered a
devastating financial crisis, the consequences of which
are still evident to all. Today, unemployment has
reached extremely high levels in many countries.
Increases in the prices of food products and persistent
inequalities contribute to higher poverty rates and
cause high social tensions and violence. The global
economic and financial crisis has severely hit every
country in the world, with no distinctions, thus
becoming one of today’s major challenges for our
Organization as well. Some have been able to
withstand the crisis, while for many others it is
unfortunately still a very immediate problem,
influencing all decisions.
Despite the gradual recovery of the global
economy this year, it is fundamental that we always
coordinate policies, and coordinate them effectively,
with a view to guaranteeing balanced, inclusive and
substantial growth. In that regard, San Marino
recognizes the essential role played by the Group of 20
(G-20), which in 2009 was able to prevent a global
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economic depression by taking coordinated and timely
action. However, the G-20 decision-making process
should be even more inclusive and transparent, so that
its decisions can translate into effective action at the
global level. That requires developing specific
mechanisms through which the interests, concerns and
aspirations of countries outside the G-20 can be taken
into account, with particular reference to developing
countries, in order to favour G-20 actions
complementary to those of the United Nations.
Over the last two years, the Republic of San
Marino, well aware of the interconnectedness of global
economic and financial policies, has intensified its
efforts to make its legislative instruments and practices
relating to transparency and international cooperation
compliant with international standards established by
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development and MONEYVAL. Within a short period,
laws to combat money-laundering and terrorist
financing were adopted, banking and financial
supervision services were reorganized and amendments
were made to company legislation, eliminating
anonymous companies.
The San Marino Government expresses its
satisfaction with resolution 64/289, on United Nations
system-wide coherence, which the General Assembly
unanimously adopted on 2 July. That resolution, the
result of year-long negotiations, is an historic
achievement for the reform process of the United
Nations, in particular for strengthening the entire
system. It provides for a higher degree of coordination,
efficiency and transparency, while avoiding
fragmentation, waste, duplication of tasks and effort.
A fundamental element of that resolution is the
establishment of the new United Nations Entity for
Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, to be
known as UN Women, which will become operational
on 1 January 2011. The mandates of four existing bodies
concerned with the promotion of women’s rights will be
transferred to this new entity, which will strengthen, in
terms of capability, efficiency and responsibility, the
United Nations system in the field of gender equality
and the empowerment of women.
The Republic of San Marino pays special
attention to this subject and over the last few years has
promoted several national initiatives making women in
San Marino aware of their rights and of the State
protection mechanisms available to them. At the
international level, San Marino has joined several
campaigns aimed at raising awareness of women’s
rights among the public and national authorities, such
as the Unite to End Violence Against Women
campaign, launched by the Secretary-General in 2008.
I would like to underline on this occasion the
fundamental importance of the efforts of the
international community, as well as pressure exerted by
civil society, to achieve higher standards of human
rights protection. Moreover, we cannot forget that
women and children are always the most vulnerable
section of society in situations where rights and
fundamental freedoms are violated. In several
countries, women have to face very difficult situations:
many of their rights are often violated and the authors
of the violations go unpunished. The international
community must spare no effort to ensure that the
dignity, rights and fundamental freedoms of all human
beings are duly protected.
San Marino also believes that the international
community should be responsible for working as
effectively as possible to combat human trafficking.
Today that modern form of slavery still affects millions
of people, the majority of whom are also women and
children. The Republic of San Marino attaches the
utmost importance to the adoption last July of
resolution 64/293, which contains the United Nations
Global Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons.
The collective commitment to combating
trafficking in persons led to the adoption of that
resolution, the result of long consultations and complex
negotiations. San Marino guarantees its support for this
initiative and will cooperate with all Member States in
order to implement the Plan of Action. This initiative is
particularly important to us, since this year we ratified
the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime, its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and
Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and
Children, and its Protocol against the Smuggling of
Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.
As underlined in the Secretary-General’s report
“Keeping the promise” (A/64/665), the Millennium
Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals
have brought about a slow but progressive
improvement in the fight against extreme poverty,
hunger and disease and in the promotion of gender
equality, education and environmental sustainability.
31 10-55122
However, the report outlines that progress has been
discontinuous and uneven from one region to another.
We have recently witnessed a series of severe and
unprecedented crises, including the world economic
and financial crisis, the food and energy crisis, the one
related to climate change, humanitarian crises —
including the recent earthquake in Haiti and the huge
floods in Pakistan — and those caused by the increased
number of conflicts. After having obtained good
results, we are now experiencing a severe setback, and
an even more structured commitment will be necessary
to overcome those obstacles and achieve the Goals by
2015.
The Republic of San Marino expresses its
satisfaction with the General Assembly’s High-level
Plenary Meeting on the Millennium Development
Goals, which recently concluded. The outcome
document of that meeting (resolution 65/1) aims at
developing effective strategies for action and, most of
all, at renewing the commitment and responsibility of
each country to achieving the Goals set.
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate the strong
commitment of the Republic of San Marino in favour
of the implementation of the ideals of the United
Nations and of the principles enshrined in its Charter.
We will guarantee our support to all initiatives
necessary to reach such an aim.