Italy

Mr. President, I am delighted to begin by congratulating you and your country, Côte d’Ivoire, on your election as President of the General Assembly at this session. I also wish to thank your distinguished predecessor, Ambassador Insanally. Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate the Sovereign Military Order of Malta on its admission to Observer status in the General Assembly. My statement fully endorses and follows on that of the German Foreign Minister, who spoke in his capacity as Chairman of the European Council. 6 From the very beginning of its membership in the United Nations Italy’s foreign policy has been guided by its active support for the Organization’s principles and functions. Our contributions to United Nations deliberations, peace-keeping operations and aid through multilateral channels are tangible proof of Italy’s faith in the project drawn up at San Francisco almost 50 years ago. Our newly elected Government will remain steadfast in this approach to supporting the United Nations and building upon the historic opportunities offered by the new international situation. Let me emphasize that, now more than ever, Italy is firmly committed to fostering personal, political, and economic freedom, protecting individual rights and liberties and enforcing the rule of law. These are the preconditions for peace and prosperity and the reasons why Italy is presenting its candidature to the Security Council for the period 1995-1996. Unfortunately, the hopes that were kindled by the end of the cold war, with its promises of peace and stability, have not been met in international reality. At the same time, there is little doubt that today we are facing fewer global risks, despite local conflicts, intolerance and racial and ethnic strife. It is thus our task to embark on a new age of cooperation, democracy and development, in which the United Nations must play a central role. Today, the General Assembly can become the link between expectations and commitment. Italy will continue to play its part in peace-keeping, as it is already doing in eight different missions, including logistical support for the operation in former Yugoslavia and training centres and permanent bases for peace-keeping forces on its territory. The new United Nations base in Brindisi is particularly significant in this regard. However, we cannot ignore the high costs of the proliferation of primarily internal conflicts. The budget for peace-keeping operations currently amounts to approximately $3 billion, three times the regular budget of the Organization. The Presidency of the European Union has noted this particular aspect of peace-keeping operations. We must strengthen preventive diplomacy in order to avoid over-extending our capabilities, becoming ineffective and risking financial collapse. In the wake of the crisis in Rwanda, my Government is promoting the establishment of a task force for rapid intervention in humanitarian emergencies. This matter is now being considered in the appropriate forums and the results will be presented to the United Nations. I welcome the support expressed for an emergency humanitarian instrument by the Presidents of the United States, the Russian Federation and Argentina, and believe that our ideas and proposals follow the same orientation. Entrusting peace-keeping functions to regional organizations is another option for crisis management. My Government has moved consistently in this direction at the national level and in its capacity as Chairman-in-Office of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). Italy attaches particular importance to an effective and efficient functioning of the Security Council. The matter of equitable representation on the Security Council and of increasing its membership requires thorough examination. To this end, Italy has submitted one of the most realistic and comprehensive proposals to the Ad Hoc Working Group. We hope that the General Assembly will reach a consensus on the methods and timetable for a truly equitable reform. Many members question whether the pre-eminence the Organization has given to peace-keeping in recent years has not drained the other fundamental objectives of the United Nations - namely, economic and social development - of initiative and resources. The Secretary-General has wisely acknowledged these concerns in his recent agenda for development. Mr. Seniloli (Fiji), Vice-President, took the Chair. As that document states, peace is only one of the dimensions of development. The others are the economy, the environment, justice and democracy. To the extent that democracy protects and promotes personal liberty and economic freedom, it has a decisive impact on development by encouraging the strongest force behind economic growth and personal development - individual creativity. A prosperous democracy will be free of the internal tensions that have caused so many of today’s conflicts. The United Nations will foster a more peaceful world by promoting freedom and justice in addition to continuing its peace-keeping functions. In today’s world, the issue of trade is of paramount importance. As I like to say, trade unites us; politics divides us. At the Naples Summit, Italy, in its present capacity as Chairman of the G-7, strongly advocated the further dismantling of barriers to world trade in order to foster the creation of wealth. We are convinced that the leaders of the free world must avoid squandering the unique opportunity for world peace and prosperity offered 7 by current historic developments. They must resist the pressure of interest groups and be ready to serve the general interests of their nations and the nations of the world, which today more than ever require the opening of markets and the liberalization of trade. This will be the role of the World Trade Organization. In this spirit, we endorse the principles of the agenda for development and are ready to help establish the guidelines for their implementation. The fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations Charter will provide an opportunity for fostering such a process. I should now like to address the United Nations General Assembly in my capacity as Chairman-in-Office of the CSCE. We are actively promoting peaceful solutions to several regional crises. In the former Yugoslavia we are engaged in restoring long-term missions, appointing Ombudsmen for the Bosnian Federation, instituting a CSCE mission in Sarajevo and admitting The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the CSCE. We have lent our good offices to Ukraine, where a CSCE mission will be instituted, and to Georgia for the crises in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The CSCE Presidency has also worked towards facilitating the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Baltic States and finding a solution to the problems of citizenship and status of non-citizens in that area. Through the local CSCE missions, the CSCE Presidency is also attempting to foster a political solution to the Moldova-Trans-Dniester and Tajikistan crises, while it actively supports the efforts of the Chairman of the Conference on Nagorny Karabakh, Ambassador Eliasson. At the 1992 Helsinki Summit the CSCE declared itself to be a regional arrangement under Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter and adopted specific guidelines on peace-keeping. The ministerial meetings in Stockholm and Rome led to the United Nations-CSCE Framework Agreement in March 1993 and to the CSCE’s being granted observer status at the United Nations. My recent letter to the Secretary-General on developing and strengthening cooperation between the CSCE and the United Nations was a follow-up to these decisions, as was the establishment of relations between the CSCE and numerous United Nations agencies working in areas of common concern. One specific proposal is to attribute primary responsibility to the CSCE for issues concerning stability and security in its area, without impinging on the statutory powers of the Security Council. Peace-keeping is an area that requires closer cooperation. The two Organizations should adopt a standard set of principles for the peace-keeping activities undertaken by individual States or third parties. I should like to address the European Presidency’s statement and memorandum on our current international policies, limiting myself to those issues which more closely concern Italy for historical and geographical reasons. Italy warmly welcomes the acceptance by the Croatian-Muslim federation and the Serbian-Montenegran federation of the peace plan submitted to them on 6 July. That plan provides a realistic solution to territorial disputes and constitutional issues and ensures that Bosnia and Herzegovina will retain its international identity. Unfortunately, the repeated rejection of the plan by the Bosnian Serb leadership is a source of deep disappointment. This has made tougher sanctions against Pale inevitable in order to force it to reconsider its position. The partial lifting of sanctions against Belgrade, which we have advocated from the beginning, will encourage the Serbian Government to pursue its new, more constructive policy. This includes the agreement to allow international monitors to ensure the effective sealing of the border between Serbia and Bosnia. In our ongoing commitment to find a solution to the intractable crisis in Bosnia, we have been trying to involve other important international forums, starting with the G-7, enlarged to include Russia, in joint efforts to foster a political solution. With regard to the Middle East, Italy welcomed the signing of the Cairo Accords, concluded on 4 May, which authorized the start of self-government in Gaza and Jericho. We also salute the subsequent transfer to the Palestinian authorities of jurisdiction over the issues covered in the Washington Agreements. Italy is pleased to have contributed to the resumption of negotiations that led to the Cairo Accords, through our participation in the international temporary presence in Hebron to implement Security Council resolution 904 (1994). Italy reaffirms its commitment to contributing politically and economically to the reconstruction of the Palestinian territories. The Israeli-Jordan Accords of 25 July represent a milestone in the construction of a new Middle East on the basis of peace and cooperation. We hope that all these developments will stimulate progress in other negotiations between Israel and its neighbours. 8 In the Mediterranean basin, serious instabilities and tensions are spreading. Italy intends to make its efforts to ensure that this region sets an example of tolerance, economic cooperation and democracy. As one of the main architects of the peace process in Mozambique, Italy is pleased with the progress achieved in recent months. Elections are now set for 27 and 28 October this year. We will continue to collaborate with the United Nations and other donor countries in the reconstruction of Mozambique. We also hope that regional cooperation in southern Africa will help improve economic conditions in Mozambique, thereby strengthening the process of peace and democratization. We hope that Mozambique will become another United Nations success story, like the peace-keeping operations in Namibia, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala and elsewhere. We would also like to encourage the trends towards re-establishing peace in Angola on the basis of the Peace Accords and the pertinent Security Council resolutions. An area that has seen great progress in recent years is the further strengthening of disarmament and non- proliferation. The implementation of existing agreements is a difficult task for our diplomacies, but the drive towards more advanced forms of disarmament and arms control is relentless. We look forward confidently to negotiations to ban nuclear testing and to halt the production of fissionable material. Progress in this field should also contribute to the indefinite and unconditional extension of the Non- Proliferation Treaty. With regard to conventional weapons, I wish to take this opportunity formally to announce the terms of Italy’s moratorium on the export of anti-personnel mines. The moratorium will apply to all transfers and be applied until new international regulations become effective. This commitment imposes an economic cost, but one that my country is willing to pay. We urge all Member States to adopt similar national moratoriums until the international regime has been finalized. But let us not forget that conflicts, especially internal ones, are also created through the violation of fundamental human rights. That is why we are in favour of strengthening the mechanisms to monitor and protect those rights by fully implementing the High Commissioner’s mandate and strengthening the Centre for Human Rights. When these rights are seriously violated, despite all efforts, we are in favour of recourse to a fair judicial process. In the same spirit with which we welcomed and contributed to the International Tribunal on crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia, we support the creation of an international criminal court for the adjudication of all violations of human rights, wherever they may occur. This court must be allowed to inflict the appropriate punishment, with the exception of the death penalty, which Italy has consistently opposed. We are particularly pleased that, after years of hard work, the International Law Commission has completed a draft statute for the court, and look forward to contributing to the Assembly’s debate on the matter. The strengthening of international security is closely related to the fight against terrorism and organized crime. From 21 to 23 November this year, Italy will be hosting in Naples the ministerial World Conference on Organized Transnational Crime, under the auspices of the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch of the United Nations. Italy is also actively participating in the preparation of the World Summit for Social Development, to be held in Copenhagen in March 1995, by contributing its experience in the three crucial issues on the agenda: combating poverty, unemployment and discrimination. We live in an exciting but complex world. Few of us would disagree with the comment of Alfonso the Wise, King of Castile, a medieval patron of astronomy, who is quoted as saying, in effect, "If the Lord Almighty had consulted me before embarking on the Creation, I would have recommended something simpler." While rereading the first address Italy delivered to this Assembly at the eleventh session, I was deeply moved, and not only because it was given by my father. Rereading it, it made poignantly clear the far-reaching changes since 1956, both on the international scene - from decolonization to the end of the cold war - and on the Italian domestic political scene. In that address, he defined the United Nations as "the most complete expression of that education of the human race, acquired, as Lessing said, through suffering and error". (Official Records of the General Assembly, Eleventh Session, Plenary Meetings, 588th meeting, para. 94) And today, so many years later, it is an honour for me to reaffirm the same profound conviction and to pledge to this Assembly the total dedication of Italy and its Government to the ideals embodied in the United Nations Charter.