Mattarella at the UN: multilateralism is a “pillar” for Italy, strengthening the United Nations

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“The objective of multilateralism has represented the fundamental pillar of our foreign policy and we proudly welcome United Nations offices and structures on our territory, from Turin to Rome, from Florence to Trieste, to Brindisi”.

Thus the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He did so in a long and detailed speech in the large main hall of the UN, the culmination of his visit to the UN where he also opened the annual conference on one of the key objectives of sustainable development. And in giving voice to Italy’s vocation for multilateralism, he launched a heartfelt appeal for its defense – and for the strengthening of the UN, its essential platform – in the face of the multiple, serious crises shaking the international stage, today dominated by the tragic war in Gaza and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

For a reformed and strengthened UN

“The gap between resources made available and needs continues to be enormous – underlined Mattarella – The UN represents the only platform capable, if adequately supported by its member countries, of addressing the challenges that threaten peace, security and development ”. Again: “The great transnational challenges we face, the multiplication of regional conflicts likely to spread, far from calling into question the role of the United Nations, highlight its indispensable, crucial character, at the service of humanity. We need an increasingly representative and effective UN. Every opposite path, every absence, leads to worsening the prospects of the human condition.” This mission inspires the action of Italy and other countries united by the acronym Uniting for Consensus “for the reform and better representativeness of the Security Council, aimed primarily at giving space to underrepresented regions, such as Africa, Asia and Latin America, to remedy a historical injustice that is evident to all.” In this key, Italy “will continue to provide its active and positive contribution to the drafting of the Pact for the Future, so that we reach a shared vision of the tools and actions necessary to
face the global challenges of the 21st century together.” A summit on the future is planned for September.

The crux of the crisis

“The sensitivity of the Italian Republic in favor of peace, for the promotion of human dignity and universal values, is expressed in the constant action in support of dialogues and post-conflict stabilization processes, for the rights of young people and women in particular in those situations of more serious discrimination” as well as “in supporting the campaign in favor of the abolition of the death penalty”, he said. Mattarella spoke of a relaunch of multilateralism and dialogue while dramatic and dangerous crises rage on the international stage which put the UN and diplomacy to the test. In Gaza, in the last few hours Israel has bombed and launched incursions with armored vehicles in Rafah, following ordering the evacuation of over one hundred thousand civilian refugees, even if the meaning of the moves is not clear: that is, whether it might portend an invasion of the city and derail any diplomatic hope, amidst the fear expressed by the United States itself of new humanitarian tragedies. Or whether it remains a more limited operation, as military sources in Jerusalem have indicated when speaking of “precise anti-terrorism action”, while intermittent negotiations for a ceasefire continue. However, Israeli troops have taken control of the border crossing between Rafah and Egypt, leading to the paralysis of the entry of humanitarian aid, and the UN has denounced the danger of new spirals of tragedies for the civilian population.

Mattarella on Gaza

The President pointed to the “increasingly worrying winds of war blowing across the Middle East. The tensions and clashes of recent weeks require an increased commitment from the international community to achieve de-escalation”. Again, he spoke of both long-term and emergency solutions: “It is necessary to put an end to the chain of actions and reactions and allow the start of a process that puts an end to the massacres, finally leads to a stable peace: a solution that necessarily passes from the shared objective of full and mutual recognition of the two States of Israel and Palestine, with the definitive recognition of Israel and its security by the States of the region”.