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Señora Presidenta,
De antemano, quiero felicitarme con Usted por su elección como Presidenta de la Tercera Comisión de la Asamblea General y desearle todo el éxito posible en las semanas que siguen. Por nuestra parte, estamos determinados a dar nuestra contribución, con esa actitud que siempre nos caracteriza, finalizada a la búsqueda del dialogo, de la inclusión y del respeto, para tratar de conseguir posiciones de compromiso con las cuales todos los Países se puedan sentir cómodos.
(At the outset, let me congratulate you for your election as Chair of the Third Committee of the General Assembly. I wish you much success in the weeks to come. On our part, we are determined to make our contribution to the Committee’s work, with the approach that has always characterized us, aimed at seeking dialogue, inclusion and respect, to find compromise proposals with which all Countries are comfortable).
Italy aligns itself with the statement made by the representative of the European Union and wishes to add a few remarks in a national capacity, with particular regard to youth and persons with disabilities.
With the Sustainable Development Goals, Governments have committed to a bold new sustainable development vision to transform our world by 2030. Today’s young people make up the largest generation in history, and through this Agenda, they can actually shape it.
This is why, at the national level, we have long been committed to empower and valuing young people. This year, we are celebrating the 15th Anniversary of the establishment of the National Civilian Service offering youths between 18 and 28 years of age the opportunity to dedicate one year of their lives to solidarity activities. The National Civilian Service is a way to gain experience in active citizenship with a great emphasis on education and professional training, allowing youths to take part concretely in projects for solidarity, cooperation and assistance. For these reasons the Italian Government made the European Voluntary Service one of its objectives. In this context, we launched the operational phase of cooperation with France that envisages the realization of a pilot project for 100 Italian and French young people, who will be conducting their voluntary service partly in Italy and partly in France, in projects like reception of refugees, environmental and cultural protection.
At the international level, we strongly welcome the UNSCR 2250, adopted last December on Youth, Peace and Security, where the Security Council addressed for the first time in its history the crucial issue of the role youth can play in the maintenance and promotion of international peace and security. Owing to this document, Member States officially recognize the positive, powerful role of young people in building and maintaining peace, in preventing and combatting violent extremism and in sustaining democratic and inclusive governance. We are ready to do our part to further develop this agenda during our mandate in the Security Council.
Madame President,
As Vice-Chair of the Bureau of the Conference of the States Parties of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities under the leadership of the Republic of Korea, we are very pleased that persons with disabilities were included in several documents adopted during the past year, in particular in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in the World Humanitarian Summit.
Against this backdrop, on June 14th, the first day of the latest Conference of the CRPD, our Parliament adopted an “After Us” law – recognizing specific protections for persons with severe disabilities upon the passing of their caretaker-parents. The objective of the provision is to guarantee the greatest amount of autonomy and independence possible for disabled persons, allowing them, for example, to continue to live in their own homes or in facilities managed by associations and avoiding recourse to public institutions. We are particularly proud of this achievement.
Finally, last September, we held our 5th National Conference on Disabilities, with the participation of the Prime Minister and over 1,000 persons from national institutions and NGOs, to discuss – together with representatives of persons with disabilities – the new 2017 – 2018 Plan of Action in this field.
Madame President,
We hope that Member States find these examples useful as concrete measures on these issues, and we are ready to listen to the experiences and best practices from others to shape our action further.
Gracias señora Presidenta.
