Statement delivered by Ambassador Maurizio Massari, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations, at the 2022 ECOSOC Partnership Forum on the “Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. —
Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Italy aligns itself with the statement to be delivered by the EU.
I am pleased to take the floor and mark a new cycle of Italy’s membership in ECOSOC, which formally started in January this year. As always, Italy will contribute actively to the Council’s work and engage in open and inclusive discussions, to build consensus within the wider membership and respond to the main global challenges we face in the wake of the pandemic.
Reinforcing partnerships, both locally and globally, can help us define common solutions to build back better and leave no one behind. The Member States’ role in the “decade of action” must be complemented by the efforts and initiatives driven by international financial institutions, the private sector, local authorities, NGOs, scientific and technological communities and academia.
Partnerships are at the core of Italy’s development cooperation policy and strategies. We established a National Council that groups together both profit and non-profit operators in development cooperation, to allow for regular multi-stakeholder consultations.
We believe that the international community should strengthen multilateralism and further develop a partnership-oriented approach within and beyond the United Nations. We have all witnessed the key role played by global partnerships in the race to develop and distribute vaccines. CEPI, GAVI and COVAX are bright examples of transformative partnerships. Italy is proud to support them.
Allow me also to stress the pivotal role of the private sector in sustainable recovery and the energy transition. Multilateralism can be instrumental in promoting corporate sustainability; we therefore commend the United Nations Global Compact for advancing UN values and responsible business practices throughout the global business community, aimed at achieving decent work for all, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and negative biodiversity impacts.
The thematic resolution, “Towards Global Partnerships”, recently adopted by the General Assembly, fully recognizes the importance of partnerships at all levels. This year, Italy further showed its commitment by facilitating the negotiations on the text, submitted by European Union Member States to the Second Committee of the General Assembly.
Next July, Italy will present its Voluntary National Review. To this end, we have started a process of consultations with civil society and the private sector. We are open to sharing our experiences and best practices in developing and reinforcing partnerships, in the run-up to the High-level Political Forum.
President, Excellencies,
ECOSOC – thanks to its subsidiary bodies and the contributions of the numerous NGOs with Consultative Status – represents one of the main Charter Bodies advancing the engagement of civil society within the United Nations system.
We are certain that the participation of civil society organizations and the private sector in today’s Partnership Forum will pave the way for a better quality of decision-making, increased ownership of decisions, stronger accountability and transparency, as well as more fruitful collaboration and outcomes among all the Member States.
We look forward to working with you on all the relevant ECOSOC events in the months to come.
Thank you.
