DISCORSO PRONUNCIATO DAL VICE RAPPRESENTANTE PERMANENTE DELL’ITALIA PRESSO LE NAZIONI UNITE, AMBASCIATORE INIGO LAMBERTINI, AL DIBATTITO IN CONSIGLIO DI SICUREZZA SU “THREATS TO INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY CAUSED BY TERRORIST ACTS” (19 Novembre 2014)

Mr. President,


Italy fully aligns itself with the statement made by the European Union and would like to add a few remarks in its national capacity. The lines of action presented by the European Union are the product of intense discussion within the European institutions and between these institutions and their traditional partners as well as stakeholders who can make a useful contribution to understanding and countering the various manifestations of terrorism at the regional and global levels.

Both the range and the dimensions of terrorism are changing rapidly. A constant mutation of this threat is driven by destabilizing factors such as political turbulence, fragile institutions, a lack of socio-economic development, radicalization and recruitment (also through the use of new technologies). Taken as a whole, these factors make the threat more dangerous, more unpredictable, more widespread, and more pervasive.

Because of its constant mutations, terrorism requires new capacities of intervention from international stakeholders, starting with preventive analysis and a multi-dimensional approach that exceeds the limits of past experiences.

No area of the world is immune from terrorism. To a growing extent, it has become a cross-cutting phenomenon deeply connected to other global threats such as transnational organized crime, illegal trafficking including human trafficking, corruption, cyber crime, and piracy. In recent years the threat has intensified in specific areas – in the Middle East and in parts of Africa – but it has the ability to strike at the global level. The rising number of foreign terrorist fighters is a further index of the risks confronting the international community.

The main and most dangerous expression of terrorism today is the ISIL/Daesh group. It poses a major threat to soldiers and civilians in Iraq and Syria and also extends its reach inside the border of European and Western States. A particularly troubling concern is the ability of ISIL to self-finance through its control over oil fields on the border between Syria and Iraq. Al Qaeda is of course still active as is the galaxy of its affiliates in various parts of the world, and we must remain vigilant.

Italy believes that a threat of this gravity and dimensions requires a joint effort and a shared response at the global level, through the key role of the United Nations and other multilateral fora. The call for a shared response takes on special significance today, and is being met by the international community’s intensified efforts in a variety of sectors.

In the spirit of full and effective cooperation, Italy advocates a multilateral, comprehensive and flexible approach in all the relevant fora, complemented by strengthened bilateral cooperation, based also on the need to take into due account the close connection between respect for human rights, economic and social development, and stability and security.

At the level of European cooperation, Italy chairs the working group on international terrorism (COTER) as well as the CP931 working group, which deals with sanctions and listing and is implementing Common Position CP931 on terrorist groups and individuals. Listings depend basically on national decisions regarding the involvement of groups in terrorist actions and determine whether to apply sanctions (in particular, an assets freeze).

At the UN level, Italy has participated actively in the drafting and application of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy adopted by the General Assembly in 2006. We recognize the importance of adopting and fully applying the resolutions that the Security Council has progressively adopted, up to the most recent 2170 and 2178 of 2014.

Italy is strongly committed to effective and efficient implementation of the sanctions regime aimed at contrasting financing and support for terrorist groups and their affiliated.

Italy is still active in other relevant international fora, first and foremost in the Rome-Lyon Group, established in 2001 in the G7 framework at the encouragement of the Italian presidency. And it is also active in the Global Counterrorism Forum, whose initiatives include, most recently, the creation of the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law, of which Italy is a founding member.

Countering terrorism and violent extremism must run parallel to efforts to settle the main political and institutional crises, in particular the comprehensive stabilization of the Middle East and North Africa area.

Italy, also in the exercise of its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, considers international cooperation essential to activating and strengthening political dialogue with the main partners and international organizations. We must work together to respond effectively and comprehensively to terrorism and other global threats. Respect for human rights and the rule of law are crucial to establish effective counterterrorism strategies, for the sake of building confidence – also in crisis areas – in the international legal system and keeping alive in people’s hearts and minds the confidence in the work of existing institutions and in good relations among peoples alternative to those adopted and propagated by terrorist groups.


Thank you.