DISCORSO PRONUNCIATO DAL VICE RAPPRESENTANTE PERMANENTE  DELL’ITALIA PRESSO LE NAZIONI UNITE, AMBASCIATORE INIGO LAMBERTINI, AL MEETING DI ALTO LIVELLO IN ASSEMBLEA GENERALE IN OCCASIONE DEL 20mo ANNIVERSARIO DEL VERTICE MONDIALE SULLO SVILUPPO SOCIALE: RAPPORTO DEL SEGRETARIO GENERALE (11 dicembre 2015)

Mr. President of the General Assembly,

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Italy aligns itself with the statement delivered by the Representative of the European Union and would like to add the following remarks.

We are here today to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the 1995 Copenhagen Summit on Social Development and to take stock of its implementation, a very much needed occasion on whose organisation we warmly thank the President of the General Assembly.

On the crucial importance of the 1995 World Summit, of the Copenhagen Declaration and especially of its actual and broad implementation a lot has already been said and we cannot but agree on that. The concept of social development, with its peculiar broad range of themes and interconnections is and will remain key to achieving more equal, sustainable and eventually successful world and societies, where elements such as peace, democracy, respect for human rights, eradication of poverty, full employment, tolerance, integration, solidarity, gender equality and social justice establish themselves as the centerpieces at every moment and everywhere in the world.

In this regard, we believe that pivotal concepts in achieving those objectives – whereas 20 years after Copenhagen multiple challenges still lie ahead of us – are a “person-centred” approach and the inter-generational responsibility. Only with the former, in fact, that meaning shrinking down the scale of our lenses and focussing on persons – taken in their individuality, rather than as mere numbers – we can better understand and tackle their needs and requests, especially of those belonging to the most disadvantaged or vulnerable groups. I am thinking, for example, of disabled people, on whose needs the forthcoming Commission for Social Development will pay special attention and to which Italy assigns high priority, as also shown by our commitment to this topic during the last Third Committee session. Only with intergenerational responsibility, instead, we can steer our action towards a more comprehensive and ‘wise’ dimension, hammering out durable and sustainable solutions and leaving on to our children a better world. That could not be stated in louder terms by the adoption of Agenda 2030, whose new take on development marries perfectly the principles and goals of the World Summit and we trust will greatly help to achieve them.

Mr. President,

We need an integrated approach to the challenge of development, endeavouring to identify the links between its social, economic and environmental dimensions, as acknowledged also by the Secretary-General in his report. Every each of us – adopting the “person-centred” approach from another perspective – should feel responsibilized in order to provide a concrete follow-up to the objectives of the World Summit. Italy will not fail to do so.

Thank you, Mr. President.