San Marino

Mr. President, Mr Secretary-General, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of San Marino, I would like to congratulate H.E. Dennis Francis on his election as President of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly and to wish him a fruitful work.

I would also like to extend my special thanks to Secretary General António Guterres for his energy and determination in leading the United Nations in these difficult and challenging times.

Mr. President,

The coming years will be crucial not only for our future, but for that of generations to come.

The promises of the 2030 Agenda are in danger. Despite years of sustainable development gains, millions of people have fallen into poverty, and hunger and malnutrition are becoming more pervasive.

We are concerned by the multiple interlinked crises that are pushing our world over the brink, especially developing countries.

The crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, migration and forced displacement, the cost-of-living crisis, the water, food, financial and energy crises, are threatening our planet and people and derailing progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Moreover, the intensification of conflicts in many parts of the world together with natural disasters, which have become more frequent and intense, are causing human suffering and compromising the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Mr. President,

The increasingly evident interrelationships among global challenges highlight the need for Member States, today more than ever, to work together to overcome difficulties.

No individual State, even the most powerful or technologically advanced, has the capacity to face the global challenges on its own.

San Marino reaffirms its commitment to multilateralism, with the United Nations at its centre and in particular in the framework of the General Assembly, as the most representative body of the United Nations on account of its deeply democratic nature, universal participation and undisputed legitimacy.

We need to strengthen our commitments to implement existing agreements, such as the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Biodiversity Convention, international law treaties, and to make the necessary reforms to the systems.

We need to revitalize the United Nations by reinvigorating the multilateralism, if we want to pursue credible solutions to the global challenges.

To this end, it is essential to rebuild trust in the potential of the Organization, in its leadership, and, most of all, trust between its members and all the stakeholders.

Moreover, the global governance must become more inclusive and accountable to be effective, by providing more space for the participation of civil society and private sector.

It must ensure sustainable finance by catalysing a new generation of public and private investments in global goods, but also by strengthening the global financial safety net in order to make it possible for member States to access to international funding during times of crisis.

Reforms must remain at the centre of our actions because they are crucial to future world stability and maintenance of international peace and security.

In this regards, San Marino follows with particular interest the Security Council reform. As we have stated on previous occasions, our Country believes that intergovernmental negotiations favour the search for an agreement based on a broad and strong political consensus, able to reflect the interests of all negotiating groups. San Marino calls for a reform that makes the Council more democratic, transparent, efficient and accountable. This goal can be achieved only through a continuous dialogue among the States and the awareness that overcoming the respective initial positions is essential to negotiate the broadest agreement possible.

Mr. President,

We are facing difficult times, with an unprecedented level of violence, mass atrocities and displacement.

San Marino is deeply concern about the number and the scale of armed conflicts across the globe, which cause immense suffering to millions of civilians.

The Republic of San Marino is also very concerned about the alarming increase of dangerous nuclear rhetoric and nuclear threats which reinforce the image of a dark future instead of a sustainable one.

Any use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is irresponsible, and totally unacceptable.

Unfortunately, today the risk of nuclear weapons use, either deliberately or by accident, is higher than at any time since the cold war. Nuclear weapons use would cause massive death and destruction and would create catastrophic and prolonged consequences on human health and wellbeing as well as on the environment.

San Marino reaffirms its commitment for a world free of nuclear weapons and attaches great importance to the milestone Treaty on the Prohibition of nuclear weapons, that currently has reached more than 90 States signatories.

Mr. President,

The war of aggression against Ukraine brought dramatic consequences for the civilian population, including civilian death, the destruction of vital infrastructures, and massive displacement.

San Marino condemns the Russian aggression against Ukraine and supports Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.

At the same time, San Marino welcome all international efforts for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the UN Charter, the resolutions of the General Assembly, and international law.

The Republic of San Marino supports the obligations under humanitarian law, such as the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Rome Statute and the Geneva Conventions.

San Marino reaffirms its full commitment to the International Criminal Court, whose work is crucial in the fight against impunity for genocide and crimes against humanity and it represents one of the core elements for the implementation of the Responsibility to Protect.

The ICC, through its work, fosters accountability and thus promotes prevention and reconciliation.

Mr. President,

Armed conflicts around the globe have dramatically impacted the lives of millions of civilians and resulted into continued and massive displacement.

San Marino is alarmed by the unprecedented food and nutrition crisis, affecting hundreds of millions of people around the world.

The protection of civilian infrastructure is key to ensure food security in time of conflict. When infrastructures and tools essential to the survival of civilians are damaged, or destroyed, food production and distribution, water delivery, sanitation, energy provision, and health care can all be disrupted.

San Marino calls on all parties to implement Security Council resolution 2417, which condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as well as the unlawful denial of humanitarian access.

Furthermore, San Marino supports Security Council Resolution 2573, which condemns attacks against critical civilian infrastructures, indispensable for their survival.

Mr. President,

San Marino is particularly concerned about the high number of grave violations against children reported also this year in the Secretary General's report.

Armed conflicts continue to devastate children's lives and to compromise their fundamental rights. We are witnessing an increase in attacks on schools and hospitals. This is unacceptable.

San Marino firmly condemns attacks on schools and hospitals, as well as their use for military purposes. Health care and education are fundamental children's rights that must be always preserved.

We reiterate our support for the Safe Schools Declaration. Educational facilities should be a safe place for all children, students and teachers.

San Marino is also very concerned for the substantial increase in the recruitment and use of child soldiers.

We call on all member States to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. We also encourage all parties to support other important tools, such as the Paris Principles and Commitments and the Vancouver Principles.

San Marino supports the work of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict and of her Office and welcomes the new action plans and commitments that have been signed or that are in progress.

Mr. President,

The increasing number of conflicts shows how diplomacy, mediation and conflict prevention are tools to be strengthened for a sustainable peace. Today more than ever, political solutions, inclusive peace processes, a conflict prevention strategy and a strong faith in multilateralism are required.

Today we face several and interrelated security challenges. Access to natural resources is one of them, while climate change is increasingly both an existential threat and a key driver of conflict. The link between the climate emergency and security issues is self-evident, and it needs to be address within the Security Council in order to respond to the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable communities.

The effects of climate change are causing sufferance to the most vulnerable communities, especially to Small Island Developing States, the Least Developed Countries and those affected by conflict.

Rising sea levels, poor precipitations and record temperatures exacerbate the risk of instability by reducing harvest, displacing communities and destroying infrastructures.

Climate policies and green transitions offer opportunities for reducing the devastating effects of climate change.

It is imperative to address the challenges posed by climate change through ambitious mitigation, adaptation and implementation of the loss and damage agenda, and an adequate climate finance agenda. If we fail, there will have devastating effects for the planet as well as development and human rights.

Mr. President,

Without immediate acceleration of SDG implementation, our world will endure new periods of crisis and uncertainty.

The recent SDG Summit represents a chance to scale up efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, including through development cooperation, SDG investments, enhancing macroeconomic policy cooperation and implementing actions to accelerate sustainable development, in particular in support of developing countries.

San Marino commits to accelerate action to remove all legal, social, and economic barriers to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

We support the empowerment of other vulnerable groups, such as youth and people with disability, aiming at the realization and full enjoyment of their human rights.

For San Marino it is essential to continue to work for an inclusive and equitable quality education, including early childhood education, digital education, and stress the importance of addressing the gender gap in education. In this regard, we welcome the outcomes of the 2022 United Nations Transforming Education Summit.

San Marino calls on all member States to spread the benefit of digitalization, by expanding the participation of all countries, in particular developing countries, in the digital economy.

We also believe extremely important to accelerate the transition to sustainable food systems and promote healthy nutrition, diets and consumption practices, and to recover momentum and accelerate efforts to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition. In this respect, we welcome the outcome of the 2023 UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment, which served as the first global follow-up to the 2021 Food Systems Summit.

Moreover, as promoter of the resolution which established the 29 of September as International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, San Marino firmly believes that the fight against food loss and waste will contribute to promote food security and welcomes all the initiatives aiming at developing awareness in such responsible behaviors.

In conclusion, Mr. President,

If we want to build inclusive, equitable and peaceful society, it is essential to find new ways of working together and to ensure that multilateral institutions will be able to address the rapid changes taking place.

Member States must assume their responsibilities, including that of making our organization able to fulfil its mandate, which is to protect the citizens of the world.

Thanks to its century-old history of peace and freedom, San Marino is a State with a strong vocation to dialogue and solidarity. Our State is small, but proud to bring its contribution to the work of the United Nations.