Speech by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, at the celebration of the Diplomatic Corps’ holiday wishes

Courtesy translation

Most Excellent Dean,

Mister Minister,

Your Excellencies the Ambassadors,

Allow me to thank the Most Excellent Dean, Cardinal Tscherrig, for his considerations when opening this ceremony and for the holiday wishes that he addressed to the Republic of Italy and to me personally on behalf of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Quirinale, which I reciprocate with respect and gratitude.

A year ago, in this same circumstance, I concluded my greetings wishing the reestablishment of a just peace in Ukraine.

Instead, we must unfortunately acknowledge that not only is Kyiv still engaged in defending itself from Russia’s unacceptable aggression but that many other areas of our planet are now in more precarious conditions than last year.

As it was easy enough to imagine, following the upheaval in the values of the international community’s regulations, the attack against stability and peace had a negative fallout on all the regions of the planet and on all the dossiers – from combating climate change to food security, with the ensuing danger of making all the world’s populations poorer and more insecure – including that of outer space which, from being an area of scientific cooperation for the good of humanity, risks converting into a field of commercial competition and military conflict with dramatic prospects for the planet on which we all live.

The state of the world at the close of this 2023 forces us to come to grips with the perfunctory underestimation with which we witness the mushrooming of crises and the human dramas that they entail.

The Middle East is once again ravaged by a spiral of violence following the treasonable terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas against defenceless Israeli citizens: murders and brutalities in relation to which I reaffirm the Italian Republic’s strong and firm condemnation.

Top United Nations officials have defined the situation in Gaza “apocalyptic” and the remaining territories under the rule of the Palestinian National Authority have also fallen prey to severe suffering due to the violence that people are subjected to.

In Europe, Moscow’s war against Ukraine continues to provoke unspeakable suffering among the civilian population, with dramatic consequences at global level.

The international community’s engagement in Africa has proven to be insufficient to curb the mushrooming of trouble spots.

Thus, the deteriorated security framework in the Sahel has made the current humanitarian crisis even worse.

The conflicts in Sudan have produced thousands of casualties and millions of internally displaced persons and refugees.

The succession of crises risks distracting the necessary attention from other situations that entail equally severe suffering: I am thinking of Afghan young girls and women who are hostage to the Taliban; of the young Iranian men and women whose aspirations are harassed and muffled daily.  

This suffering sometimes assumes even less tolerable characteristics.

A few weeks ago, on the International Day of the Child, UNICEF Italy published a report whose numbers hold the international community accountable, patently highlighting the insufficient effectiveness of its actions.

In more than two years of war – the report reveals – 6.4 million Ukrainian children have resulted needing humanitarian assistance. In Syria, more than 13,000 children have lost their lives or have been injured in the long internal conflict; the small Yemeni victims are almost as many. In Haiti, the great majority of children live under the control of armed groups and daily risk their lives, being injured, or being recruited.

To these theatres of war, we must add the savagery that I mentioned earlier: the fierceness of Hamas against defenceless children. Not even the lives of newborn babies were spared that day. And we are painfully afflicted by the more than 5,000 innocent very young victims in the Gaza Strip.

An international community that fails to protect its children, that is incapable of providing humanitarian aid even to children, appears to be inhuman.

We are alarmed by the damage inflicted upon our planet by viruses or natural disasters, but we must acknowledge that the greatest danger comes from the reckless behaviour of some governments, paramilitary forces, and terrorist groups.

It is impossible not to recognize the farsightedness of Pope Francis who, already ten years ago, for the first time spoke of a “world war in pieces”.

The warning is more than ever topical today, should not be ignored and requires a more informed interpretation of reality.

Indeed, these fragments of war risk creating false prospects by deceiving our capacity to analyse and understand.

Your Excellencies the Ambassadors,

Faced with a scenario that would appear to imply the end of a system based on common rules, some observers speak of “the age of chaos” in a world in which anything goes, in which the act of aggression is no longer censured as a violation but, on the contrary, is even justified as a purported national interest.

The wave that is destabilizing the rules adopted by the international community and that led to the creation of the United Nations, is there for all to see.

The pretexts are manyfold: through an inadmissible approach, some justify the attacks as the desire to build a new international order, which may be more respectful of the new equilibria established.

The world has changed over the past few decades, but the result of these conflicts would never usher in a more respectful and more equitable order.

If we want to develop more compliant rules and institutions, it is certainly more productive and effective to undertake this effort in peacetime.   

Relations between States should be grounded on the principle of equal dignity between all international subjects, definitely changing the orientation of the paradigm from competition to cooperation.  

The model cannot be that of international conferences that limit their scope to occasionally taking a snapshot of the contingent balance of power.

We must be aware that for our planet to survive, it necessarily requires a multilateral system capable of further developing forms of cooperation and integration.

It does not entail upholding a preliminary defence of the current multilateral system: the International Organizations that we have in place today were not designed to meet all the challenges facing us and, when considering the balances of power that issued from World War II, they were often incapable of recording the novelties, thus losing effectiveness.

However, the solution does not consist in highlighting the defects – the risk inherent to some reform proposals – crystallizing, for example, new first and second-class categories for the members of the UN Security Council.

From the United Nations Organization, the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization to the new nuclear arms control regime; these and other institutions need to be upgraded and reinforced.

We all pay a price for their shortcomings.

However, it would be wrong to think that the solution to these shortcomings lies in dismantling the rules of globalization: the limits of multilateralism as it stands today can indeed be largely traced back to the political will expressed by their member States.

Weakening the international architecture would give a free hand to forces that are purely destructive whereas an effective multilateralism based on transparent, responsible, and representative principles of equality would, by contrast, result to be greatly advantageous.

The main challenge lies precisely in the representativeness.

The voices of those who do not feel sufficiently heeded should be taken into due consideration, starting with the legitimate needs of the poorer, frailer Countries because their populations are more affected by the repercussions of a succession of crises.

To update the rules means making them more authentically attest to the values underlying our civil coexistence.

We recently celebrated the 75^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – as the Dean recalled – a document that is not the prerogative of a single culture or of a single group of Countries but expresses the heritage of the common and shared values of Humankind.

Assuming the protection of human rights as a guiding principle makes societies stronger, more resilient, and equitable, including in the relations among nations. 

The human rights “pillar” is instrumental to achieving the sustainable development goals laid out by the United Nations, starting from the area of peace and security and the struggle against poverty and inequalities.

The same applies to the founding principles of the rule of law.

The tragedy of the Second World War became the driver of change and negotiations for an international order not based on the right of the strongest.

The “world war in pieces”, reduces the world to pieces in which walls are erected and the freedom of navigation and anchoring is undermined.

In order to avoid converting it into a broader conflict, an effort must be made to seek a common factor from which to resume a debate capable of achieving a successful structural reform of multilateralism. 

Today’s dangers are named differently from those of eighty years ago, but they are equally frightening and should induce us to act, immediately, together.

The weakening of multilateralism could not occur at a worse moment, in which the greatest challenges of the 21^st century are all global in nature.

From pandemics to climate change, from cybersecurity to regulating artificial intelligence, from combating poverty to nuclear proliferation; these are all threats that need to be tackled through multilateralism and international cooperation.

The citizens of our Countries are looking at us with an eye on inequalities and on social, economic, generational, gender-based or ethnic injustices.

Your Excellencies the Ambassadors,

I have outlined a realistic picture, with a multitude of shadows looming.  

However, we should perceive a positive glimmer on the path of international cooperation.

2023 witnessed the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20: the recognition of the legitimate aspiration of more than fifty African States to play a more relevant and growing role on the international scene.

At the same time, it represents a tangible step to include such an important and vital part of the world inside global dynamics.

It is meaningful that this long-awaited recognition – also always supported by Italy – occurred under the Presidency of an important Asian Country – India – and that it will be the task of a great Latin American Country such as Brazil to preside over the first G20 enlarged to the African Union.

After a years-long delay, the European Union has decided to proceed on the road to the reunification with many other European accession countries.

At times the path is impervious but its deep historical and political meaning is of great importance.

Enlargement means inclusion, accepting differences, solidarity, all of which are values that are poles apart from the neo-imperialist forces that, in this period, are coming from Moscow.

In addition to lengthening the list of its members, the European Union will have to start working on the set of institutional reforms necessary to empower it to swiftly and effectively tackle the challenges of our times, projecting the example of a community that makes an even larger contribution to the cause of peace and international cooperation through dialogue and negotiation.

I repeat:  numerous are the solicitations on the international agenda and greatly impacting are the decisions that a community such as the European Union can take, starting with the climate.

The initiatives recently taken within Europe in defining standards and rules in the field of Artificial Intelligence, are an example of best practices to the benefit of the entire international community.

Positive signals also arose from the COP28: the international community reached a broad consensus on the progressive phasing out of fossil fuels.

We are now called on to quickly and tangibly implement the decisions taken, aware that the delay accumulated is already great and the cost of new hesitations would spill over on future generations, multiplied many times over.

We are fully aware that while pursuing long-term goals, we must support the countries most hit by climate change. Italy will contribute 100 million euros to the new global Loss and Damage Fund which is aimed at aiding vulnerable countries in their efforts to overcome the destruction caused by climate change.

2023 also witnessed the entry of Finland into the Atlantic Alliance and the closing of an agreement for Sweden’s soon-to-come entry.

The issue of security in an increasingly interconnected world bridging all distances affects people at all latitudes.

The trajectory of NATO – an organization that has reconquered centrality and vigour after the dramatic and unexpected outbreak of a war in Europe – testifies to how important it is to not abandon the road of multilateralism. 

We must confirm the will to establish a dialogue between security systems in compliance with international law with a view to pursuing peace through multilateralism, marshalling the courage to reform and extend it and its architecture.

In relation to the Italian Republic’s international engagements, allow me to mention the Presidency of the G7 that it is due to undertake in 2024.

As is customary in our Country, the pursuit of dialogue will constitute one of its key features.

Italy does not intend to shirk from its commitment to build trust and spaces for cooperation. In order to achieve relevant results, we will need the support of all of you who will be following our Country’s actions from Rome next year.

Most Excellent Dean, Your Excellencies the Ambassadors,

My wish for 2024 is to achieve greater awareness on the need to hinge international relations on respect for States, people, and individuals, as well as on cooperation, solidarity, and the sharing of responsibility.

Let me address my greetings to the young Italian diplomats present here today who are undertaking this important task in such a complex historical phase, entreating them to be at the same time humble and ambitious, knowing that it is up to them to project the aspirations of young generations worldwide for a future of peace.

In renewing my thanks for the greetings extended to me, allow me to express my very best wishes for a merry Christmas and happy New Year to all of you, your families, and the people that you represent here.

Best wishes!