NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 2 – Italy’s mandate to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the third largest body of the United Nations and the largest global platform for sustainable development, began today at the UN headquarters.
The mandate formally started on Monday but today’s “Partnership Forum” was the first meeting of the Italian three-years appointment. Goal of the Forum was to discuss how to develop partnerships between ECOSOC, local authorities, the private sector, NGOs and other civil society organizations. “Reinforcing partnerships, both locally and globally, can help us define common solutions to build back better and leave no one behind”, said Italian Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Maurizio Massari, at the working group’s opening.
The Ambassador brought the experience of the National Council for Development Cooperation (CNCS), which brings together profit and non-profit operators in the field of development cooperation, to allow regular multi-actors consultations. This is the consolidated “multi-stakeholder” approach that Italy promotes with confidence to the UN.
In July, Italy will present its second “Voluntary National Review”, a document on medium and long-term strategies to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda. A consultation related to this review has been launched with the involvement of civil society and the private sector (whose central role is to be enhanced, among others, in the energy transition). A further example of Italy’s commitment to the UN was its role as a facilitator in the negotiations for the Resolution on Global Partnerships recently adopted by the General Assembly.
At the 2021 elections for the new three-year term in ECOSOC, Italy was the most voted country within its regional group, ahead of Canada, Belgium and the United States, a further demonstration of the country’s multilateral reputation obtained thanks to its achievements in the field of sustainable development. (@OnuItalia)
