NEW YORK, JUNE 2 – On the occasion of the Italian National Day, the Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN, Ambassador Maurizio Massari, sent his best wishes to all fellow countrywomen and countrymen: “Now more than ever, I feel compelled to quote the article 11 of the Italian Constitution: ‘Italy repudiates war as a means to hurt other people’s freedom and to settle international disputes’”.
In his video-message, the Ambassador recalled that Article 2 of the UN Charter commits all Member States to refrain from the use of force, stressing that “it is exactly to defend the UN Charter’s principles that three months ago, on March 2, 141 states out of 193, with only 5 votes against, voted in favour of the historical General Assembly’s Resolution to deplore the Russian invasion of Ukraine, demand the withdrawal of the army from the Ukrainian territory and to urge a diplomatic settlement”.
Massari highlighted the importance of multilateralism which, in order to become reality and not just empty words, requires political will in the first place, an assumption of responsibility by all States and governments. “Multilateralism has costs”, he concluded. Italy and the EU are, and must remain, on the front line to invest in and defend an order based on rules and on the achievement of “global commons”.
Festa della Repubblica or Italian National Day is celebrated on 2 June each year. The day commemorates the institutional referendum held by universal suffrage in 1946, in which the Italian people were called to the polls to decide on the form of government following the Second World War and the fall of Fascism. (@OnuItalia)
