NEW YORK, DECEMBER 7 – Ambassador Maurizio Massari, the Italian Permanent Representative to the UN and current Vice Chair of ECOSOC, was appointed today by acclamation to the chairmanship of its Humanitarian Segment, one of the most important moments in the United Nations debate on humanitarian assistance.
The appointment will allow Italy to play a leading role in the negotiations that will culminate in the adoption of the ECOSOC Humanitarian Resolution and the three days of high-level meetings to be held in Geneva from June 21-23, 2023 under Italy’s chairmanship.
Italy was also appointed to lead the 2023 UN Humanitarian Liaison Working Group, a strategic platform for informal dialogue among the 50 most committed Member States, UN humanitarian agencies and civil society.
“These appointments testify to Italy’s reputation and profiled role at the UN in the humanitarian field,” Massari said: “Italy will will now be able to impact even more on issues such as food insecurity and the repercussions of conflict and natural disasters. Famine, poverty and political instability are among the main causes of the record number of displaced people recorded globally in recent years, with millions forced to leave their homelands in search of better living conditions or, in the most severe cases, to ensure their survival. UN humanitarian and emergency agencies are able to reach them with their life-saving aid, and Italy stand by them in this widespread effort.”
According to the United Nations, the year 2023 will mark a record in the number of people in the world in need of humanitarian assistance: 339 million, up 4 percent over 2022. In 2021 and 2022, Italy was for the first time among the top 10 annual donors to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), operating in more than 40 countries around the world with life-saving aid for millions of people in need of assistance. (@OnuItalia)
