NEW YORK, FEB. 15, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See’s delegation has shown special interest in the possible structural changes in the United Nations which will link «development and security» in a more «functional» way.
Such changes apply «not only to the relationship between conflict and poverty, but also to the causes of terrorism,» said Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations.
He made that point in an address Jan. 31 to an informal meeting of the U.N. General Assembly that focused on a report of the High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change.
«The recommendations of the report clearly involve the streamlining and adaptation of the structure and working methods of this organization,» Archbishop Migliore said in his address, published by the Vatican press office.
«My delegation takes the floor, moved by the expectations that the Holy See in these last years has placed in the primary role of international law in promoting the peaceful coexistence and the well-being of the world’s peoples, and in the role of the United Nations as their guarantor and driving force,» he said.
The report, which Archbishop Migliore said should be considered «a comprehensive and programmatic document, inclined to have a greater impact in the long run,» suggests «an internal restructuring exercise involving the Security Council and the General Assembly; the enhancement of the Secretariat as the principal interlocutor, and the reform of the Economic and Social Council through a slightly newer lens, that of the linkage of development and security.»
«My delegation,» the prelate continued, «finds the treatment of this last theme particularly interesting, because it applies not only to the relationship between conflict and poverty, but also to the causes of terrorism, the promotion of social rights, and the struggle against poverty and unemployment as preventative measures.»
Moreover, the concept of security contained in the report, emphasized Archbishop Migliore, coincides in many aspects with the Holy See’s views on the subject, «since it promotes concepts of foresight and prevention, and not just those of protection and intervention.»
Therefore, the Vatican delegation was «pleased to join the support already expressed by many speakers … for a further discussion on the establishment of a Peace-building Commission, as it is proposed in the report,» he added.
At the end, the nuncio referred to Article 51 of the U.N. Charter on the right to self-defense, which the High Level Panel declared itself «in favor of maintaining intact.»
«In this connection, my delegation would like to restate that legitimate defense must place particular focus on people and their safety,» the archbishop said. «Every state has a responsibility to protect its own people but, when it is unable or unwilling to do so, that responsibility should be taken up by the wider international community.»
«Many times, during recent conflicts, the Holy See has had occasion to repeat this conviction, when ‘humanitarian intervention’ was talked of as a kind of legitimate defense, and such an intervention was presented as an obligation on the international community in order to guarantee the survival of individuals and communities in the face of the action or inaction of a state or group of states,» he added.
Archbishop Migliore concluded: «It is my delegation’s belief that the proper reform of these institutions will invest the U.N. with the necessary authority, credibility and legitimacy to act more firmly for the peace and well-being of all.»
