The Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Vincenzo Amendola, presented in Vienna at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly the priorities of the Italian presidency of the Organization for 2018, already illustrated by Minister Alfano at the Permanent Council on 11 January last.
The Undersecretary recalled the key words of the Italian Presidency’s motto Dialogue, Ownership, Responsibility, basic ingredients to relaunch the spirit of Helsinki, in the conviction that dialogue and responsible commitment of all are fundamental for our security. The main challenge remains the search for a solution to the crisis in and around Ukraine. Amendola therefore recalled Minister Alfano’s mission to Kiev, Moscow and the Donbass to encourage a constructive resumption of negotiations and full implementation of the Minsk agreements.
Italy confirms its commitment to all the main protracted conflicts, in Transnistria, Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh. At the same time, our presidency, said the Undersecretary, intends to give priority importance to the Mediterranean, a “hub” between 3 continents fundamental to build peace and sustainable development of the 21st century, even outside the borders of the organization. The OSCE offers a model of dialogue, based on the principles of ’75, which in perspective we can imagine as a paradigm also for the enlarged Mediterranean. It is what we could call a sort of Helsinki of the Mediterranean. And it has evoked, at the present time, the massacre in Syria, in order to stop it it is fundamental to build new conditions of dialogue and look for ways to avoid catastrophe.
Italy already last year did a lot to strengthen the dialogue between the OSCE and the countries of the Region. An effort culminated in the Mediterranean Conference in Palermo, to build a real partnership between the 57 OSCE countries and the Mediterranean countries. A success that confirmed the OSCE as an essential platform for dialogue to reaffirm the importance of multilateralism and international solidarity in addressing global challenges, such as migratory movements. The structural scale of the migration phenomenon and its long-term characteristics must be addressed with the broadest possible sharing of responsibility and international solidarity. Italy is at the forefront and is doing a great deal to manage the phenomenon. However, there is a need for a global approach that goes beyond emergency management. Amendola said that this approach is supported by the Parliamentary Assembly, which has created an ad hoc Committee dedicated to migration.
We will not fail to devote more effort to combating all forms of racism, xenophobia, discrimination and intolerance. In this regard, the Under-Secretary recalled that our Presidency opened with the International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism in the OSCE area, hosted in Rome on 29 January. We will continue this commitment by organising an event during the year on the fight against intolerance and religious discrimination of all kinds.
Articolo pubblicato su: Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale
