The Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Vincenzo Grassi, took the floor today during the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the High Commissioner report on technical co-operation and capacity-building, in the framework of the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council.
Ambassador Grassi stated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which this year recurs the 75th anniversary, “has strongly contributed to place human dignity and fundamental freedoms at the centre of all United Nations efforts, based on the nexus between human rights, peace and security, as well as social and economic development”. He added that “technical cooperation and capacity building in the field of human rights play a crucial role in renewing efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, in preventing crisis, in building more resilient societies, and in sustaining peace”. In this regard he underlined that “these are also primary objectives of the Italian cooperation system, which attaches great importance to fostering an inclusive dialogue between policy-makers and all relevant actors, including civil society organizations, with the view to promote human rights in third countries”.
The Permanent Representative then affirmed that “the work of the OHCHR is pivotal for delivering technical cooperation and capacity building on the ground and Italy, which firmly supports the Office’s activities, is looking into the possibility of increasing its financial contribution”.
In conclusion Ambassador Grassi stated that “Italy stands ready to continue engaging with the UN system, other States, private sector and civil society in order to promote coherent actions to address the root causes of human rights violations and abuses and to remove the structural obstacles that lie behind inequalities and discrimination”.
