By Holy See Mission
Address by H.E.
Archbishop Giovanni LajoloSecretary for the Holy See's
Relations with Statesat the General Debate of
the 59th Session of the UN General AssemblyNew York, 29 September 2004Mr. President,
1.
The Holy See is honoured to take part in the general debate of the
General
Assembly of the United Nations for the first time since the Resolution
of
last 1 July which formalized and specified the rights and prerogatives
of
its status as a Permanent Observer, a status which the Holy See
has
enjoyed since 1964. It is therefore, my pleasant duty to express
sincere
gratitude to all the member States. In approving the aforesaid
Resolution,
they signalled once again the particular bond of cooperation between
the
Apostolic See and the United Nations, already underlined by Pope
John
Paul II on his first visit to this assembly, exactly 25 years ago. It
is a
bond which, in some sense, is connatural to them: both the Holy See and
the
United Nations have a universal vocation; no nation on earth is foreign
to
them. Both the Holy See and the United Nations have an overriding
objective
of peace: in fact peace, this supreme good, is written into the
founding
Charter of the United Nations, and it lies at the heart of the Gospel
message which the Holy See is responsible for proclaiming to all
nations.
In this significant
circumstance, I am honoured to convey to you, Mr. President, and to all
of
you gathered here to represent your noble countries, the respectful and
cordial greetings of Pope John Paul II. I bring a special greeting to
the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Kofi Annan, and also to his
worthy assistants. Their work, as recorded in the Annual Report of the
Secretary General A/59/1, above all, with reference to conflict
prevention
and peacekeeping in the world, deserves the appreciation and gratitude
of us
all.
2.
Several of the themes included on the agenda of this General
Assembly may be considered essential for attaining the supreme
objective of
peace and for the future of humanity. To quote only a few: United
Nations
and new human world order; pursuit of the Millennium Goals; total and
general disarmament; sustainable development; globalization and
interdependence; international migration and development; human rights;
human cloning. I shall limit myself to a brief presentation of the
Holy
See's position regarding some of these issues.
3.
Among the Millennium goals, pride of place goes to the theme of poverty
and development. I say pride of place, because it affects the
right to
subsistence of hundreds of millions of human beings, surviving - as
best
they can - below the threshold of what is necessary, as well as tens of
millions of undernourished children unjustly deprived of the right to
live.
In order to find a lasting solution to these inhumane conditions, it is
necessary to progress, under the aegis of the UN, towards a more
flexible
and more just international trade system. Furthermore, financial
structures
are needed which would favour development and cancellation of foreign
debt
for the poorest countries. Likewise, the results of scientific
research
and technology need to be generously shared, specifically in the field
of
health. On this matter I need say no more, since the Holy See's
position
has already been presented once again by Cardinal Angelo Sodano
himself, the
Secretary of State, at the conference on hunger and poverty held in New
York
on 20 September last. I repeat only this: the urgency of the situation
cannot tolerate delay. It is a question of justice, not of charity,
even if
the need for charity remains and will always remain.
4.
Of immediate relevance to the supreme good of peace is the theme of total
and general disarmament. If it is true that the production and
sale of
arms to other countries endangers peace, it follows that severe and
effective international controls are needed. The commitment of the UN
in
this area is attested by the various Conventions it has supported with
reference to weapons of mass destruction as well as conventional
weapons.
But we are only at the beginning of a long process, with huge economic
interests as obstacles along our path.
The problem of weapons
of mass destruction is clearly to be distinguished from that of
conventional
weapons; but the latter have a terrible and unending contemporary
relevance
in the numerous armed conflicts that stain the world with blood, and
also in
terrorism.
5.
Regional armed conflicts are so numerous that there is no time
to
list them all. However, there are some that I cannot omit to mention.
Above all there is the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict which dominated the whole of the
second
half of the last century. This conflict is not simply contained within
the
narrow territorial boundaries of the region itself. Those directly
involved
are the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority, and they have
the
grave duty to demonstrate their desire for peace. With this end in
view, a
"road map" has been drawn up and formally accepted by both parties; may
they
proceed along it with determination and courage! But the conflict is
also
followed with intense interest and often with passion by large sections
of
humanity. The Catholic Church, present in Palestine for 2,000 years,
invites everyone to turn their backs on any action likely to destroy
confidence, and to utter generous words of peace and make bold gestures
of
peace. And if peace is the fruit of justice, let it not be forgotten -
as
Pope John Paul II has reminded us - that there can be no justice
without
forgiveness. Indeed, without mutual forgiveness. This clearly requires
greater moral courage than the use of arms.
Then there is the
Iraqi conflict. The position of the Holy See concerning the
military
action of 2002-2003 is well known. Everyone can see that it did not
lead to
a safer world either inside or outside Iraq. The Holy See believes it
is
now imperative to support the present Government in its efforts to
bring the
country to normality and to a political system that is substantially
democratic and in harmony with the values of its historic traditions.
The Holy See is gravely
concerned about various African countries Sudan, Somalia, the
countries in the Great Lakes region, Ivory Coast, etc., scarred by
bloodshed
arising from mutual conflicts and even more from internal strife. They
need
active international solidarity: more specifically, and connaturally,
the
African Union needs to intervene authoritatively so as to bring all
legitimate interested parties around a negotiating table. The African
Union
has already demonstrated its ability to act successfully in some cases:
it
deserves recognition and support.
6.
I have mentioned the theme of terrorism, an aberrant
phenomenon, utterly unworthy of man, which has already assumed global
dimensions: today no State can presume to be safe from it. Hence,
without
prejudice to the right and duty of each State to implement just
measures to
protect its citizens and its institutions, it seems obvious that
terrorism
can only be effectively challenged through a concerted multilateral
approach, respecting the ius gentium, and not through the
politics of
unilateralism. No-one is in any doubt that the fight against terrorism
means, first and foremost, neutralizing its active breeding-grounds.
But
the underlying causes are many and complex: political, social,
cultural,
religious; for this reason, what is still more important is long-term
action, directed, with foresight and patience, at its roots, designed
to
stop it from spreading further and to extinguish its deadly contagious
effects.
The Holy See and the
entire Catholic Church is actively involved in this work. It is
involved
through its educational and charitable institutions which, wherever
they
are, are committed to raising the cultural and social level of the
population, without any discrimination, especially on religious
grounds; it
is involved through inter-religious dialogue, which has grown in
intensity
ever since the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council: this dialogue is
directed
towards objective mutual knowledge, sincere friendship and, wherever
possible, free collaboration in the service of humanity. The Holy See
will
always be grateful to the authorities of other religions who
demonstrate
openness to such dialogue, and also to the civil authorities who
encourage
it, without any political interference, respecting the distinction
between
the religious and the civil sphere and the fundamental human right to
freedom of religion.
7.
The right to freedom of religion is sanctioned, together with
other
fundamental rights, in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights,
approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December
1948.
In reality, such fundamental human rights stand or fall together. And
man
stands or falls with them. For this reason - in the view of the Holy
See -
every effort has to be made to defend them in all fields. For this to
happen, one particular danger must be avoided, which is found today in
various countries and social settings. It is the idea that these
fundamental human rights, as sanctioned by the Universal Declaration,
are
expressions of a particular culture and are therefore highly relative.
No:
at heart, they are expressions of the human being as such, even if the
fact
remains that, at different times and in different cultures, they may
have
been and may still be differently applied, in more or less adequate and
acceptable ways.
8.
Among the fundamental rights, or rather foremost among them,
as the
Universal Declaration explicitly states, is the right to life of
every
individual. The Holy See could say a great deal about the right to
life
of every individual, because the essence of its message is the "Gospel
of
life."
Evangelium Vitae is the title of a well-known Encyclical by
Pope
John Paul II, issued on 25 March 1995. The question of human cloning
comes
under the same broad heading. In a few weeks this General Assembly
will
resume its debate on human cloning. In this respect the Holy See is
pleased
to reaffirm its commitment to support the advancement of medical
science,
conducted always in a manner that respects human dignity, because it
offers
healing and cure for various diseases. With this end in view, the Holy
See
reiterates its support for the procurement and use of adult stem cells,
and
believes that the way forward is to draw up and implement a clear
Convention
that will result in a comprehensive ban on human cloning.
9.
"Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and
inalienable
rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom,
justice
and peace in the world": so begins the Preamble of the Universal
Declaration on
Human Rights. It is one of the many undeniable merits of the UN to have
proposed to the conscience of all humanity, more than 50 years ago,
these secure
principles for progress towards peace. Over the years, however, the
United
Nations Organization, like every human organization, has needed to adapt
its
procedures to take account of developments on the world political scene
so that
its work for the promotion of peace can become more effective. The
first
results of the high-level commission set up for this purpose by
Secretary-General Kofi Annan were published last June. The Holy See
will be
able to offer some explicit evaluation on the occasion of the debate on
the
subject to be held next week. For now I should simply like to recall
Pope John
Paul II's words for this year's World Day of Peace. He reminded us that
"humanity today is in a new and more difficult phase of its genuine
development"
and for this reason - echoing the voice of his predecessors - he called
for "a
greater degree of international ordering". This could be brought about
by
giving organizations like the UN special prerogatives to facilitate
action to
prevent conflicts at times of international crisis, and also, when
absolutely
necessary, "humanitarian intervention", that is, action aimed at
disarming the
aggressor. Yet the "greater degree of international ordering" could be
achieved
still more effectively if the UN were to rise from "the cold status of
an
administrative institution" - to quote Pope John Paul II once again to
the
status of "a moral centre, where all the nations of the world feel at
home and
develop a shared awareness of being, as it were, a family of nations."
10.
Mr. President, now and in the future, the UN can always count on the
Holy See to
be not only an attentive Permanent Observer, but also a travelling
companion,
ever ready to support its complex and difficult activity in conformity
with the
proper nature and according to the proper possibilities of the Holy See
and also
to collaborate, in a spirit of freedom and friendship, with all the
member
States.
Thank you, Mr. President.
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