Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act, which took place on 1 August 1975. The Helsinki Final Act and the ten principles it enshrined regarding inter-State relations (the so-called Helsinki Decalogue) established that peace and security must be built through dialogue among nations, with full respect for sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, through cooperation in the economic and environmental spheres, and through the promotion of human dignity and the inalienable rights of individuals.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani recalled that “the Helsinki Conference and the subsequent signing of the Final Act represented a milestone in the history of the European continent, making a decisive contribution to the end of the Cold War. The Helsinki Act also bears the authoritative signatures of Aldo Moro and of the future Vatican Secretary of State, Monsignor Agostino Casaroli – a sign of a values-based collaboration focused on the human person, which continues today as it did then. Faced with the many current international crises, the spirit of the Helsinki Final Act compels us to reaffirm, with conviction, that security is indivisible, that human rights are universal, and that peace is only possible when grounded in justice and respect for international law”.
Italy played a key role in the negotiations that led to the adoption of the document. The Italian diplomatic contribution was instrumental in shaping provisions concerning the protection and promotion of human rights (the so-called “human dimension of security”), and in securing the inclusion of the “Mediterranean Chapter” – the recognition that European security cannot be separated from the security of the Mediterranean region, and that the countries on both the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean share a common history and destiny, as well as common challenges and opportunities.
On this anniversary, Italy reaffirms its full support for the work of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) – whose origins lie in the Helsinki Final Act – and confirms its commitment to peace diplomacy through multilateral dialogue and respect for shared principles among States.
