The fundamental role of decentalised cooperation, the importance of drafting policies against social inequality, recognition of the need to involve parliaments in development processes; these were the salient features of the speech delivered by Deputy Minister Lapo Pistalli at the ECOSOC meeting in Geneva.
“Democratic decentralization can be a potent instrument in fighting poverty and promoting local development”, Pistelli said at the start of the post-2015 debate, concluding on the importance that the future development agenda “confronts inequality in all its aspects”.
The Under-Secretary also had a series of meetings in Geneva with the representatives of various UN agencies. Meeting with UNDP administrator Helen Clark, the Deputy Minister pointed out the agency’s important role in promoting a global perspective on “human development”. Clark underscored Italy’s role in outlining a new development agenda “beyond the traditional limits of development cooperation”.
Moreover, UNHCR Commissioner Antonio Guterres underscored the excellent level of collaboration on the Syrian emergency and the important role of Italy in Libya.
Finally, meeting with OHCHR High Commissioner Navanethem Pillay, the Deputy Minister recalled the three mainstays of Italian foreign policy in matters of human rights: abolition of the death penalty, defence of religious freedom and the campaign against female genital mutilation, while Pillay acknowledged Italy’s traditionally prominent role in the promotion of human rights.
