The Foreign Ministry joins in the celebrations for the International Human Rights Day to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly. Even though the Declaration was the first to acknowledge the inalienable rights of all human beings and had the enormous merit of greatly contributing to promoting the respect thereof, its principles are still now too often violated.
In line with the provisions of Art. 2 of the Constitution, the promotion and protection of human rights guide Italy’s actions domestically and also internationally. As member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, our Country cooperates in a dialoguing and constructive spirit with all the players concerned in order to support initiatives aimed at guaranteeing the dignity and value of every human being. The promotion and protection of the rights of the most vulnerable groups such as minors, disabled persons, women and members of ethnic and religious minorities, and the campaign to apply an international moratorium on the death penalty, are some of Italy’s priorities in the area of respecting fundamental rights and freedoms.
A few days ago, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, an instrument to which Italy is particularly bound, as it considers that the protection of children’s rights is an essential element in creating equitable, prosperous and inclusive societies. Paying tribute to this anniversary and to the role of young generations in mass movements calling for greater respect for their rights, this year the International Human Rights Day is dedicated to young people and their potential role as agents of change. To this end, at the 33rd Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent that opened yesterday in Geneva, Italy presented an open pledge to take all the necessary actions to assure that children may live safely and enjoy their fundamental rights also in situations of armed conflict.
