Ambassador Massari is the new Vice President of the UN Economic and Social Council. Thus, Italy returns to the Bureau after 23 years, with a prestigious election by acclamation to the body’s Vice Presidency. Its last stint was in 1999, when Ambassador Fulci held the Presidency. This marks the second extraordinary recognition for Italy in a week, after its recent election to the UN Peacebuilding Commission on 21 July 2022.
Following two decades, the UN Headquarters welcomed the return of Italy, by acclamation, to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC), the third most important body of the UN and main intergovernmental platform for sustainable development. Italy will now hold its Vice Presidency in the person of Ambassador Maurizio Massari, the Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations, with a yearly mandate until July 2023 – the year of preparations for the SDG Summit to be held in September for Heads of State and Government.
According to Ambassador Massari, this is a “confirmation of the solid reputation and high level of trust Italy has earned in the field of multilateral diplomacy – a testament to which are the recent successes of ECOSOC negotiations among 195 Countries, led by Italy at the High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development, and the vital work jointly conducted by the G20 under Italy’s Presidency and the UN System.”
Among Italy’s most pressing objectives of its Vice Presidency is to build on the commitments made in the Ministerial Declaration on the status of implementation of Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals – the SDGs adopted on 18 July 2022 by ECOSOC. “Renewing global action for the 2030 Agenda is an urgent priority. We have identified the multidimensional challenges we must face, including the impact of conflicts, the pandemic and climate change on the SDGs. Food security is one of the most urgent interconnected crises to tackle due to the war in Ukraine, along with its impact on the global economy and energy supply,” the Ambassador went on to say.
Among the other priority areas of work for Italy during its Vice Presidency will be the fight against Covid-19; strengthening global health; access to and distribution of vaccines; an inclusive and sustainable post-pandemic recovery; climate action; biodiversity; policies for gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment; education; supporting youth leadership; financing development and international cooperation and re-launching multilateralism.
Italy will join Chile, Indonesia and Zimbabwe at the ECOSOC Bureau under the Presidency of Bulgaria.
In June 2021, Italy was re-elected member of ECOSOC for the three-year 2022-2024 period with 175 votes (the most votes among Western European Countries). It marks the tenth mandate fulfilled by Italy since the Council’s founding in 1946.
