ITALY’S MULTILATERAL ENGAGEMENT

Ministero degli Affari Esteri

Text by Cristiano Musillo

PHOTOGRAPHS: ANSA, NATO, UN

Graphic Layout by Stefania Federici

Italy’s commitment to the multilateral system is a crucial and

internationally acknowledged segment of our foreign policy to which our

financial and human contributions to international organisations bear

ample witness.

This following is intended as a brief and accessible summary of

Italy’s activities within the framework of the United Nations, the European

Union and the Atlantic Alliance, and of development cooperation

interventions within the wider context of international organisation

strategies and the pursuit of the Millennium Goals.

Its scope is to provide the media and the diplomatic-consular

network with an instrument by which to facilitate public diplomacy efforts.

Maurizio Massari

Head of the Press and Information Service

CONTENTS

ITALY IN THE UNITED NATIONS 9

ITALY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION 15

ITALY IN THE ATLANTIC ALLIANCE 19

MULTILATERALISM AND DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION 22

ITALIANS IN TOP INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION POSTS 26

Multilateralism – as generated through the United Nations, the

highest authority capable of granting political legitimacy to efforts aimed

at confronting contemporary global challenges – has always been a

primary concern for Italian foreign policy.

Widespread peace and security, political stability and economic

growth, protection of human rights and dignity, and the fight against

terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction all require

the effective and efficient cooperation of governments within the various

multilateral forums.

This has spurred Italy to shoulder ever-increasing national

responsibility for addressing major European and international political

concerns ranging from the Balkans to Afghanistan.

With its participation in numerous peacekeeping operations, which

brought the number of troops deployed in 2008 in various crisis

scenarios to approximately 9,000, Italy has become a “producer” of

security and stability. Its efforts are distinguished for the importance they

place on humanitarian concerns and on solutions embraceable by

countries whose difficulties are often rooted in underdevelopment and a

lack of dialogue between cultures and religions.

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ITALY IN THE UNITED NATIONS

For the sixth time in the organisation’s history, in 2007 Italy held a 2-year non-permanent seat on the

Security Council, the United Nations body authorised in matters of peacekeeping and international security,

whose ten non-permanent members sit alongside five permanent members with veto power. When it took

its seat in January 2007, Italy became the European country that had had the most Security Council mandates

– six – ahead of Holland, Poland, Belgium, Germany, Norway and Spain.

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Bearing witness to our interest in and engagement on the world’s many crisis scenarios, Italy was

Security Council coordinator for Afghanistan and is one of the most active members on the theme of

Security Council reform. Indeed, in keeping with its multilateral vocation, Italy believes that in order to

confront the new challenges and threats to international peace and security, the United Nations needs to

be more representative of a global context in which a growing number of countries and other players

such as international and regional organisations, are capable of shouldering increased responsibility.

Italy’s objective is a Council reform that all Members can accept and that strengthens its legitimacy and

credibility around the world.

One of the principles on which the reform process must hinge lies in the democratic representation of its

Members, and the responsibility associated with it. Any country, therefore, aspiring to become a Council

member must submit to legitimate election and is responsible for its actions to the remaining country members.

That is why Italy is opposed to adding new permanent seats, feeling this would only lead to the creation

of new privileged positions that the current international situation does not justify. Beginning with the

ministerial meeting held in Rome on 5 February 2009, which brought together approximately 80 countries

to discuss the general principles that will guide Security Council reforms, and the recent launch in New York

of intergovernmental negotiations, Italy’s approach to this new phase of the reform process is open and

flexible, and assumes that meaningful progress can only be made if all other members follow suit.

Among our nation’s most recently rewarded efforts within the context of the United Nations was the

adoption of Resolution 62/149 against the death penalty[1], which Italy had strongly supported for years. The

resolution urged governments that still apply the death penalty to reduce its use, along with the number of

crimes for which it is applicable. It also called a moratorium on capital executions, with a view to the eventual

abolition of the death penalty, and urged governments that had abolished them not to reintroduce them.

In December 2008, the General Assembly confirmed the favourable vote it had expressed in 2007 on

Resolution 63/168, and saw the number of supporter countries rise to 105.

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Italy contributes 5% to the organisation’s ordinary peacekeeping budget, and is one of its major donors,

ranking sixth among the 192 United Nations members[2], hosting a UN humanitarian aid depot and logistics

base for peace operations in Brindisi and the UN Staff College in Turin. Since 2006, Italy has been the top

Western country for its number of Blue Helmets engaged in missions that include the UNIFIL mission

operating in Southern Lebanon, where Italy’s contingent is the largest (over 2500 units).

In addition to being a member of many UN bodies[3], Italy currently boasts the presence of Italian personnel

in a variety of senior posts in its major international agencies. Antonio Cassese is President of the Lebanon Tribunal;

Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UNODC, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and Director

General of the UN Office in Vienna; Filippo Grandi, Deputy Commissioner General of UNWRA, the UN agency

created in 1948 with the task of assisting Palestinian refugees; Claudio Graziano, Commander of the UNIFIL

mission; Mauro Politi and Cuno Tarfusser, judges on the International Criminal Court; Fausto Pocar,

Permanent Judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia; Romano Prodi leads the

UN-African Union Panel on Peacekeeping in Africa; and Lamberto Zannier, the Secretary General’s

Special Representative in Kosovo.

[1] The General Assembly with 104 votes in favour, 54 against and 29 abstaining adopted resolution 62/149 on 18 December 2007.

[2] In 2007, Italy contributed 99 million euro to the ordinary budget, as well as 274 million euro to UN peacekeeping missions, along with 17 million euro to the

budgets of international tribunals. Contributions in 2008 included 83 million euro to the ordinary budget and 246 million euro for peace operations, while our contribution

to international tribunals has amounted to 12 million euro.

[3] Executive Board of UNESCO, IOL and WMO; Board of FAO and WFP; Board of Directors of UNAIDS and the Global Fund in the fight against AIDS, TB and

Malaria; Board of ICAO, ITU and IMO; Executive Board of IFAD; Human Rights Council; UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; UN Commission on International Law;

Commission on International Public Administration; Planning and Coordination Committee; Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice; Commission on

Narcotic Drugs; Executive Board of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO); Executive Board of the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC); Postal Operators Council (POC)

of the UPU.

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PERSONNEL CONTRIBUTIONS TO UN PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS

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ITALY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Italy contributes 13% of the total EU budget (15 billion euro), ranking third behind Germany (23

billion/19.74%) and France (18 billion/15.71%), and ahead of the UK (14 billion/12.23%) and Spain (11

billion/9.25%).

Italy hosts the European Food Security Authority in Parma, the European Foundation for Professional

Training in Turin, The European School in Varese and the Common Research Centre in Ispra.

Ettore Sequi is European Union Special Representative for Afghanistan; Piero Fassino is the EU

Special Envoy for Burma/Myanmar; and Dario Scannapieco is Vice President of the European

Investment Bank.

Particularly important is Italy’s participation in European Security and Defence missions. Our

country deploys a total of approximately 9,000 men and women in EU, NATO and UN multinational,

national and bilateral assistance missions.

Italy’s contribution to the EULEX Kosovo civilian mission makes up one of its largest contingents –

172 units – and includes Carabinieri, police, customs and corrections officers, magistrates and other experts.

Approximately 240 of the EUFOR Althea mission’s approximately 2,100 troops in Bosnia Herzegovina

are Italian, and the mission is under the command of General Stefano Castagnotto.

Italy maintains 17 units in the civilian EUPM mission in Bosnia (previously led by Brigadier General CC

Vincenzo Coppola).

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Italy has made 7 armoured transport vehicles and 41 personnel available for the initial phase of the

EUMM Georgia mission (in addition to several units from a logistics team on-site for the first two weeks), for

a total of 36 military units and 5 civilians (including the political advisor to the Head of Mission).

Four Italians are currently engaged in the EUBAM mission at the Rafah Crossing in the Gaza Strip,

formerly under the command of General Pietro Pistolese.

Italy has sent 2 experts, respectively from the Ministry of the Interior and the Corrections Administration,

to the EUPOL COPPS police mission in the Palestinian Territories.

The EUPOL Afghanistan mission, in which 23 states participate, is comprised of 185 officials, 60 of

whom are civilian experts. Italy’s contribution of 16 units (among which Deputy Head of Mission Colonel

Umberto Rocca) includes Carabinieri, customs police and other experts, and is among the top participants.

Italy’s contribution to the EUFOR CIAD/Central African Republic consisted of 4 officers working in the

force’s General Headquarters and a field hospital where approximately 100 military doctors and paramedical

personnel were present.

The EU’s EUPOL Democratic Republic of Congo mission includes 4 Italian Carabinieri. Our country also

contributes with its frigate “Maestrale” to the Atalanta counter-piracy mission along the Somali coast.

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ITALY IN THE ATLANTIC ALLIANCE

One of NATO’s two regional operational command headquarters is located in Naples. Operating

in Italy at sub-regional (tactical) level, are a maritime command (Naples) as well as combined stationary and

mobile air operations centres, both located at Poggio Renatico. The Undersea Research Centre located in

La Spezia is a major NATO institution that answers to the Norfolk Command in the United States. Finally, the

NATO Defence College has been in Rome since 1966, and is the most important professional training and

refreshment centre for the officers of Atlantic Alliance member and partner countries.

Italy is the sixth largest contributor to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan and leads the Provincial

Reconstruction Team in Herat. Since 2002 our country has been making a major contribution to this mission,

and was in command of it from 2005 to 2006. Italy’s current contribution, which stands at approximately

2800 units, is subdivided between Kabul (approximately 600), the Western provinces of Herat and Farah

(Forward Support Base) and the district of Mala Murghab (Forward Operating Base), and further

reinforcements are planned.

Second only to Afghanistan, the KFOR mission in Kosovo is the most important NATO peacekeeping

mission currently under way, in terms of number of troops (15,200) and participation of countries (a total of

33, of which 25 are NATO members and 8 non-members). The Italian KFOR contingent has more than

2,100 units, 260 of which are Carabinieri participating within the framework of a Multinational Specialised

Unit (MSU). Some of these will gradually be relocated to police divisions in Europe’s EULEX mission. Italy

holds the command of the KFOR Western Task Force, whose troops come from five countries: Italy, Hungary,

Romania, Slovenia and Spain and which makes a high-level contribution in terms of the human resources it

dedicates to KSF training (approximately 40 units).

Italy is currently the largest supporter of the NATO training mission in Iraq (NTM-I). We handled

the extension of the mission to include Iraqi national police through the well-established practise of training

trainers and, in October 2008, completed the deployment in Iraq of a Carabinieri contingent tasked with

training activities.

Significant also was the Alliance’s decision, for the period November-December 2008, to employ

Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) to protect convoys of WFP aid and, more in general, in

support of counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, assigning its command to Italian Admiral Gumiero

and deploying Italian naval destroyer Durand de la Penne in the operation.

Italy holds various top positions in the Atlantic Alliance. Claudio Bisogniero has been Deputy Secretary

General since 2007; Giampaolo Di Paola took over the function of Chairman of the Military Committee

in June 2008; Giuseppe Emilio Gay is commander of the NATO KFOR contingent, while Fernando Gentilini

was appointed NATO Secretary General Representative in Afghanistan in May 2008. Marco Bertolini is

ISAF Chief of Staff, Sabato Errico and Rosario Castellano respectively command NATO Headquarters in

Sarajevo and ISAF Regional Command West.

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MULTILATERALISM AND DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

One of the most important instruments for effective development cooperation is multilateralism, as it

reduces transnational costs, increases the number of scale economies and facilitates achievement of high

levels of technical skill.

The financial support Italy ensures to international organisations falls within the strategic context outlined

by the international community and major world conferences in the Millennium Development Goals to be

achieved by the end of 2015.

UN Agencies enjoy neutral and universal status, which makes them particularly appropriate to work in

crisis and pre-conflict situations, humanitarian emergencies and complex sectors such as good governance,

human and legal rights protection, democratic processes and the defence of vulnerable groups and those

most exposed to exclusion.

The distribution of the resources earmarked for these organisations is determined annually according

to Italian Cooperation planning guidelines, the Millennium Goals, complementarity with bilateral aid, their

specific mandates, and the effectiveness, impact and cohesiveness of their interventions. Collaboration with

the World Bank, for instance, is precious toward this latter end, precisely as a result of its greater capacity to

gather resources around the international community’s shared goals.

The funds earmarked in 2008 per multilateral development cooperation amounted to

514,720,560.41euro.

International organisations operate in the following main sectors:

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AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY, FAO, IFAD, WFP, CIHEAM, BIOVERSITY, and CGIAR;

HEALTH, with contributions going to WHO and the Global Fund for the fight against pandemics and

the eradication of polio, zoonotic diseases and support for maternal/infant care;

EDUCATION, funding goes predominantly to the Education for All/Fast Track Initiative (EFA/FTI);

GOOD GOVERNANCE, major contributions go to the UNDP, the main UN organisation for the

coordination and planning of technical cooperation. Other recipient organisations include UNODC, UNICRI,

OHCHR, ECLA and the Peace Building Fund;

TRAINING, with voluntary contributions to ILO, IDLO, IMO, UNDESA, UNSSC, UNV and IILA;

ENVIRONMENT AND WATER RESOURCES, with funding going to UNEP, IUCN e UNCCD, using funds

also from the Ministry of the Environment’s Fund for Sustainable Development. Specific projects are also

carried out through FAO and UN-HABITAT and special attention goes to the struggle against urban poverty

(City Alliance and UN-HABITAT);

HUMANITARIAN AID, contributions are made, in light of the principles of Good Humanitarian Donorship,

the super partes role of international organisations and their capacity for rapid coordination, to UNHCR,

CICR, IFRC, OCHA, WFP, UNRWA, UNICEF, WTO, FAO, IOM, UNFPA and UNDP, through bilateral emergency

funds and voluntary contributions;

GENDER EQUALITY AND MINORS, the most important crossover priorities indicated in Italian Cooperation’s

2009-2011 three-year plan; UNICEF is Italy’s main international reference point in issues involving minors.

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The following table shows the data relative to Italian contributions to UN Agencies in 2008, and is

followed by a bar chart illustrating sector distribution.

Italy’s presence takes on special importance in international “hubs” such as those of Rome for

agriculture, Turin for training, Brindisi for logistics and Trieste for scientific research.

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SECTOR CONTRIBUTION

TOTAL 514.720.560,41

RECIPIENT ORGANISATIONS

AGRICULTURE AND FOODSECURITY

HEALTH

EDUCATION

GOOD GOVERNANCE

TRAINING

ENVIRONMENT AND WATER RESOURCES

HUMANITARIAN AID

GENDER EQUALITY AND MINORS

143.011.670,06

33.132.369,50

21.110.000,00

132.855.381,23

52.481.577,00

19.989.450,00

71.452.751,18

40.687.361,44

FAO, IFAD, WFP, CIHEAM, BIOVERSITY, CGIAR

WHO, UNAIDS

WB (EFA-FTI), UNESCO

UNDP, UNODC, UNICRI, ECLA, PEACEBUILDING

FUND, DEMOCRACY FUND, OHCHR, IPS, ITC,

WHO, CIS, UNCTAD, UNIDO, UNOPS

ILO, IDLO, IMO, UNDESA, UNSSC, UNV, IILA,

ICCROM, ICGEB, GLOBAL COMPACT, WIPO, U.

LATINA, UNITAR

UNEP, IUCN, UNCCD, UN-HABITAT, GLOBAL

MECH, WMO, OSS, WORLD TOURISM ORG

UNHCR, ICRC, IFRC, OCHA, UNRWA, IOM,

UNFPA, PAHO, UN-CERF

UNIFEM, UNICEF, INSTRAW

Moreover, the Directorate General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

has funded the UN Humanitarian Resources Depot (UNHRD) in Brindisi since 1984. The depot is

managed by the World Food Program (WFP) in collaboration with other UN partners such as the Office for

the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Health Organization (WHO), and supports

the bilateral transport and procurements services of the Directorate itself.

Foodstuffs, medicines and other emergency supplies are stored at the depot and are ready to be

dispatched to crisis areas by sea and air within 48 hours notice.

The efficiency of the Brindisi facility has ensured the success of numerous humanitarian and emergency

interventions. In 2008 alone operations were triggered in response to Cyclone Nargis in Burma/Myanmar,

the humanitarian crisis in Georgia, the earthquake in the Chinese province of Sichuan and the crisis in the

Gaza Strip.

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ITALIANS IN TOP INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION POSTS

UNITED NATIONS

Antonio Cassese, President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of UNODC and Director General of the UN Office in Vienna

Filippo Grandi, Deputy Commissioner General of UNWRA

Claudio Graziano, Commander of UNIFIL in Lebanon

Fausto Pocar, Permanent Judge on the International Criminal Court for Former Yugoslavia

Mauro Politi, Judge on the International Criminal Court

Romano Prodi, Coordinator of the UN-African Union Panel on Peacekeeping in Africa

Cuno Tarfusser, Judge on the International Criminal Court

Lamberto Zannier, Secretary General’s Special Representative in Kosovo

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EUROPEAN UNION

Stefano Castagnotto, Commander EUFOR Althea in Bosnia Herzegovina

Piero Fassino, Special Envoy for Burma/Myanmar

Dario Scannapieco, Vice President of the European Investment Bank

Ettore Sequi, Special EU Representative for Afghanistan

NATO

Marco Bertolini, ISAF Chief of Staff

Claudio Bisogniero, Deputy Secretary General

Rosario Castellano, Commander Regional Command West ISAF

Giampaolo Di Paola, Military Committee Chairman

Sabato Errico, Commander NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo

Giuseppe Emilio Gay, Commander KFOR contingent

Fernando Gentilini, Secretary General’s Representative in Afghanistan

OCSE

Pier Carlo Padoan, Deputy Secretary

Ministry of Foreign AffairsPress and Information Service

tel. +39 06 3691 2064segreteria.stampa@esteri.it

May 2009

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