UN General Assembly
2018

On the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Italy expresses that will through its candidature to the Human Rights Council. Respect for the inviolable rights of humankind is one of the pillars on which the Italian Republic is founded — our beacon, especially today, when we are called upon to address the immense challenges of the grave and prolonged crises in the Euro-Mediterranean area, including migratory flows. For years, Italy has been engaged in search-and-rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea and has saved tens of thousands of people from death, often single-handedly, as has frequently been acknowledged by those who say that Italy has saved the honour of Europe.