The official visit of the Director General of the United Nations at Geneva, Tatiana Valovaya, to the Sovereign Order of Malta authorities took place today at the Magistral Palace in Rome. The Grand Master Fra’ John Dunlap received the Director General, returning his official visit when he spoke at the Human Rights Council in Geneva in October 2024.

Grand Chancellor Riccardo Paternò di Montecupo and Grand Hospitaller Josef Blotz participated in today’s talks in Rome. During the conversation on major international geopolitical crises, the indispensable role of the United Nations in the multilateral system was reaffirmed, despite the operational difficulties and resource constraints imposed by the geopolitical context, as the Director General pointed out.

The visit was an opportunity to reassert the Order’s commitment to endorse a culture of peace, inclusion, tolerance and peaceful coexistence. Common concern was expressed about the ongoing violations of international humanitarian law in major war scenarios, evoking the Order’s commitment to the victims of conflict and those who suffer.

In this regard, the presence of a representation of the Order at the United Nations in Geneva, the headquarters of various humanitarian agencies, signifies an indispensable tool in international humanitarian law advocacy, also thanks to its cooperation with United Nations’ bodies and agencies and other international partners.