The Grand Chancellor of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Riccardo Paternò di Montecupo, carried out a visit to the United Nations in New York, from the 21st to 27th September, on the occasion of the Summit of the Future and the opening of the general debate of the 79th Session of the General Assembly.

After accompanying the Grand Master of the Order to his meeting with the Secretary General of the United Nations (21st September) and joining him during his speech at the Summit of the Future the following day, the Grand Chancellor spoke at an open debate of the Security Council on 26th September on the topic “Leadership for Peace”.

The Grand Chancellor also had a busy series of bilateral meetings with Government members and other representatives of various UN member States.

In his address to the Security Council, the Grand Chancellor emphasised the fact that young people and the education system are key elements to implementing the Pact for the Future. As the Grand Chancellor noted, special attention must be paid to mediation and negotiation, and to the promotion of a culture based on inclusion, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

“The Order of Malta – highlighted the Grand Chancellor -supports this culture and these values with our daily actions, a tradition that began ten centuries ago in favouring anyone in need regardless of nationality, religion or gender. Thanks to our neutrality and impartiality, throughout the world, and under the most difficult circumstances, in Ukraine, in Gaza, Lebanon, South Sudan, Haiti and elsewhere, we concretely apply these values through our engagement in humanitarian activities. As a leader in humanitarian diplomacy, our leadership for peace is exhibited not only in words but, more importantly, in deeds”.

In his speech, the Grand Chancellor also reiterated his firm condemnation of the systematic violations of International Humanitarian Law and the Order of Malta’s shared vision of an international system based on multilateralism and the principles and norms of the United Nations Charter.

“We appeal to the international community to bring these themes back at the top of the international agenda, along with other fundamental topics such as climate change, digital revolution, and the development of Artificial Intelligence,” said the Grand Chancellor.

This is the second time that a Grand Chancellor of the Order of Malta has taken part in a Security Council debate, the first being that of the same Paternò di Montecupo, in September last year, on Ukraine.

Numerous bilateral meetings also took place on the margins of the General Assembly: Palestine (Prime Minister), United States (Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs), Vanuatu (Minister of Foreign Affairs/Deputy Prime Minister), Tuvalu (Minister of Foreign Affairs), Lesotho (King Letsie III), Sri Lanka (Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Head of Delegation to the 79th Session of the General Assembly), Tonga (Minister of Trade and Development), Eswatini (Minister of Foreign Affairs).

The Grand Chancellor also met with the Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Rabeeah.

The Grand Chancellor Paternò told all his interlocutors about the organisation and the activities carried out on the ground by the Order of Malta, on the five continents, in the field of humanitarian aid.

Particularly significant exchanges were had with interlocutors from Palestine and the United States, concerning the Order of Malta’s activities in Bethlehem, with the Holy Family Hospital, in the West Bank, and more recently in Gaza, with food and other aid.

All these delegations showed great interest in the many activities carried out by the Order of Malta and expressed their readiness to initiate collaborations or to reinforce existing ones, as well as to examine the possibility of establishing diplomatic relations with Countries where they do not already exist.