SAN MARINO - SAINT-MARIN

His Excellency Giancarlo Venturini, Captain Regent of the Republic of San Marino

The Captains Regent of the Republic of San Marino would like to express their appreciation to the Italian authorities for the excellent manner in which the World Food Summit has been organized. This opens a debate at the highest possible level on one of the most serious problems facing humanity, hunger and malnutrition all over the world.

We are very pleased indeed to be able to bring a message to this august assembly where all the countries of the world are represented from the people of the Republic of San Marino who have had a long tradition of human solidarity and have always strongly defended the full affirmation of human rights and the need to guarantee for every individual the best possible living and development conditions. This is a message, we believe, that fits well within the international debate which aims to improve the human condition so that we act together in order to ensure progress and stability. Confronted with 800 million people who suffer from chronic malnutrition and 13 million children under the age of five who die of hunger every year, and confronted with so many conflicts which are caused by lack of food and which affect a large percentage of the world's population, it is the duty in the international community, of every individual to play their part so that every human being can exercise his right to basic living conditions, through plans of action, economic, and social development policies which guarantee access to universal food security.

Opportunities such as this one cannot but give us hope that we might be able to cooperate on a wide scale in order to try and ensure the right to survival for all through healthy and appropriate nutrition guaranteed at every moment. Heads of state and government who have come to meet here at this Summit have the authority and ability to promote the necessary changes which have now become urgent. If on the one hand, we are proud of the political and technological successes we have achieved in all our long history, on the other hand there is no doubt that the world's population is growing constantly, therefore eroding our limited natural resources even more and presenting greater risks for the future.

Every child, regardless of where he is born, regardless of the colour of his skin, ethnic origin, the traditional cultural context within with which he grows up, the origins of his family, regardless of all that, should be guaranteed the right to survival and development without ever fearing a lack of food, medicine and respect for his human dignity. Respect for dignity means, above all, no exploitation of any kind of a child's body or his working capacity. This exploitation should be condemned at all times, even more so when it affects children, who cannot protect themselves.

Aside from the problem of chronic malnutrition which effects a large number of countries, we should also remember the scourge of poverty which affects so many countries and which requires the mobilization of all our efforts in order to find the causes of this poverty. We know that the reply to solving this problem is fair and equitable development for everybody. However, we have not yet found the means and the systems in order to achieve this, nor have we shown sufficient will to implement measures and systems, which have to be based on solidarity.

We are aware that the voice of our country, which is only 62 kms² in area, is a rather soft voice which certainly cannot reach very far. However, we are joining our voice to many others so that it becomes a scream to express our will to change matters. Hopefully, this Summit will signal the beginning of an era when every human being will be able to fully enjoy his right to life and development in a climate of respect for his dignity and in a climate of peace.