Mr. Chairman and Mr. Executive Director,
I wish to express my gratitude for the opportunity that I have been given to pay a public tribute to Ambassador Giorgio Giacomelli who sadly passed away in February this year, aged 87.
Among the various places where he served his country and the international community during a remarkable carrier, we found it especially appropriate to remember him in Vienna and in this very building where he acted as the Director General of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme and Director General of the United Nations Office between 1991 and 1997.
I shall not list his posts, his titles and his awards. Nor shall I mention his vast culture, his charming personality, his management skills, his professional successes or his resoluteness and courage that earned him the Silver Medal for Civil Bravery when he risked his life to save citizens in danger. I also refrain from elaborating too much about his love for Africa, his deep knowledge of the Middle East, his achievements in the field of aid to development, his dedication to the cause of refugees, his faith in the respect human rights, his commitment to environmental protection.
I want to recall the man of vision, who worked for peace and justice, who believed in mankind and who fought all the battles he could on behalf of integrity and fairness. And I especially want to highlight the important legacy that Ambassador Giacomelli left us about the value of multilateralism. He believed in the equal dignity of all nations, he strived to build bridges among different actors, he promoted solidarity and he embodied the “spirit of Vienna” at its best. If it is true that the good that men do lives after them, we should continue his mission, follow the path he showed and carry on working to promote conciliation and reinforce cooperation at international level.
I have met a few people as equally inspiring, smart and prepared as Giorgio Giacomelli and I was privileged enough to work for a few years under his guidance and to absorb many of his views and perspectives during our long trips in Asia or in Latin America. He was a true mentor whose teachings have shaped my perception of our mission as diplomats and will always be crucial for my understanding of the world.
We should not weep because we lost him, we should rejoice because we appreciated his wisdom, we enjoyed his friendship and we loved his company. To his family, his friends and his colleagues who are present here today I want to say that he will not be forgotten.
