Mgr Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, highlighted the dangers of the arms trade at the United Nations General Assembly, urging countries to face a technological boom, a sense of responsibility and a lack of conscience.
(Vatican News Network)Mgr Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, spoke twice at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly on 24 October. The archbishop first spoke of the dangers of the arms trade, saying that “it is shameful that some people get rich from trafficking in instruments of death”. In his second speech, Monsignor Caccia referred to the dangers of improper use of communication technologies, stating: “Our chief technology officer has brought us to a crossroads”.
During the discussion on conventional weapons, Archbishop Caccia reiterated the Holy See’s support for the measures taken by the United Nations to stop the trade in small arms. Small arms, despite their limited lethality, continue to claim hundreds of thousands of lives around the world every year.
Furthermore, Mgr. Cacha also stressed that peace is “closely related” to the global development of humanity. Already in 1967 “Pope Paul VI affirmed that development is the new name for peace”, which is also reflected in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. “Without peace, sustainable development cannot exist; without sustainable development, there can be no peace”, reads the relevant United Nations document.
At the end of this speech, Archbishop Cacha quoted Pope Francis: “Why sell lethal weapons to those who intend to inflict unspeakable suffering on individuals and societies? Unfortunately, as we all know, the answer is purely to make money: money is stained with blood, and often the blood of innocents ”.
The representative of the Holy See also spoke on the subject of other disarmament and international security measures. He begins by talking about the misuse of communication technologies, noting that these technologies can both bring us closer to each other and be used to cause harm.
Archbishop Cacha quoted Pope Francis’ Laudato d’Or encyclical, saying: “Although technology has progressed by leaps and bounds, there has not been a corresponding increase in people’s sense of responsibility, values and conscience” ( cf. Encyclical Lode, n. 105), therefore, humanity “has entered a new era, and our technologists have brought us to a crossroads”, with great prospects and great dangers ahead of us.
In view of this, the archbishop put forward three proposals for countries to act in cyberspace: the first is to “respect the intrinsic dignity of every human being” and protect their freedom of expression and privacy within reasonable limits; the second is for countries the vulnerable should be protected, including the protection of their own critical infrastructures, without deliberately causing damage to the critical infrastructures of other countries; the third is that countries should bridge the digital divide with justice.
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