Speech delivered by Sen. Giulio Terzi on the floor of the Senate in memory of Emma Bonino and Raffaele Costa.
“Thank you, Mr. President. It is with deep emotion that I wish to express my heartfelt greetings and sincere condolences to the political communities, families and friends of Emma Bonino and Raffaele Costa. Their common region of origin—the Piedmont of the Risorgimento, a region of profound significance in the history of Italian political thought— is extremely relevant; it was from this context that the movement of conservatives and liberals, in the full sense of the terms, took shape. Indeed, two great Members of Parliament belonging to the liberal family in its various manifestations, who contributed to write the Italian parliamentary history and to our country’s international activities.
Emma Bonino, as we know, was a follower of Marco Pannella from a very young age. Pannella had developed a powerful liberal conviction during his university years. Raffaele Costa, a liberal throughout his political career. Why is it important to highlight this aspect? I had the privilege of participating in countless initiatives at the United Nations since 1993 and throughout her work in Europe, both as a Commissioner and as a Member of the European Parliament.
The same holds true for Raffaele Costa: he shared a similar career path and served in the same institutions, with the exception of the role of Commissioner. Yet, he was equally and extremely active in the European Parliament. He also served as Deputy Minister and Undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under Amintore Fanfani and Giovanni Spadolini. These were significant paths for both of them, contributing to the growth of Italian diplomacy’s role and the value of Italy’s actions on the global stage.
Mr. President, much has been said about personal accounts, and rightly so. I shared a genuine friendship with Emma; I saw her in the trenches at the United Nations—at the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly—often in extremely challenging situations given the causes she championed without hesitation. She showed no fear. Sshe would not only challenge the official representatives of other countries but even go so far as to risk offending them with her remarks.
I remember one specific incident at the Economic and Social Council perfectly. She had come—in her capacity as a Member of Parliament—to speak about issues concerning the Maghreb and Africa in the mid-1990s. She raised a point with the French Permanent Representative who then rushed to me—I was the Chargé d’Affaires at the time—to complain about what Emma Bonino had said, as she had criticized certain aspects of French policy in the region. My reply was simple: Emma was merely exercising her full parliamentary prerogatives.
I witnessed and participated in so many of her campaigns: the promotion of a moratorium on the death penalty; the major campaign against the grave scourge of female genital mutilation—she traveled across Africa and the globe, even speaking with Mubarak’s wife and managing to engage the Egyptians on a topic that remains politically extremely sensitive for them to this day. Then there was her staunch support for the creation of the International Criminal Court; thanks to her tireless efforts, Italy emerged as a key player in the adoption of the Rome Statute, which established the ICC.
I could recount many other episodes, but I will end with two: the arrest in Poland in 1987, when she demonstrated against General Jaruzelski in support of Solidarity, and her arrest by the Taliban in Kabul. This is the story of a great woman who played a fundamental in the defense of universal human values, women’s rights, and the rule of law, and who contributed so much the greatness of our country and our identity. Thank you.”