OPR- Thursday, 13 December, 2007

We are gathered again on Republic Day to honour a number of persons on their Investiture in the National Order of Merit.

Republic Day recalls the day on which Parliament decided that the best form of Government for Malta was a democratic Republican Constitution, updated from time to time in the best interests of the Maltese people. Today we celebrate the 33rd anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic – a period long enough to prove that Parliament’s decision was right.

The Republic of Malta stands on values and today we are honouring a number of persons who gave outstanding witness to such values. Among these values I mention: the provision and the dignity of work, care of our cultural identity, education, respect of human rights, solidarity, protection of the environment and, not least, the family.

Today’s celebration reminds us that these values are not to be taken for granted. On the contrary they need to be constantly sustained not only by the State but also through individual and personal endeavours: each and everyone of us should consider it their duty to practise and uphold these values.

One can legitimately ask at this point: in today’s globalised environment is the promotion of these values becoming easier or more difficult? I am afraid that the need for the protection of some of these values is in practice becoming more difficult.

There can be no doubt that according to official statistics the number of gainfully occupied is increasing and the number of those registering as unemployed is decreasing. It is also evident that trade unions are strong in their defence of the conditions of work and dialogue between the social partners has become a fruitful exercise. There is, however, a possibility that a number of persons be deemed unemployable and some are of the opinion that the State’s only duty is to sustain such persons through the provision of social services. These individuals should take up all offers of training and employers should show trust in them. This issue is being tackled both at national level as well as by the European Union.

Education at all levels is available to all and the increasing number of students at tertiary level proves this. It is, however, also a fact that a number of young people do not reach the level education necessary to guarantee them a decent living, away from the pitfalls of emarginisation.

While protection of the Environment is common jargon, acts of vandalism and pressures for development of land and buildings not consonant with the preservation of the environment still take place.

The family in Malta is still relatively strong but one cannot ignore that family values are being weakened year in year out. Official statistics show, for example, that in 2006 the number of children born out of wedlock reached more than twenty-one per cent of all births.

Human rights and their enforcement are guaranteed by law. We too are under pressure to invoke human rights, as has already happened in other countries, to justify the introduction of abortion and euthanasia, among other things, in our legislation. Malta has had to deal with such ethical and moral issues in the two international conferences held in Cairo and Beijing respectively in 1994 and 1995 which dealt with the Rights of Women.  In this connection the late Pope John Paul II in his book Memory and Identity wrote: ‘It is legitimate and necessary to ask whether this is not the work of another ideology of evil, more subtle and hidden, perhaps, intent upon exploiting human rights themselves against man and against the family’.

For these reasons while we should acknowledge and feel proud that Maltese society still treasures Christian moral principles that have nurtured our identity, we have to make sure that we pass on these values to future generations.

I congratulate and thank all those who today are being honoured for the service that they have given or are giving to Maltese society.