UNESCO. General Conference; 30th; Records ... - unesdoc - Unesco

indeed a singular honour, not only for me but also for my country. I therefore feel particularly humbled by this
gesture.
6.2 Madam President, on behalf of the people of Zimbabwe, and indeed on my own behalf, I see this session
as the ideal occasion, coming as it does at the end of this millennium, on which to thank UNESCO for having
steadfastly stood by our people as we struggled against formidable odds to regain freedom, dignity and
nationhood for ourselves. It is for me a real honour and pleasure. We are now a free, proud and sovereign people,
and we salute UNESCO’s contribution to this achievement. We look forward to continued support from
UNESCO as we consolidate our achievements.
6.3 This session of the General Conference of UNESCO affords us an opportunity to look back and examine
whether we have lived up to our commitment made some 50 years ago, which was to build the defences of peace
in the minds of men. We should indeed take advantage of this important session to renew our commitment to this
ideal and make UNESCO more relevant, particularly given the millennium’s peculiar challenges. While the year
2000 has been declared the International Year for the Culture of Peace, we should go further than that and ensure
that the twenty-first century will mark the final transition from a culture of war, which is still dogging us up to
this day, to a culture of peace.
6.4 Madam President, this session is also very important because we are faced with the onerous task of
choosing a new Director-General to lead the Organization into the new millennium. The vision of this person as
well as his or her managerial and administrative skills will be indispensable for the achievement of UNESCO’s
lofty ideals in the new millennium. We commend the Executive Board of UNESCO for proposing His Excellency
Mr Koïchiro Matsuura of Japan – his name sounds like a Shona name – as the candidate for the post of Director-
General. It is our hope that he will be unanimously elected by this General Conference. That mandate should
empower him to mobilize more resources to enable the Organization to respond more positively to the evergrowing
needs of Member States, especially those of developing countries.
6.5 Madam President, we applaud the creation by UNESCO of the Priority Africa Department, whose main
aim is to coordinate initiatives on Africa, both within UNESCO and with other United Nations organizations, and
to make UNESCO’s programmes more clearly visible and operational for Africa. While time does not allow us to
itemize the achievements of this appropriately focused Department, I take this opportunity to commend the
Director-General particularly for having lately instituted some pertinent administrative and financial
rearrangements which will enhance the effectiveness of the Department even further. It is our hope that the
General Conference will approve the Financial Regulations of the Priority Africa Special Account.
6.6 The developing world is always searching for international programmes that lend credence and support
to development initiatives. Against this background, we were heartened by UNESCO’s initiative, in broad
partnership with other United Nations Specialized Agencies, the European Commission, the International Energy
Agency, the United Nations Development Programme and concerned governmental and non-governmental
organizations, concerning the World Solar Summit Process. Given the crippling energy constraints faced by the
developing countries, the World Solar Programme, focusing on the promotion and utilization of renewable
energies for sustainable development, is not only timely but also extremely relevant and most appropriate.
6.7 As we are now embarking in earnest on the implementation of high priority national projects and global
projects of universal value envisaged in the World Solar Programme 1996-2005, I would be remiss if I did not
commend highly the Director-General of UNESCO not only for having stood steadfastly by the process thus far,
but also for having arranged the co-signing of documentation by other heads of agencies calling for greater use of
renewable energies. The Secretariat of the World Solar Commission should also be commended for having
organized a myriad of international conferences that have sought to engender greater use of renewable as well as
environment-friendly sources of energy. We are confident that all these measures will go a long way towards
ensuring effective implementation of the World Solar Programme.
6.8 Madam President, it behoves me to emphasize that the World Solar Programme and all its constituent
projects, including the Global Renewable Energy Education and Training Programme 1996-2005, will require
the unwavering commitment and concrete support of the international community. While many Member States
have committed themselves to the implementation of some projects, efforts at the regional and international
levels need to be stepped up with greater vigour. I cannot stress strongly enough the role of the entire
United Nations system in this regard. Of critical concern to most developing countries is the need for additional
resources to be made available, including through investment and the provision of technical expertise and
training, in order to make meaningful progress in the development and utilization of renewable energy
technologies. It is encouraging, therefore, that the World Solar Programme has finally found its way into the
programmes and budgets of some United Nations agencies, including UNESCO, and other multilateral agencies.
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