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

addition, Zimbabwe also hosts the Regional Centre for Peacekeeping Studies. It is also important to note that at
the last Organization of African Unity Summit in Algiers, the Heads of State and Government reaffirmed the
principle of democracy and took a decision that future governments that come into power through military means
should never be recognized and will not be recognized by the Organization and its Member States.
6.14 Madam President, in the sphere of education, a direct concern of UNESCO, a Summit Meeting of the
Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity, which was held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in
June 1996, instructed our Ministers of Education in Africa to work out a Draft Programme for the Decade of
Education in Africa (1997-2006). Following a related meeting in South Africa in October 1997, UNESCO
subsequently organized a meeting of these Ministers in Zimbabwe in March of this year, at which the relevant
programme of action was adopted. Let me take this opportunity to thank Mr Mayor, the Director-General, for
ensuring that we secured the requisite support from UNESCO which made the Ministerial Conference the great
success that it was. In my own country, Madam President, we sought to minimize conflict-generating
asymmetries by legislation making education the right of every child, whereas it was the opposite that obtained
prior to our attainment of independence. We are now reaping positive benefits from this deliberate government
policy as our country now boasts one of the highest literacy rates on our continent. This has also rewarded us
with one of the most highly educated labour forces in Africa, an attribute that has been highly welcome to many
an investor in our country.
6.15 Currently, Madam President, my country is trying to redress the imbalances of the colonial legacy and is
in the process of deliberately seeking through economic empowerment to promote the role of the indigenous
population in our economy, with a view to reducing further conflict-stoking asymmetries among the citizens of
our country. To ensure that this policy measure brings concrete results, we have put relevant legislation in place.
In like manner, Madam President, we have embarked on a land redistribution exercise at the end of which we
hope to have a more equitable distribution of land. This is a vital prerequisite not only for the greater
development of our country, but indeed for the attainment of the culture of peace that we are all yearning for,
since one of the principal grievances that fuelled the liberation struggle was the seizure of the land and the
consequent inequitable distribution of it.
6.16 We are currently strengthening our developmental efforts with one massive exercise to usher in a locally
produced national Constitution, which would ipso facto be more sensitive to the wishes and aspirations of all our
citizens. The distinguished delegates herein gathered may recall that my country has hitherto been governed
under the Lancaster House Constitution, which was virtually imposed on us at the end of our liberation struggle.
We did not approve of much of that Constitution, but only accepted it as a transitional measure and so we are
now confidently formulating a fresh and more democratic peoples’ Constitution that we shall all as a nation be
able to identify with proudly as a product in the new millennium. I must add that most of our gains so far risk
suffering crippling reversals as the HIV/AIDS pandemic wreaks havoc on our African continent. Our economies
are losing the very educated and skilled labour force that we are striving to produce, and this is having a negative
ripple effect on our development. While concerted measures are being put in place to check the spread of this
hitherto irreversible disease, we are handicapped in our efforts by the lack of adequate financial and human
resources. I therefore wish to take this opportunity to appeal to the international community for resources to help
us in the developing world to fight with success and restore the reliability of our nations.
6.17 Madam President, I wish to end my address by paying a befitting tribute to the Director-General,
Federico Mayor. Over the past 12 years, we have watched Professor Mayor fearlessly and indeed selflessly
labour for the realization of UNESCO’s mission. He has demonstrated profound understanding and appreciation
of the plight of those who are marginalized on our planet and has proceeded to give a voice to this silent group
among us. He has earned criticism from selfish quarters for supporting just causes which included the anti-racist
liberation struggles in our part of the world, thus displaying courage and conviction where others were not
prepared to stand up and be counted. We trust that the foundations that he has laid will inspire his successor to
boldly bring to fruition, among other things, all the programmes both new and old aimed at improving the lives of
the poor and those are the people who are marginalized on our planet.
6.18 On behalf of most of us in the developing world, certainly on behalf of the people of Zimbabwe and on
my own behalf, I congratulate Professor Federico Mayor for a job well done. Let me assure him that his 12 years
as Director-General at UNESCO have left an indelible mark on the Organization that he has led with such
admirable skill, wisdom and vision. We therefore wish him well in his future endeavours and wherever he goes,
may he have our “fare-thee-well”. I thank you.
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