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

33.1 Mr SADIQUE (Bangladesh): 1
Mr President, Mr Director-General, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I feel
honoured to have the opportunity to address the 30th session of the General Conference of UNESCO. I feel
specially privileged to be able to address this Conference for the second time after a lapse of two years since the
29th session of 1997. I convey to this august gathering the compliments and best wishes of Sheikh Hasina, the
honourable Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Just a month ago, in this hall, our honourable
Prime Minister was awarded the prestigious UNESCO Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize for 1998. We
believe this award has been given for a just cause and to a deserving personality for ending a quarter of a century
of bloody ethnic conflict which took a heavy toll in innocent lives.
33.2 I congratulate the President, Ms Moserová, on behalf of my delegation and myself, on her assuming this
office of eminence and distinction. We have the firm conviction that her accomplished and gifted leadership will
guide the Conference towards the effective realization of its objectives. I would also like to take this opportunity
to convey our deep appreciation of the attainments of the outgoing President. We thank the Chairperson and the
Members of the Executive Board for efficiently discharging their responsibilities and, especially, for performing
the strenuous job of ensuring the execution of the programmes of the last biennium. Mr President, kindly allow
me the privilege of thanking most profoundly Mr Federico Mayor, Director-General of UNESCO, for his devoted
efforts to realize the objectives of this great Organization. We congratulate him for presenting such a
comprehensive draft of the Programme and Budget for 2000-2001. We extend our warmest felicitations to
Mr Mayor on the successful conclusion of his tenure of office. We fondly and thankfully recall his visit to
Bangladesh in November 1997. We still cherish that visit. I take this opportunity to congratulate and welcome the
next Director-General of UNESCO. We assure him of our continued support and cooperation. On behalf of my
delegation and on my own behalf, I welcome the new Member States which have joined the Organization since
the 29th session of the General Conference.
33.3 Mr President, allow me to focus on the special significance of the 30th session as envisaged by my
delegation. This session is especially significant not only because it is the last to occur this century, but also
because it is taking place at a time when the areas of UNESCO’s concern are undergoing great changes globally.
We have new approaches towards learning, new interpretations of education as enunciated in the landmark
Delors report Learning: The Treasure Within, greater awareness of women regarding their rights and great
emphasis placed on the dignity of the human being. At this critical juncture, we are experiencing breakthroughs
in science and technology which challenge old values and give rise to new moral and ethical questions. The
decisions that will be reached and the recommendations that will be made at this session will shape the plans,
programmes and activities of the Member States.
33.4 We are indeed fortunate to witness the advent of a new millennium. During the past decades, the
dynamics of societal changes have followed their own course. Paradox and new dimensions characterize these
changes. The vision of the world as a global village is blurred by the wars taking place in many parts of the
world. The impact of the globalization of the economies of the world, initiated through the establishment of the
World Trade Organization, is curbed considerably by the exclusion of the deprived and the disadvantaged. On
the one hand we see the march forward of the world women’s community towards realization of their rights and
rightful claims over their lives, bodies and livelihoods; on the other hand, we observe that a large number of
women are victims of atrocious acts. Recent conflicts based on religion, ethnicity and language – both among and
within nations – negate the message of peace. It is against this backdrop that this session is taking place.
33.5 One of the guiding principles of this session, we feel, should be to bring the excluded into the fold of
development so that they, too, share in the advances in all spheres of human activities that the world is
experiencing at present. This is essential for development itself, for human society cannot maintain the tempo of
development while keeping a major part of its membership in darkness, ignorance and deprivation. My
delegation considers that it is the responsibility of this Organization to adopt appropriate policies and strategies
to reach the unreached, to bridge the gap between the privileged and the disadvantaged.
33.6 Mr President, I would now like to take the opportunity to give Bangladesh’s view on the priority
concerns and interests of UNESCO.
33.7 Education is the foundation for all forms of societal development. With obvious justification, education
remains the first priority area of UNESCO. Bangladesh strongly endorses UNESCO’s decision to give absolute
priority to basic education for all in the programmes for 2000-2001. Education being the key tool for promoting
development, the least developed countries with their severely limited resources have no way out but to opt for
1
The speaker provided the Secretariat with the full text of his statement which, with the authorization of the President,
is reproduced in full in annex to this verbatim record.
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