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

26.5 Madam President, Ethiopia attaches great importance to UNESCO’s intellectual and ethical mission to
contribute to peace, security and the promotion of collaboration among nations through education, the sciences,
culture and communication. During the last biennium UNESCO has made remarkable efforts and its
achievements have been outstanding. In general we welcome the Draft Programme and Budget as contained in
document 30 C/5. We note with satisfaction that priority is accorded to the four priority target groups of
UNESCO: women, youth, Africa and the least developed countries.
26.6 Madam President, even though we are entering the new millennium and despite progress towards
UNESCO’s ideals, we still face many challenges. UNESCO must, therefore, be prepared and concentrate all its
efforts on addressing the real issues related to poverty and underdevelopment.
26.7 We in Ethiopia consider education to be a top priority since human resource development can only be
attained through education and training. Hence we support UNESCO’s activities under Major Programme I as
they are outlined in the Draft Programme and Budget. However, my country believes that priority should be
given to basic education and that there must not be fragmentation in the implementation of Major Programme I.
“Education for all” under Major Programme I is consistent with our Education Sector Development Programme
which is the focus of our educational development since 1997. Our Education Sector Development Programme
covers equity, quality, access, efficiency and, above all, gender equality. We have so far registered encouraging
results in all of these areas, as has been attested by the assessment of the last two years’ implementation status.
26.8 The goals and objectives of UNESCO cannot be achieved without building the capacities of its Member
States, especially the developing ones. In this regard, the successful launching of the International Institute for
Capacity-Building in Africa in our capital city, Addis Ababa, is a landmark achievement of UNESCO’s
decentralization endeavour. It will enable educational institutions and government departments in Africa to
perform their tasks to the highest possible professional standard. It is a great pleasure and honour for me to
reiterate my Government’s full and unreserved commitment to this international institute. We feel strongly,
however, that more resources should be allocated to enable the Institute to achieve its objectives.
26.9 The World Conference on Higher Education for the Twenty-first Century in 1998 has been instrumental
in providing inputs to the ongoing higher education reform in our country. The experience and vision of the
Conference have been taken into account in reorganizing the various programmes and the overall management of
the system. At the moment, encouraging achievements have been recorded in strengthening and expanding higher
education as well as improving its management. Mr President, we support the initiatives of UNESCO in the area
of higher education and suggest that UNESCO continues to facilitate the implementation of the recommendations
of the Conference.
26.10 Madam President, in Ethiopia, there is a growing interest in and demand for science and technology in
the economic development process. We support the activities under Major Programme II, “The sciences in the
service of development”. We welcome especially the special projects in biotechnologies for development, Africa,
women, science and technology, and young scientists’ involvement in the MAB programme. The conclusions of
the World Conference on Science should set up strategic plans for promoting and strengthening UNESCO’s
science programmes.
26.11 Madam President, we note the central role played by culture in development and in fostering the wellbeing
of humanity. Ethiopia applauds UNESCO’s continued efforts in promoting the integration of culture in the
development process and in building endogenous capacities. We endorse the activities of Major Programme III,
“Cultural development: the heritage and creativity”. In Ethiopia we have a mid-term strategic plan for 1998-
2003. The essence of this five-year strategic plan is, inter alia, to diffuse the policy elements among the
communities at large and thereby induce the participation of the population in the implementation of the policy
objectives. The focus of the plan is to promote the country’s cultural development in such a way that it supports
socio-economic development.
26.12 Madam President, you are well aware of the fact that most of the monasteries and churches found in the
northern part of Ethiopia have thousands of years of history and housed the most valuable and priceless cultural
heritage and relics. This heritage has, however, become the target of the Eritrean war of aggression. By way of
example, out of the 43 known churches about 29 have served as fortresses for enemy troops, the cultural treasures
of seven churches were completely looted and moved to Asmara, and several others have been shelled by the
aggressors’ artillery. To mitigate the danger inflicted on Ethiopia’s heritage by Eritrean aggression, Ethiopia
requests all peace-loving societies in general and UNESCO in particular to take a position in the matter and
condemn the acts of destruction and looting of heritage.
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