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

(11.1) Mr TOURAINE (Sudan) (Translation from the Arabic):
In the name of God the Merciful, the compassionate. Madam President, Mr Chairperson of the Executive
Board, Mr Director-General, distinguished delegates. Peace and the Mercy and Blessings of God be upon you all.
On behalf of the Government and people of the Sudan, with sincere feelings and affection, to UNESCO and to all
the peoples of the world, in their efforts to make the earth more fruitful and to achieve a better life for humanity, I
offer warmest greetings. I should also like to take advantage of this opportunity to congratulate you all on the
holding of the 30th session of the General Conference just as we are about to enter the third millennium. I wish the
Conference all success, and I hope that the aspirations of the world’s peoples will be realized, in love, freedom,
peace, well-being and growth, with positive cooperation among them in confronting the challenges of the twentyfirst
century and the negative aspects of globalization, through the use of human discovery and the scientific and
technological accomplishments that have accumulated in the course of the present century. My delegation thanks
the French Republic in a spirit of friendship, for UNESCO has flourished and prospered under its benevolent care.
I should also like to congratulate the President of the General Conference on her election, which expressed the
ambitions and hopes of the participants, and I ask God to grant her all success in her difficult task. In addition, I
wish to offer my thanks to the distinguished Professor Federico Mayor, the Director-General, whose most salient
characteristics have been his intuitive understanding and his ability to fire his colleagues’ enthusiasm and give it
free rein, hence the culture of peace, the human creativity and the care and concern from which the Sudan and the
least developed countries have benefited in particular. To him, to the Chairperson and Members of the Executive
Board and to the Secretariat, I tender my delegation’s thanks and appreciation for the admirable work they have
done in preparing for the 30th session of the General Conference.
(11.2) Madam President, UNESCO, thanks to its incalculable prestige, shows that the world’s conscience is still
alive, and that a human being is a human being, regardless of his or her origins. UNESCO devotes its efforts to
fostering international cooperation, replacing conflict by peace and establishing national education as a means of
bringing the world’s peoples closer together and filling in the steadily widening gap between rich nations and poor
nations. UNESCO respects the world’s various cultures, whose diversity constitutes one of humanity’s strengths,
and it has never deviated from its policy of being on the side of the poor and protecting the weak and excluded. As
evidence of this, we need only consider the programmes relating to lifelong education for all and the programmes
aimed at improving the status of women, the disabled and special groups, all of which testify to this Organization’s
greatness. The support that UNESCO has provided for education for nomads and adolescents in the Sudan, and its
programmes relating to a culture of peace, are the clearest possible proof of what I have been saying. All this goes
to highlight the importance of the role that this Organization will be called upon to play in facing up to the
challenges of the coming century.
(11.3) Madam President, UNESCO’s approach and lines of emphasis have had particular resonance in the
Sudan, in view of the country’s spiritual makeup, cultural diversity and social solidarity, which have put it in tune
with all UNESCO’s programmes. The Sudan’s territory amounts to 2.5 million square kilometres, with many
different climates, cultures and resources, all interacting in traditional fashion. The State is currently striving to
help this society, with its diverse components, make the transition to a world society, and in its pursuit of that goal
it is counting on the support of UNESCO and other international organizations.
(11.4) Madam President, in implementation of the Jomtien Conference and the main lines of the World
Declaration on Education for All, the Sudan has established a number of pioneering programmes in the field of
basic education, and it has broadened educational opportunities, with the result that nearly 5 million pupils are now
enrolled in basic education, including girls and women. Female pupils, in fact, account for no less than 60% of the
total. Many of the country’s 26 provinces have reached the stage of making education compulsory, and the others
are endeavouring to broaden the scope of basic education by presenting it as a religious duty, a social right and a
tool for community advancement. The people’s own efforts have contributed substantially to this task, and this
reflects society’s awareness of the need for and importance of education. However, in the Sudan as in many other
developing countries, natural disaster and armed conflict have slowed progress towards the objective. The number
of universities has increased concurrently with the growth in basic education: the Sudan now has 46 universities,
and they are accessible to all. Disadvantaged population groups, including children, women, the disabled, nomads,
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