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

now call the next speaker, His Excellency Mr Mate Granić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign
Affairs of Croatia. Your Excellency, you have the floor.
21.1 Mr GRANIĆ (Croatia): 1
Madam President of the General Conference, Mr Chairperson of the Executive Board, Mr Director-
General, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here to decide on the activities of
UNESCO in the next two-year period, in the biennium which will lead us into the twenty-first century. The
challenges of the immediate future are enormous, and we should think very carefully about how we can respond
to them. The impact of new developments in the fields of science and technology upon our everyday life is likely
to become greater then ever. The pace of global changes is becoming ever faster, and it seems to me that this
requires not only the possibility of rapid reaction but also thinking and planning ahead.
21.2 Very much has been achieved so far and UNESCO has made significant contributions to world peace in
its fields of competence. I take this opportunity to thank the Director-General, Mr Federico Mayor, for his
devoted and fruitful work. We are particularly grateful for UNESCO’s assistance during the years of war in
Croatia. During this difficult period UNESCO did not fail to respond to our appeals and to help integrate
independent Croatia into the world community. To give you an idea of the importance which UNESCO’s
presence had in Croatia at that time, let me single out one instance: if it had not been for the Director-General’s
quick and decisive reaction, the world heritage city of Dubrovnik would today probably lie in ruins. The United
Nations flag hoisted on its walls was a sign that the world cared and that wanton destruction of the identity of a
people would not be tolerated. I certainly wish that no other country will ever find itself in the position of Croatia
in 1991; but if this should happen, I hope that UNESCO will again act in the same way and that its Director-
General will follow the example of Mr Federico Mayor.
21.3 Ladies and gentlemen, the turn of the century has more than a symbolic meaning for UNESCO. For this
Organization, it is an opportunity to re-examine past achievements and assess new tasks. In a way, we have the
opportunity to make a fresh start. To this end we would have to reshape UNESCO to a certain extent, and this
could be made the responsibility of the new Director-General.
21.4 Over the past biennium, Croatia has actively participated in UNESCO programmes; it has implemented
numerous projects, hosted a number of conferences and taken part in the revision of international standard-setting
documents. As can be seen even from the participation of a single Member State in UNESCO activities, their
scope is vast. And if we are to judge future developments by the tempo of the changes that have taken place over
the past 20 years, there will soon be more areas requiring thought and action, perhaps more than a single
organization can handle. It would therefore seem that these tasks call for a more coherent and stringent structure
of the Organization. It needs to focus on crucial problems in order to become more effective. Resources are
limited, and the more UNESCO oversteps its set framework, the less effective its individual programmes are
bound to become.
21.5 In selecting the most important fields of action UNESCO should be guided primarily by its original
mandate: to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education,
science and culture. UNESCO cannot and should not be responsible for peace in the world. Keeping to its
mandate is the precondition for success.
21.6 UNESCO should also reinforce its role as a global intellectual forum and as a technical agency. We
believe that both functions are equally important, and that only a combination of these functions can be truly
productive. Since in Croatia we had to build a State starting almost from scratch, very often technical assistance
was needed in terms of models, expertise and know-how in all UNESCO’s fields of competence. I presume that
other Member States could very well use such aid for their respective administrations as well. As a matter of fact,
this function of transferring experiences and solutions could be of paramount importance in view of the efforts to
reduce the gap between the developed and the developing world.
21.7 To sum up, we believe that in a rapidly changing world we need a streamlined organization which can
quickly respond to new demands; an organization simple in structure and with a transparent and efficient
management. We need an organization that will take us where we want and bring us closer to each other in
aspects we consider more important; an organization at the service of the family of nations that we are. Madam
President of the General Conference, Mr Director-General, honourable delegates, ladies and gentlemen, we shall
not meet again before the third millennium is already on its way. Let us hope that what we are saying and doing,
at the end of a century which has brought ravages of war and human slaughter all over the world, but has also
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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