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

IGAD
(33.1) Mr FARAH (Somalia) (Translation from the Arabic):
Mr President, Mr Chairperson of the Executive Board, Mr Representative of the Director-General, Your
Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, first of all, it gives me great pleasure to offer my
congratulations, on behalf of the delegation of Somalia, to the President of the Conference on her election. I am
confident that thanks to her experience and judgement, the work of the Conference will be crowned with success.
(33.2) I should also like to commend UNESCO’s accomplishments in its fields of competence - education,
science, culture and the mission of peace - since the last session of the Conference. Allow me to pause at this point
to offer my compliments to the man who headed this Organization for 12 years and worked tirelessly, with
dedication and sincerity, in pursuit of UNESCO’s objectives, including the elevation of human thought and the
laying of the foundations of peace. I refer to Mr Federico Mayor, who is also committed to the propagation of the
loftiest human ideals, such as freedom, democracy, human rights and support for a culture of peace on every
possible occasion. I should also like to take this opportunity of extending, on behalf of the peace-loving Somali
people, on behalf of the children of Somalia, who have been so terribly afflicted by the horrors of war, my
profound thanks to the Director-General and to UNESCO for providing education programmes, including
equipment, services, books and special training, in most regions of Somalia. I should like, once again, to express
my appreciation for the Director-General’s initiative in the field of the culture of peace in Somalia, the conferences
held in Sana’a and Addis Ababa, and the encounters between the representatives of civil society and political and
intellectual leaders in the various regions of Somalia, which were aimed at encouraging dialogue, promoting a
convergence of points of view, and giving impetus to the process of armistice and peace. These efforts are
continuing, but the road to the promised peace is long.
(33.3) Mr Representative of the President, ladies and gentlemen, this 30th session of the General Conference is
being held at a historic time, namely the end of this century. The next session will be held in the twenty-first
century. Consequently, it is incumbent upon us to pause briefly and ask ourselves where we stand with respect to
our objectives and hopes as the century draws to a close. What will be the future of us all in the coming century?
Naturally, all of us are looking forward to peace, security, stability, progress and advancement, and a better and
more prosperous life in justice and solidarity among the world’s peoples. I must tell you frankly that I hesitated for
some time before agreeing to take the floor to speak to you about the situation in my country, Somalia, at this point
in time. Naturally, despite the almost total lack of interest and absence of coverage by the media, I am quite sure
that all of you are aware of and have been following the appalling tragedy that has afflicted my people for nearly
10 years now, the final decade of the twentieth century, in the course of which a nameless, pointless civil war has
cut short over half a million lives and driven no fewer than 2 million people into exile abroad or into other regions
of the country. Homes, schools, hospitals, in fact entire cities have been destroyed, crops and villages burned, herds
of livestock killed in a baneful war that has swept away everything in its path. Factional killing is still going on in
many areas of southern Somalia. At the 29th session of the General Conference, I reminded you that there were
children who had not attended school for seven years. Now I would simply like to take advantage of this forum to
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