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

todas las comisiones que se creen y dependan de las Naciones Unidas para interceder por la armonía, la paz y el
entendimiento cuando haya problemas bélicos nacionales, bilaterales, regionales o -¡ojalá nunca suceda!mundiales,
en todos esos foros deberá estar siempre presente la UNESCO, pues de lo contrario quedarían, como
ha sucedido hasta ahora, en manos de generales o políticos, que justamente mantienen posturas beligerantes y
quizá piensen más en la venta de armamento que en conseguir realmente la paz permanente y duradera que el
futuro demanda y que nosotros debemos construir en el presente. Gracias.
(35.1) Ms REYNOSO DE ABUD (Dominican Republic) (Translation from the Spanish):
Thank you very much, Madam President. I extend greetings to all delegates and in particular to the
outgoing Director-General, Mr Federico Mayor Zaragoza, thanking him on behalf of my country for his unstinting
support for the projects and programmes that we have carried out jointly with UNESCO, and wishing him every
success in the important tasks that await him in the future.
(35.2) We wish to say that, for us, UNESCO has really been a source of inspiration for dialogue. As a result of a
one-week meeting with representatives of all the political, social and economic sectors, who had met to prepare a
national programme for development, the President of the Dominican Republic established the National House of
Dialogue. The National House of Dialogue continues to help the various institutions to resolve many of the internal
problems that arise and, by ably creating a lively dialogue, has effectively served to solve a series of problems that
could have affected our country’s social life.
(35.3) We also consider that, like UNESCO, the culture of peace must be part of the political and strategic
heritage of the next millennium, and that it must be a shared responsibility, not only of UNESCO, but also of all
governments, civil society and, in general, all sectors of national life. We believe that poverty eradication and
respect for human rights, gender equality and inter-racial and intercultural dialogue are basic elements for
achieving that important objective.
(35.4) We also wish to thank UNESCO for a series of activities that have been carried out in the Dominican
Republic, in particular the restoration of the colonial house in which the UNESCO Office in the country has been
installed, the formation of the Children’s and Youth Symphony, mobile libraries and other projects based on
UNESCO’s policy, which have served to develop culture and education in our country. A UNESCO Chair will
soon be opened at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. In addition, we are introducing culture of peace
assignments and lectures at all levels of the education system.
(35.5) Lastly, I should like to restate the desire that I expressed earlier in Commission IV: considering that
UNESCO is the specialized agency in the United Nations system that promotes dialogue and peaceful coexistence,
UNESCO must always be present in all forums - committees or commissions - established by or attached to the
United Nations to work for harmony, peace and understanding in conflict situations on a national, bilateral,
regional or - God forbid! - world scale, or else they will remain, as they have done to date, in the hands of generals
or politicians, who in fact maintain belligerent positions and possibly think more about arms sales than about really
achieving the permanent and lasting peace which the future requires and which we must now build. Thank you.
36. The PRESIDENT:
I thank the distinguished delegate of the Dominican Republic. I now call Madagascar, to be followed by
Ecuador.
37.1 M. RALAMBOMAHAY (Madagascar) :
Merci, Madame la Présidente. Je voudrais tout d'abord me féliciter du rôle prépondérant de l'UNESCO
dans la conception de ce thème de la culture de la paix, et rendre un hommage particulier à M. Federico Mayor,
son directeur général, pour les efforts qu'il a déployés afin d'accroître la visibilité de notre Organisation dans ce
domaine. M. Federico Mayor est devenu un ami de Madagascar et laissera des souvenirs impérissables dans notre
pays.
37.2 Le XXe siècle, Madame la Présidente, est un siècle de paradoxes. C'est un siècle où la science a
progressé à pas de géant et où la population mondiale a connu un accroissement tout aussi spectaculaire ; mais
c'est aussi le siècle le plus meurtrier que l'humanité ait jamais connu, avec son cortège de guerres mondiales, de
génocides et de catastrophes naturelles.
37.3 Soucieuse d'initier dès leur plus jeune âge les jeunes Malgaches à ce thème de la culture de la paix,
Madagascar l'a d'ores et déjà intégré dans son programme d'enseignement scolaire comme dans les activités
ordinaires de ses clubs UNESCO et de ses écoles associées. Et le peuple malgache, peuple pacifique s'il en est,
compte organiser à la fin du premier trimestre 2000, avant le Sommet de Libreville au Gabon, c'est-à-dire durant
l'Année internationale de la culture de la paix, une réunion des Etats membres de la sous-région de l'océan Indien,
afin qu'ils réfléchissent à l'avènement d'Etats démocratiques fondés sur la prééminence de l'être humain - dans
son environnement, dans sa culture, dans son contexte économique -, et au respect d'une éthique politique
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