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

84. The PRESIDENT:
I thank the representative of Argentina for clarifying the positions taken or views expressed within the
Legal Committee and for his support for the proposal to forward it to the Executive Board. We seem to me to be
building some sort of consensus but I still have a few speakers on the list. I will now give the floor to the
representative of Slovenia, to be followed by that of Malaysia.
85.1 Ms KLEMEN-KREK (Slovenia):
Thank you, Madam President. On behalf of the Slovenian delegation I would like to stress again what
my country said in the discussion concerning the work of the Legal Committee, that the work of the National
Commission and its Bureau is of the utmost importance. I share the feelings of many other delegations. To my
surprise, I find I need to add some further comments.
85.2 During the 29th session of the General Conference, a resolution was adopted on the establishment of the
Standing Committee, and I would like to remind the distinguished delegates that there were no discussions like
this whatsoever at that session. In Commission I the importance of the Standing Committee was underlined and
the discussions appeared to favour its establishment. Again, I would like to remind those who participated in
Commission I that many aspects of the legal background and of the work of the Standing Committee were
explained. If there are problems within delegations over the exchange of information, that is another question.
But the resolution of the 29th session of the General Conference did not make a specific demand concerning the
establishment of the Statutes and did not make a specific demand that they be submitted to the Executive Board.
When the Standing Committee consulted legal advisers from the Secretariat, it was told that the Standing
Committee could decide what to do, so there were lengthy discussions. Since the Standing Committee had been
established on the basis of a resolution of the 29th session of the General Conference, a majority of Standing
Committee members felt that the matter should be presented to the General Conference. So it is rather unfair to
treat the Statutes and the work of the Standing Committee as illegal. I would therefore like to support the main
point, that the Standing Committee should continue its work and present whatever results it obtains to the
Director-General, to the Executive Board and even to all National Commissions and Member States, so that their
discussions and proposals will be disseminated as widely as possible. I believe that the real intention of the
Standing Committee of National Commissions is to work publicly and to give full information about their work. I
also believe that there will be enough support from those who are at present hesitating and that the Executive
Board should discuss the matter and find an appropriate solution. Thank you very much.
86. The PRESIDENT:
I thank the representative of Slovenia. I also thank her for clarifying the procedures followed by the
Standing Committee, which is doing its best to carry out its work with the best possible means. We understand
your concerns. I also note that you support the proposal to forward the question to the Executive Board, and the
proposal to broaden the dissemination of information to National Commissions. I now invite the representative of
Malaysia to take the floor, to be followed by that of Hungary, who is the last speaker on my list.
87. Mr BOERHANNOEDDIN (Malaysia):
Thank you, Madam President. Regarding item 6.6 on the Draft Statutes of the Standing Committee,
Malaysia supports the proposal by previous speakers that the document should be examined by the Executive
Board. It is the normal practice in UNESCO that any document to be transmitted to the General Conference must
be examined by the Board. Thank you.
88. The PRESIDENT:
I thank the representative of Malaysia for his support for the proposal. I now give the floor to the
representative of Hungary.
89. M. PATAKI (Hongrie) :
Merci, Madame la Présidente. A ce stade du débat, la Hongrie appuie elle aussi la proposition de Sainte-
Lucie de soumettre la question au Conseil exécutif. Il me semble cependant important de savoir pourquoi cela n'a
pas été fait à la dernière session du Conseil exécutif. Je viens d'interroger la personne qui était chargée du dossier
au sein du Secrétariat, et elle me dit que le Conseiller juridique, dûment consulté, a indiqué qu'il était inutile de
saisir le Conseil exécutif, que la question devait être soumise directement à la Conférence générale. C'est la
raison pour laquelle cette question n'est pas encore résolue. Je voudrais par votre intermédiaire, Madame la
Présidente, demander au Conseiller juridique pourquoi il n'a pas jugé nécessaire de soumettre cette question au
Conseil exécutif à sa dernière session. Je vous remercie.
90. The PRESIDENT:
I thank the representative of Hungary. Your question, I think, follows on from some of the concerns
expressed by Belize earlier. I will put the question to the Legal Adviser at this point.
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