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

2.23 Overall, the exchanges of views were marked by a genuine understanding which enabled practical,
satisfactory, consensual solutions to be arrived at. As was expected, the consideration of these resolutions in
plenary brought to the fore the Member States’ main causes of concern. Thus one group of requests related to the
need for increased support for new basic education projects to meet the learning needs of other target groups,
such as orphans and children in care, indigenous populations, marginalized young people, refugees, the disabled
and so on. A second group concerned the follow-up to the Seoul Conference on technical and vocational
education and to the Hamburg Conference on adult education. A third group dealt with the culture of peace,
particularly multilingual education and promotion of the mother tongue, but also environmental education.
Lastly, a strong demand was expressed in appeals for the strengthening of regional programmes.
2.24 The Commission examined the agenda item concerning education and cultural institutions in the
occupied Arab territories and adopted by consensus the relevant resolution drafted by the Executive Board. The
representative of the Syrian Arab Republic made reference in her statement to Israeli practices and policies in
violation of the educational and cultural rights of the population of the Golan. She concluded her statement by
voicing the hope that a just and comprehensive peace would be established in the region. The representative of
Israel situated the problem of the schools of the Golan in the context of the process of peace and political
development. He also reviewed some of the efforts made by his country in a bid to bring about harmony with the
Palestinians through multicultural education and the adoption of facilitatory measures such as movement between
the West Bank and Gaza for students.
2.25 Given the reduction in the budgetary resources of the Education Sector, many delegates stressed the
need to refocus programmes by way of greater coherence and less fragmented actions (Canada, France, Finland,
Switzerland). However, they insisted that this should not result in reducing UNESCO’s support for Member
States, but should be expressed by seeking new partners on the basis of clear choices and options. With respect to
such choices, several delegates reaffirmed their wish for UNESCO to allocate its education resources as a matter
of priority to the Member States who are in the greatest need of them, so that the activities undertaken make a
significant difference. It should be made possible for the new institutional or private sector partners proliferating
on the educational scene to become involved with education projects, the terms and contents of which should be
discussed in advance with national actors and specialists and with community and voluntary sector partners in
Member States.
2.26 The need for improved coordination between the various United Nations agencies working in education
was also stressed. Some delegations welcomed the primordial role played by UNESCO in the new inter-agency
strategy that is giving rise to education programmes in which the whole United Nations system is involved under
the responsibility of the countries concerned.
2.27 The transition from technical planning to strategic planning, interacting with the major objective of
combating poverty, should eventually enable UNESCO to regain its world leadership in education. Faced with
the new educational actors, some of which, like the Internet or CD-ROMs, are anonymous, only a universally
unchallenged authority in the field of education will guarantee the survival of our Organization. This presupposes
that, in return, UNESCO submits itself to a new culture of rigorous, ongoing evaluation of its activities and
methods of action. Thank you very much.
3. The PRESIDENT:
Thank you, Mr Molnar. I wish to congratulate you and your team on the work you have done and also
on your oral report. I know that it certainly was not an easy matter to prepare the report. I should now like to
remind the distinguished delegates that the report in the document that is before us is to be considered in its
entirety. If there is to be a discussion, I urge you to confine your comments to the official printed report
contained in document 30 C/62 and Add. and Corr. The delegate of Saint Lucia has the floor.
4. Ms LACOEUILHE (Saint Lucia):
Thank you, Madam President. Since I had the honour of chairing the Joint Meeting of the commissions
yesterday, I have to report to you that there was a discussion and a decision to harmonize the decisions taken by
the different commissions. A case in point concerned the resolutions on the culture of peace, on page 30 of the
English version of document 30 C/62. The texts on pages 30 and 31 have undergone some amendments. I know
that yesterday paragraph 1 on page 30 as amended by El Salvador was adopted in plenary and, as to
subparagraph (ii) on page 31, it was decided that it should be deleted and replaced by the paragraph adopted in
Commission III and ratified by the plenary here, when the report of Commission III was adopted. And, on
page 32, the whole of paragraphs (a) and (b) were also amended and endorsed by the plenary, as amended by
Commission IV. I am just reporting to you how the paragraphs in these resolutions were harmonized among the
different commissions. I think the Secretariat is aware of this, and we sent you a letter yesterday on behalf of the
Joint Meeting to let you know about all these changes. Thank you, Madam President.
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