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

conducted the Board meetings during the past biennium and who is likewise to be thanked for his contribution to
the Organization.
(Applause)
13.2 I now give the floor to the Director-General of UNESCO who will present his introduction to the
general policy debate. Mr Director-General, you have the floor.
14.1 The DIRECTOR-GENERAL:
Madam President of the General Conference, honourable Ministers, distinguished representatives of the
Member States, observers, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, ladies and gentlemen, the
general policy debate which opens today is, in my view, the key moment in the life of the Organization. It is the
moment which brings together the highest officials of countries that make up UNESCO, that are UNESCO. They
define the guiding ideas which inspire the actions not only of the Secretariat but, more especially, of each one of
the 187 Member States of the Organization, and of the many partners who also serve the ideals of UNESCO. It is
for this reason that the result of this debate in plenary must be the most important guiding source for all the other
meetings of the governing bodies, of the Executive Board and of the Director-General and the Secretariat. You
are UNESCO and therefore we are here to listen to what you have to say and to the orientations, inspirations and
positions you want to convey to us.
14.2 For UNESCO is its Member States, and consequently is the peoples, united in a shared undertaking
which concerns them first and foremost: this is made perfectly clear in our Constitution, when it says that the
governments sign on behalf of their peoples - and, as you know, in the Charter of the United Nations, with the
peoples. Therefore, you represent the peoples and we know that you do so for the sake of this union, the UN of
UNESCO, the union of these nations, all together because they believe in education, science and culture as the
building-blocks of peace and understanding, for this “intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind”, as is
enshrined in our Constitution.
14.3 Discussions have often centred on the budget and staffing levels, on posts at Headquarters or in our field
offices. But UNESCO is much more than this, much, much more. UNESCO is, above all, a political project,
present in all its Member States, a project which the world needs today more than ever. A guiding ideal. When
the debate focuses exclusively on the action of the Secretariat, it misses its mark, because this action, good or
excellent as it may be, is only a small part, I repeat a small part, of what UNESCO is. The essence, represented
by the General Conference, spans a much larger scope, it mobilizes energies on a far greater scale than that of the
Secretariat alone. And so this is why, when you attend sessions of the Executive Board, and now of the General
Conference, please do not look only at what the Secretariat has done, but at what we have done, in each country.
14.4 This, ladies and gentlemen, is the sixth and final time that I have the honour of opening the general
policy debate where, at the start of each biennium, the thoughts and the vision of the Organization are renewed
and updated. Over these 12 years, we have covered a great deal of ground. Over these 12 years, we have,
together, taken the necessary steps to be ready for the future. What capacities, what opportunities, and especially
what projects do we now have? At the end of the mandate that you twice entrusted to me, I would like to take a
few moments to look back on the path taken and to try to answer that crucial question. What capacities, what
opportunities and, especially, what project do we now have? To have a car is important, and to have the fuel is
absolutely indispensable. How much fuel? How big a car? How powerful should it be? But the only thing that
really matters in the end is what direction the car is going in, and to do what.
14.5 To make an appraisal of UNESCO’s development over the past 12 years, we may ask: what was
UNESCO’s situation when, in November 1987, at its 24th session, the General Conference elected me Director-
General. The Organization had just lost three of its Member States and 30% of its budget. It had to cut staffing
levels in the Secretariat by a third. The reason was an apparently minor change to Article I of our Constitution -
to add “balanced” to “free” in the “free flow of ideas” - a change never made by the General Conference, but
used as the excuse for the withdrawal of two Member States founders of the Organization. It is true, and it is for
this reason that the new Strategy has made it clear, once and for all, that we must respect our Constitution. It is a
good and inspiring instrument and when our Constitution states that UNESCO must guarantee this free flow we
cannot add “balanced”. Who will balance freedom? Freedom is like the sea, the sea cannot be restricted by gates.
However, following a major media campaign, UNESCO’s credibility was weakened at the international level.
The effects of a protracted debate on its mission and its options greatly limited its intellectual impact.
14.6 This is a lesson to be learned. What really matters is to put into practice the Constitution, which, I repeat
and insist, is, in my view one of the most inspiring documents and sources of guidance to have been written in
this century. Let me make a prediction. In the era of cyberspace, the “technical” organizations will disappear in
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