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Press Release No.2001-103
GENERAL CONFERENCE TO FOCUS ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY, BIOETHICS AND EDUCATION FOR ALL
Paris, October 12 – A new legal instrument designed to safeguard cultural diversity in the age of globalization, the preparation of new legal instruments on ethical issues relating to the gene revolution and the international drive to provide universal access to quality basic education will be among the principal items on the agenda of the upcoming 31st session of the General Conference, UNESCO’s supreme governing body, October 15 to November 3.
Some 3,000 participants are expected to attend the General Conference, including several heads of state and close to 200 government ministers.
UNESCO’s 188 Member States, gathered at the General Conference, will be invited to adopt a Declaration on Cultural Diversity to preserve human dignity and to defend and promote cultural diversity, along with an Action Plan for its implementation. It will be the first international instrument in this field. The Declaration aims to serve as a benchmark in the formulation of national cultural policies. It stresses the importance of greater co-operation between the countries of the North and developing nations and emphasizes the need to help the latter stimulate their cultural industries, organize viable local markets and obtain access to international distribution systems.
During the General Conference, some 50 ministers and deputy ministers in charge of science will take part in a roundtable debate on "Bioethics: International Implications" (October 22 and 23). It will be the first international meeting on the subject to be held at such a high level. The ministerial debate will review ethical issues that need to be addressed and consider the possibility of developing a universal instrument covering bioethics which would complement UNESCO’s 1997 Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights, the first international instrument in this field.1
The General Conference will draw on the work of UNESCO’s International Bioethics Committee and Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee and consider developing an international instrument on genetic data aiming to secure confidentiality and avert the danger of discrimination based on the genetic make-up of groups or individuals.
A High-Level Group on Education for All will bring together some 30 key decision-makers, representatives of the donor community, civil society and governments including education ministers, on October 29 and 30. Assessing progress since the World Education Forum (Dakar, April 2000), participants will debate ways to sustain political commitment, mobilize resources and bolster civil society participation and partnerships with a view to achieving the Forum’s target of providing universal quality basic education by the year 2015.
As part of UNESCO’s standard setting work, the General Conference will debate several other new international instruments:
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1 For the full text of the Declaration: http://www.unesco.org/human_rights/hrbc.htm …/
UNESCOPRESS/No.2001-103 – 2
*A draft Convention on the Protection of Underwater Heritage, the fruit of a 4-year process of UNESCO-led negotiations among Member States. The Convention aims to safeguard underwater heritage and ban its commercial exploitation. It recommends in situ preservation as the first option. It seeks to protect heritage situated in theterritorial waters of states, as well as further away from their shores, on the continental shelf and in countries’ Exclusive Economic Zones, as well as on the deep seabed.
* The possibility of creating a new standard-setting instrument for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, which complements UNESCO’s first proclamation, earlier this year, of Masterpieces of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity that seeks to preserve cultural spaces and forms of expression, seen as essential components of cultural diversity;
* A definition of "acts constituting a crime against the common heritage of humanity", designed to improve heritage protection from wanton destruction. Following on the destruction by the Taleban of the giant Buddha statues of Bamiyan in Afghanistan earlier this year, the General Conference will consider reinforcing international protection given to cultural heritage;
* Recommendations on the promotion and use of multi-lingualism and universal access to cyberspace, including concrete measures to be taken at the national and international levels, to foster an equitable and multicultural information society. The recommendations were drafted following a series of regional "infoethics" conferences, held last year. They particularly seek to promote greater co-operation between the private and public sector in developing access to the new information and communication technologies.
The General Conference, which brings together representatives of UNESCO’s 188 Member States, will furthermore determine the Organization’s Programme and Budget for the years 2002-2003 and define its strategy for the years 2002-2007.
Some 3,000 participants are expected to attend the General Conference, including several heads of state and close to 200 government ministers.
An exhibition on cultural diversity will be held during the General Conference which will also feature (October 16, 22 and 29) a series of three evening performances showcasing six artistic traditions proclaimed as Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The exhibit, "Common Heritage, Multiple Identities. Our Creative Diversity", will be open to the public from November 5 to 9.
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Journalists wishing to cover the General Conference should contact UNESCO’s Press Service for accreditation: (+33) (0)1 45 68 17 44
More information about the General Conference, including its agenda and documents, can be found on the Web: http://www.unesco.org/confgen/index.shtml
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