ORGANISATION DES NATIONS UNIES POUR L’EDUCATION,
LA SCIENCE ET LA CULTURE
Discours de
M. Koïchiro Matsuura
Directeur général de
l’Organisation des Nations Unies
pour l’éducation, la science et la culture
(UNESCO)
en réponse
au débat de politique générale
31e session de la Conférence générale
UNESCO, 24 octobre, 10 h
Monsieur le Président de la Conférence générale,
Madame la Présidente du Conseil exécutif,
Excellences,
Mesdames, Messieurs,
Ces dix derniers jours ont été pour moi des moments très intenses. Trois chefs d’Etat, plus de cent vingt ministres, quinze organisations non gouvernementales, trois organisations intergouvernementales, quelque 180 orateurs au total ont participé au débat de politique générale de cette 31e session de la Conférence générale.
Je voudrais avant tout vous dire ma profonde reconnaissance. Reconnaissance pour avoir nourri et stimulé un débat d’une telle richesse, qui a placé l’éthique, dans son sens le plus large, au premier plan de vos préoccupations. Education pour tous, gestion des ressources en eau douce, éthique des sciences et des technologies, diversité culturelle, dialogue des civilisations, accès équitable à l’information : ce sont là des préoccupations essentiellement éthiques. Vous avez reconnu en elles les grands défis que l’UNESCO doit relever. Une chose m’a frappé après vous avoir tous écouté : au delà de ces préoccupations, il est un impératif supérieur, qui constitue à la fois le défi éthique le plus urgent tout autant que la condition préalable à l’instauration d’une mondialisation à visage humain : c’est l’élimination de la pauvreté.
Comme l’a dit si justement le Président Obasanjo, la pauvreté ne peut être appréhendée seulement en termes monétaires ni même économiques. C’est un phénomène beaucoup plus complexe. Beaucoup d’entre vous ont souligné le besoin de renforcer le plaidoyer éthique de la lutte contre la pauvreté, et d’approfondir la réflexion sur les liens entre pauvreté et diversité. Plus généralement, vous avez tous souligné la nécessité d’obtenir des résultats tangibles et rapides sur ce front. Il en va de la crédibilité du système des Nations Unies dans son ensemble. Ce qui nous impose un effort concerté, avec les institutions du Système des Nations Unies et nos autres partenaires, pour développer des programmes de sensibilisation, de mobilisation et d’actions concrètes.
A défaut d’avancées significatives dans ce combat auquel l’ensemble de la communauté internationale doit s’associer, les objectifs qui nous sont propres — apprendre à vivre ensemble, promouvoir la diversité culturelle, encourager le dialogue des cultures, introduire l’éthique au cœur de la recherche scientifique et de la gestion des ressources naturelles — tous ces objectifs, dont vous avez souligné l’importance et l’actualité, auront peu de chances d’aboutir. La haine, l’intolérance, la violence et le fanatisme trouveront toujours des alibis et des prétextes pour se développer. La réduction de la pauvreté est un impératif éthique et politique, qui est au cœur du concept de sécurité humaine. C’est pour moi également un défi personnel, pour lequel j’entends mobiliser l’ensemble des forces de l’Organisation, au Siège et hors Siège, dans les années à venir.
L’une des premières conclusions que je tire de ce débat est la confiance que vous placez en l’UNESCO en tant que forum multilatéral et acteur incontournable dans la conjoncture internationale actuelle. Vous l’avez tous souligné : l’agenda de l’UNESCO a soudainement été placé au plus haut de l’agenda international. C’est un défi pour notre Organisation, qui n’a sans doute plus à prouver sa pertinence, mais qui devra démontrer sa capacité à répondre efficacement et rapidement aux attentes qu’on place en elle.
Vous avez été nombreux à considérer que les propositions contenues dans la stratégie à moyen terme constituaient un cadre stratégique approprié pour relever ces défis. C’est ma deuxième conclusion, et je m’en félicite. Je me félicite tout particulièrement que les cinq priorités que j’ai retenues pour le biennium prochain aient rencontré une très large adhésion.
Une fois ce renouvellement programmatique effectué, il nous faudra désormais nous concentrer sur la qualité de l’exécution, sur l’obtention de résultats. Il nous faudra consolider et renouveler nos partenariats, rechercher l’excellence et privilégier la transparence. Nous devons être plus efficaces dans la dissémination de notre message et de nos réalisations et ainsi améliorer notre visibilité. Il nous faudra également poursuivre l’effort de concentration, qui n’a été qu’amorcé, j’en suis bien conscient. Il est vrai que les nombreuses attentes qui ont été exprimées à l’égard de l’UNESCO lors de ce débat de politique générale, même si elles constituent, en elles-mêmes, une motion de confiance pour notre Organisation, ne vont pas dans le sens de la concentration. C’est donc un effort collectif que nous devrons poursuivre ensemble, avec réalisme et détermination.
J’ai noté avec satisfaction que de nombreuses délégations, en plénière ou en commission administrative, ont souligné qu’un budget en croissance nominale zéro était un obstacle majeur pour l’accomplissement effectif de notre mission. La croissance nominale zéro ne devrait en aucun cas être érigée en dogme absolu, et j’espère bien que cette confiance que vous avez manifesté envers la nouvelle UNESCO saura trouver sa traduction budgétaire dans les années à venir.
Certes, les ressources extrabudgétaires sont et continueront d’être une source majeure de financement permettant d’élargir la portée et l’impact de nos actions, en particulier au niveau national. Permettez-moi à cette occasion d’exprimer ma reconnaissance à tous les Etats qui ont généreusement proposé des fonds extrabudgétaires dans le passé, et d’exprimer l’espoir que le niveau actuel pourra être maintenu, voire augmenté. Mais je considère que le niveau du budget alloué à une organisation est un critère majeur de la confiance que ses Etats membres placent en elle, et de leur engagement vis-à-vis d’une coopération vraiment multilatérale.
Une troisième conclusion s’impose : le soutien que vous avez apporté à la réforme que j’ai entreprise a été, je crois, unanime. Je suis à la fois honoré et très encouragé par vos nombreux commentaires positifs. Bien sûr, la réforme n’est pas un événement, mais un processus. Un processus qui devra être poursuivi avec la même énergie dans les années qui viennent, de manière à adapter notre Organisation aux réalités du monde actuel et à opérer le changement culturel qui s’impose.
Je suis convaincu que la décentralisation est l’un des aspects majeurs de ce processus de réforme. Réussir la décentralisation, rapprocher nos structures, mais surtout notre action des pays eux-mêmes, de leurs besoins réels, sera l’épreuve de vérité. Je sais que nous n’en sommes qu’à la toute première étape, même si celle-ci a été la plus spectaculaire, et sans doute aussi la plus douloureuse. Beaucoup reste encore à faire, en termes de personnel, de budget, d’infrastructures, de communication. Il nous faudra élaborer de véritables stratégies régionales et sous-régionales, changer la nature des relations entre le Siège et le hors Siège. Je suis pour ma part déterminé à réussir, et suis confiant que je pourrai faire état de progrès substantiels à cet égard lors de notre prochaine Conférence générale.
Mr President,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me now comment on specific areas which were highlighted during the general debate.
Many delegations pointed to the enormous stride we made with the declaration on cultural diversity. I can only repeat to you what I said in my introductory statement, namely, that the motto "learning to live together in cultural diversity" is surely one of the Organization’s principal tasks, so cruelly highlighted as a top priority by recent events.
In this regard, I welcome the broad support expressed concerning the initiative I have proposed for the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem.
Many speakers drew the linkage between the dialogue among civilizations and UNESCO’s enduring responsibility for the culture of peace. I fully agree that there is no alternative to a patient, long and sometimes protracted process of building peace in the minds of men, women, and children. It is not only our mission enshrined in the Constitution, but the alternative would be inaction, diffidence and defeat. UNESCO as lead agency within the UN system for the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World will seek to build on the extraordinary global mobilization achieved during the International Year of the Culture of Peace. Education for citizenship, values education, human rights education and of course the related efforts to enhance dialogue among civilizations will be vital dimension of this ongoing endeavour.
This latter area, dialogue among civilizations and cultures, cannot but be reinforced in the view of many delegations, especially in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks against the United States. Presidents Obasanjo, Chirac and Adamkus spoke most eloquently about the nexus between the dialogue, diversity, the respect for the Other, shared values and the practical lessons for international, national and community relations. You, Mr President, have long championed this cause. Fate has it that, as the world is confronted with a wave of terrorism, we are observing the year 2001 as United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations. UNESCO had in reality assumed the lead role in organizing events and initiating activities, such as the New York Presidential Round Table, the Conferences in Tashkent,Vilnius, Tokyo and Kyoto, and many other significant events around the world. As I announced, I will pursue the proposal to convene at the highest political level a conference which shall serve to take stock of the accomplishments and lessons of the Year 2001 and chart the way for a long-term endeavour, especially by UNESCO, to concretize and bolster a broad-based dialogue.
In that connection, the debate has highlighted ethical issues and the question of commonly shared values as crucial dimensions of UNESCO’s work. I referred to this earlier, and, to be sure, they are principal elements of the Organization’s mandate in all its areas of competence, hence the welcome spotlight given in the debate on UNESCO’s role in the the ethics of poverty alleviation, the ethics of science and technology in general, bioethics, ethics and education, and infoethics – as well as their interrelationships.
Ethical issues indeed preoccupy not only Governments and experts. Civil society at large feels greatly concerned, and is increasingly questioning scientific and technical developments from a moral and ethical perspective, emphasizing the fine line between the possible and the acceptable. UNESCO will have a dual remit: serving as an intellectual and policy forum is one, preparing normative instruments the other. Universal solutions may have to be reconciled with regional approaches, as we seek to balance globalization with diversity in the ethical sphere too.
Your unanimous support for my proposal for the ethics of science and technology as the principal priority of Major Programme III for the social and human sciences sector during the next biennium is most encouraging. Equally, the Round Table of Science Ministers on bioethics, attended by some 50 Ministers, sends a strong signal of UNESCO’s preparedness to tackle the crucial issues of our time. I am confident that UNESCO is uniquely positioned, by virtue of its experience and expertise, to continue playing the lead role in this area, as it has done over many years. It is important to avoid the creation of parallel bodies. At the same time, we must strengthen and consolidate inter-agency coordination in the rapidly changing area of bioethics and encourage other agencies to participate and contribute according to their respective competencies.
Forty years ago, Jawaharlal Nehru dubbed UNESCO the "ethical conscience of mankind". This may be too generous a characterization. Nevertheless, we must strive to live up to that expectation in as concrete a fashion as possible; for example, by advancing standard-setting in bioethics and other areas. The Secretariat stands ready, through the diverse competencies assembled in the various sectors, to assist Governments in taking up the different ethical issues at hand and to do justice to their complexity.
In the normative and standard-setting area, many delegations applauded the accomplishments of the Organization thus far in its ground-breaking work aimed at generating international instruments and standards concerning underwater heritage, intangible heritage, cultural diversity (as I have just said), bioethics, and cyberspace and multilingualism. These tasks are the direct materialization of what has been identified as one of the three main strategic axes around which the Organisation’s mission is to be implemented. It is one of the raisons d’etre of UNESCO and we will seek to strengthen our support to Governments in this area. As regards intangible heritage, I have carefully noted your views concerning the further work we need to to, and we shall indeed apply ourselves to the necessary clarification of the concept as a pre-requisite for normative action.
I welcome the strong linkages many of you made between the goals of education and those of poverty eradication. Poverty eradication is at once a compelling ethical mission, and our daily challenge in our work in basic education. Many of you indeed spoke at length about Education for All. UNESCO has accepted and integrated fully into its medium-term strategy the six commitments agreed at the World Education Forum in Dakar. We are ready to assist countries in formal and non-formal education, we are ready to support efforts to enhance the quality of education, we are ready to take the lead in promoting preventive education as a means to battle HIV/AIDS, we are ready to bolster the reform of educational systems, we are ready to operate the EFA observatory as a prerequisite for evidence-based policy formulation and, as we have already demonstrated, we are ready to bring together all the partners in the EFA movement in order to facilitate the formulation of national EFA plans and to mobilize the required resources.
The pursuit of EFA is an enormously challenging and complex task, and many delegations have recognized this in their interventions. What UNESCO needs, for its part, is more substantive and generous support from the international community to enable us to perform fully to your expectations. I am thinking here less in terms of extra financial resources, though these certainly will be required. Rather, I would like to invite countries able to do so to provide us with human resources, for a limited period of time or for specific regions or issues. This can be done through the detachment of experts or other modalities. In particular, I would like to see more experts and expertise from developing countries involved and integrated into this overall exercise.
In the past, in order to highlight the particular disadvantages of certain regions or groups, notably Africa, LDCs, gender and youth, UNESCO has made special institutional arrangements. Today, it is imperative that these special areas of concern are genuinely mainstreamed into the broad channels of UNESCO’s work, in terms of effective and productive action. What is clear is that the problems have not gone away or lessened in severity; if anything, they are getting worse in many parts of the world. As the world economy drifts towards recession, the plight of many developing countries, and the communities and individuals they contain, will become more serious. Let me stress again that, throughout the full range of its programmes, UNESCO will mainstream concrete responses to the needs of Africa and the LDCs, fully responding to the priorities set by the leaders of these countries. In that connexion, I am pleased to inform you that on 8 and 9 November 2001, UNESCO will organize in Paris an international seminar on future approaches and strategies for the development of Africa in the 21st century. I look forward to your active attendance at this important event.
The same applies to the pursuit of the goals of gender equality. During the debate, I noted in this regard that particular emphasis was given to ensuring access at all levels to quality education for girls and women, including science education. We will certainly address these issues. Similarly, we shall integrate our ongoing and undiminished concern for youth into our programmes and activities. The holding of the Youth Forum at this General Conference session was one illustration of that concern. I shall come back to this later.
I mentioned earlier the overwhelming concern expressed about human security. This is indeed one of the strategic objectives of the medium-term strategy. We can and must do more to respond to the desperate needs of the most vulnerable societies and the most vulnerable segments of those societies. This certainly applies to those living in extreme poverty, but also those who are victims of exclusion, discrimination, and marginalization. We need to deepen and extend our understanding of human insecurity and vulnerability and the way they are linked to various forms of disempowerment ; for example, through the devaluation or destruction of people’s cultural world, as expressed through local and indigenous knowledge, languages, customs and values, and livelihoods. How UNESCO addresses the question of human security should also be seen in the context of the agreements reached at the World Conference on Racism and Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and other Forms of Discrimination.
To maximize our comparative advantages, our work regarding human security must be undertaken on several levels. It must also be closely linked to our various activities in advancing sustainable development, especially in preparation of next year’s Rio+10 Conference on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. The sterling role played by the five intergovernmental and international scientific committees lays a solid foundation for UNESCO’s future contribution to sustainability. The principal priority "water and ecosystems", which I have proposed for the natural science sector for the next two years, will add to the competencies offered by UNESCO and will contribute constructively to the international mobilization leading towards Johannesburg. Good governance, human rights, pluralism and democracy, as well as a renewal of the Organisation’s engagement with civil society, will be other core issues for the future, which will also be framed in the context of conflict prevention and fostering social stability.
The delegate of Liberia characterized UNESCO in wonderful flowery language as "a colossal fountain of knowledge and learning". The theme of our second cross-cutting strategy for the medium-term is intended to help tap this fountain. If UNESCO wants to succeed as a global knowledge broker and empowerment agent, it must help to apply information and communication technologies in education, science and culture and the construction of a knowledge society.
In that effort, I agree with the speakers who pointed out that we must avoid being carried away by the dazzling opportunities of cutting-edge technologies. Rather, I would envision UNESCO as a pioneer and intermediary to link and mesh traditional media and technologies, such as radio and television, with the technically more demanding – and expensive - tools such as the internet. We have already successfully demonstrated the potential of such linkages through the community centers in Kothmale and Mali. Building and expanding UNESCO’s role in distance education, especially for non-formal educational approaches, will be another niche which we are well positioned to occupy, driven by intersectoral activities drawing on the expertise available in the education and communications and information sectors. Many delegations correctly stressed that the technological chasm between ‘the haves’ and ‘the have-nots’ is widening every day. They demand that we prove our resolve and mettle through more concrete action and projects, and less through talk and the design of yet another action programme which may never be implemented.
By the way, it is noteworthy how much the deliberations of the Youth Forum focused on the digital divide, along with other key themes and issues. I was very happy that we managed, with a minimum of resources, to organize this Forum. And I was even happier when I learned of the relevance of the Forum’s recommendations. Let me just single out three of them, as they are very pertinent to the agenda of this General Conference:
With respect to poverty, the youth delegates proposed "a new vision of globalisation, putting people before material values" and stressed that "poverty is a denial of basic human rights". While they called for specific action, they also offered themselves as a resource, emphasizing that peer education and non-formal education in general are essential to achieve development goals.
With regard to the role of information and communication technologies, the Youth Forum underlined that "using the appropriate technology is vital and ICT projects must not be limited to the Internet". Traditional media will remain important instruments to spread information and UNESCO should support training and networking of student radio stations and assist in creating telecentres.
In the "Youth Declaration on Terrorism and War", the Forum delegates expressed their wish "to build a future based on education for all, a culture of peace, scientific cooperation, respect for cultural diversity and call for a permanent dialogue among cultures and civilizations".
We all should be proud of having created this opportunity for exchange and dialogue and for seeking solutions. I wish to commend all the participants and organizers for this successful event, for their dedication and for the quality of their deliberations. I hope we can organize such a Forum again in the future.
As we reach out to youth, so must we reach out to all our constituencies of support and partnership. UNESCO has no intention of attempting to do everything alone. We need to work in collaboration with all parts of the community, some of which are long-standing partners, while others are relatively new. A long-established partnership exists, of course, with the National Commissions, one of the main pillars of UNESCO; the need to strengthen this partnership was emphasized by many speakers. As you know, prior to this General Conference, I had taken the initiative to write to all Member States to share with them my concern that National Commissions be given proper resources and recognition to facilitate their important role as part of the overall constitutional infrastructure of the Organisation. I can assure you that I will continue the dialogue with our National Commissions and examine the best possible ways to support them. Let us find together innovative approaches to strengthen the National Commissions through support for capacity building and in programme implementation. All UNESCO’s field offices, for their part, have the responsibility to work closely with National Commissions towards these goals.
If we are serious about outreach and broadening the range of partnership, we must also strengthen our relations with civil society and its constituent elements. EFA is a case in point, where there is a clear need to develop a new culture of policy dialogue that brings civil society into regular conversation with government, the private sector and the internationnal community. UNESCO can facilitate this exchange by continuing its constructive and inclusive dialogue with our NGO partners and other representatives of civil society. I was particularly pleased by the supportive statement made for my proposals in this area by the President of the International Conference of NGOs.
In conclusion, let me again thank each and every delegation for the enormous wealth of thoughtful and constructive statements. You are UNESCO – and the Secretariat will respond as fully as possible to your aspirations, suggestions and decisions. As Director-General, I pledge to you that, during the next two years before the General Conference convenes again, the Secretariat will strive to fulfil your expectations and to do so in a responsive, responsible and transparent manner.
Perhaps you will allow me to close with one personal comment, which echoes a hope expressed by many of you. There is in this hall a consensus regarding the renewed relevance and credibility of this Organization and a shared conviction that the recent events in the United States make that relevance stand out in even sharper relief. This elicits a third observation: the international community more than ever needs a UNESCO of universal membership if it is to carry out its mission to the full. Let us hope that all nations and all UNESCO’s constituencies will actively engage in our efforts to build the new UNESCO.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
