UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC
AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)

Speech by Professor Michael Abiola OMOLEWA
President of the UNESCO General Conference
and Permanent Delegate of Nigeria to UNESCO
On the visit of His Excellency: Jean Ping,
President of the 59th session of the
General Assembly of the United Nations
Room XIV Bonvin, UNESCO Headquarters
Paris: 28 February, 2005

Your Excellency, Mr. President, Ambassador Jean Ping
President of the 59th session of the General Assembly
of the United Nations,

Excellencies,

Dear Colleagues,

Welcoming, the President of the 59th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations to UNESCO is a duty, which fills me with great pride and honour. But welcoming Ambassador Jean Ping back to UNESCO House is a particular pleasure and privilege bestowed on me to mark the return of someone who for years, was very much part of this Organization, not only as a member of the Secretariat, but also a most vibrant representative of his country Gabon. Need I say that Ambassador PING was also a reputed President of the Africa Group in UNESCO, especially at a time when the Organization was going through a difficult period in its history.

We are certain that with someone like yourself in such leadership role in the United Nations, and with your vast knowledge of UNESCO, the international community, as constituted in the United Nations Assembly, will be made much more aware of the place and importance of UNESCO and its activities in the system.

Welcome to UNESCO Mr. President!

I am sure it is not necessary for me to tell you, Mr. President, how much the questions of reviewing, refining and improving the functioning of UNESCO has been a continuing preoccupation since the very beginning of the Organization. Recent history also shows that in your time here, you were also very much at the centre of Member States’ action seeking to ameliorate the efficiency of UNESCO for better services to the international community in its field’s of competence.

That preoccupation for seeking perfection still persists in UNESCO. An Ad Hoc working group, which the 32nd session of the General Conference requested me to set- up to “examine the relations between the three organs of UNESCO and recommend the most effective means to strengthen the respective roles of the General Conference and the Executive Board” put the final touches to its report only a week ago.

That report, which will be before the next session of the Executive Board, will be submitted to the General Conference for consideration at its 33rd session later this year. So Mr. President, you can see that the question of reform is still very much present at UNESCO. But while we deal with our own home-management, we are also conscious of the need to see how well we fit into the larger family to which we belong. We therefore look forward to hearing from you on the reform process now in progress in the United Nations, with the assurance that there are certainly useful lessons that we can learn from the relevant activities of the central organization of the system, the United Nations itself. Welcoming, the President of the 59th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations to UNESCO is a duty, which fills me with great pride and honour. But welcoming Ambassador Jean Ping back to UNESCO House is a particular pleasure and privilege bestowed on me to mark the return of someone who for years, was very much part of this Organization, not only as a member of the Secretariat, but also a most vibrant representative of his country Gabon. Need I say that Ambassador PING was also a reputed President of the Africa Group in UNESCO, especially at a time when the Organization was going through a difficult period in its history.

Welcome to UNESCO Mr. President!

Your Excellency, Ambassador Jean PING, President of the 59th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations “Soyez le bienvenu chez vous, Monsieur le President”.

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