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 first International Experts Committee
on the Action Plan for the Safeguarding of
the Cultural Heritage of the Old City of
Jerusalem - Al Quds
UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France
26 and 27 January, 2005

Chairman of the Executive Board,
His Excellency Hans-Heinrich Wrede

Director-General of UNESCO,
Mr Koïchiro Matsuura

Assistant Director General for
Culture, Mr Mounir Bouchenaki

Your Excellencies, Ambassador and
Permanent Delegates

Director of World Heritage Centre,
Mr Francesco Bandarin

Eminent Experts

Ladies and Gentlemen

Dear Colleagues and Friends

Brothers and Sisters,

As President of the General Conference, it is for me a great privilege and an honour to welcome you to UNESCO. I wish to particularly thank you for having accepted to put your high level expertise at the service and disposal of UNESCO in pursuance of its goal on the protection of World Cultural Heritage. As you are aware, this enormous task is very high on the list within the mission conferred on the organization by its constitution.

For Old City of Jerusalem, it is both its diversity and its harmonious complementarity that constitutes its unique character as a symbol of the heritage of humanity as a whole.

I feel particularly touched and impressed in my capacity as President of the General Conference that the implementation of Resolution 32C/39 - unanimously adopted at the 32nd General Conference and which called for the preparation of an Action Plan to safeguard the cultural heritage of the Old city of Jerusalem - is now taking shape.

In this context, please permit me to congratulate the Director General of UNESCO Mr Koïchiro Matsuura for having successfully accomplished the task entrusted on him by the General Conference to set up an “equitably composed committee of experts …..for a Plan of Action and proposals ……” which was supported by the Executive Board at its last session.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

To you all, l say bon courage as you deliberate, in the coming days, on the appropriate guidelines for the establishment of this Plan of Action for Safeguarding the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem. In fact and in deed, thanks to your significant directives and contribution, UNESCO can further strengthen its missions and visions, and emphasize that the respect for diversity of cultures, the protection and promotion of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and values of tolerance and mutual understanding, are greatly encouraged and facilitated through multi-civilization dialogue, and dialogue within and among civilizations and cultures. UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity will continue to emphasize this drive, and will remain its best guarantor of peace and unity all over the world.

In this spirit, UNESCO will continue to boost intercultural dialogue through international cooperation for all peoples and nations, and to encourage all stakeholders to share with one another their experience, knowledge and skills through dialogues.

Eminent Experts:

I wish you all every success as you deliberate with commitment and objectivity on the challenges ahead of you all.

Une fois de plus, je vous souhaite la bienvenue parmis nous, et je vous remercie pour votre bonne volonté en contribuant à faire de cette première réunion de groupe d’experts un véritable succès.

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