UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC
Address by H. E. Ambassador Michael Abiola Omolewa
My dear friends and colleagues:
____
AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)
President of the General Conference of UNESCO
Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria to UNESCO
during the closing of the 172nd
session of UNESCO's Executive Board
UNESCO Headquarters, Paris: France
29 September, 2005
In my statement last Tuesday to this 172nd session of the Executive Board,
I highlighted the major events of my two year cooperation with the Board
as President of the General Conference, and also expressed my profound
appreciation of the assistance I have received from the Chairman of the
Board, from its Members, and from the Secretariat.
I had thought that was to be my last intervention in the Board. But I can
obviously not refrain from responding to the kind invitation from my very
good friend and colleague, Ambassador Hans-Henrich Wrede, the Chairman of
the Board, to make a final statement at the closure of this session of
the Board.
Let me first of all say that I believe that you can all be proud of your
achievements during this session. It has been conducted in a very swift
and business like manner – and it has been characterized by two of the
two most important values of UNESCO: dialogue, and consensus seeking.
The general policy debate last week, following the Director-General’s
very inspiring opening statement, was very useful as usual in allowing
the Members of the Executive Board to pass general policy messages, and
highlight issues of particular concern to each of you. But the very
constructive and inter-active session on Wednesday, comprising numerous
questions from you, and very comprehensive and pertinent answers from
the Director-General, was even more useful, and fully in line with our
endeavours to put dialogue at the center of our deliberations. I commend
all of you for your interesting questions – and the Director-General for
his impressive command of the many issues, whether purely political, or
substantive, that permeated that session.
I also believe that you, the Members of the Board, should be congratulated
on the manner in which the draft programme and budget – as reflected in
particular in the revised version of the draft 33 C/5 – was handled. Your
thorough deliberations and observations will without any doubt render the
discussions at the forthcoming session of the General Conference even
smoother and more fruitful, and will pave the way for decisions
acceptable to all.
The consensus spirit, so important to all of us, has prevailed on a number
of major - and very difficult – issues which were before the Board, especially
the ever recurrent issue of the situation of Palestine. I had personally
hoped that the spirit would influence your judgment on the preliminary draft
convention on the protection of the diversity of cultural contents and artistic
expressions. This has not yet happened but I have noted that you have left the
door open for a possible consensus on the subject. The willingness of all parties
to listen to each other, and seek solutions that all may subscribe to, certainly
promises well for the forthcoming General Conference, and for progress in general
towards lasting and fully acceptable results.
Let me also reiterate my major satisfaction at the prospects of further progress
towards full universality of UNESCO. Singapore’s decision to seek permanent observer
facilities with UNESCO – and the Board’s unanimous positive response to this request –
gives rise to the hope that the next General Conference, in 2007, may see the membership
of all of 192 countries in UNESCO.
Ladies and gentlemen:
Last week, I already had the occasion to express my personal satisfaction and happiness
at the Board’s decisions to nominate our Director-General Mr. Koichiro Matsuura for a
second term – and to nominate my good friend and colleague, Ambassador Musa Bin Jaafar
Bin Hassan, as President of the 33rd session of the General Conference. I wish to
reiterate my best wishes to both of them for success and personal gratification in
the formidable tasks they have in front of them.
Although I have not lit a candle to mark the celebration of the birthday of the
Director-General, I am sure that he knows that my spirit is lit in warmth and
affection for him.
Dear colleagues:
This session marks the end of your four year term for several of you. I am sure
that you feel pride in your achievements, and a certain relief that all this hard
work is now over. But I am also convinced that most of you will miss the Board and
miss the sense of friendship, and of and mutual purpose, that is driving most of us.
Some of you will remain in Paris as Permanent Delegates - others will pursue your
professional careers, or personal endeavours, elsewhere. May God bless you in the
further pursuit of your goals.
Let me finally recall that in my statement last week, I extended my warm personal
thanks to the Chairman of the Executive Board, for our constructive cooperation, and
for the kindness and support he has always offered me. Allow me Ladies and Gentlemen,
to close this brief statement by yet another expression of my sincere appreciation
and gratitude to Ambassador Wrede, who has made my task as President of the 32rd
session of the General Conference an even more pleasant and rewarding one.
I thank you all for your attention.