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The following is continued from the main article listed above.) Here are more extensive quotes from the UNESCO debate. Complete texts are available on the UNESCO website. H.E. Mr Pal Schmitt, President of the Republic of Hungary Sustainable development itself is one of the cardinal life-balance situations that we should achieve together. However, man is a creature who tends to be detrimental to his own destiny. Even if he is aware of the conditions: the requirements of peace, spiritual and physical health, perseverance and vision. Despite knowing the role of education, culture, arts, science and sport in achieving a complete life, man is only capable of ensuring their role with conscious collaboration. * * * * * H.E. Mr Kris Peeters, Minister-President of the Government of Flanders, Belgium History has clearly shown that democracy and freedom are no eternal achievements. They require continuous diligence and vigilance from everyone. Therefore it is imperative to make remembrance education a priority. Belgium wholeheartedly supports UNESCO’s activities related to education for peace. The UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet), which will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2013, is a fundamental instrument for building sustainable peace. Together with the Flemish National Commission for UNESCO, we strongly support this network and have recently given it a new impetus. * * * * * H.E Mr Johnson Toribiong, President of the Republic of Palau In this world of diversity and conflict, the higher moral value of tolerance is one of the Most critical components of the culture of peace. Unesco should launch a campaign against all forms of discrimination, such as racial, ethnic, religious, in its programs and activities at the regional and international levels. Good governance is another critical component to building a culture of peace. Where political leadership is repressive, tyrinnical, or corrupt, a culture of peace cannot flourish. Without good governance the seeds of the culture of peace cannot take root. We know that good governance is based upon respect for human rights and freedom, the rule of law and democratic principle that government derives its powers from the consent of the governed. . . . Disputes within a country or between countries inevitably arise. But when they are not resolved peacefully, peace gives way to violence and war. Peaceful dispute resolution founded upon the rule of law that is just and fair must be recognized and promoted by Unesco and its member states as another important component for building a culture of peace. . . . From our experience in the pacific for example, we have promoted mutual understanding and cooperation, tolerance and appreciation for our diversity through our regional organizations and activities, such as the pacific island forum, regional fisheries organizations, pacific festival of arts, pacific games and other subregional organizations which have engendered a culture of harmony and peace in our region. . . . Peace and sustainable development are intertwined and interdependent. they have a symbiotic relationship. Development is never sustainable where there is no peace. Besides the critical importance of peace to sustainable development, a more pressing issue of great concern to the pacific small island developing states is climate change, especially the threat of rising sea level caused by global warning. The ocean which has been our generous source of livelihood is now rising in rage to threathen our security and survival. Some low lying islands are faced with the real possibility of being swallowed by the rising sea level. It is a tsunami of biblical mafnitude in slow motion. Climate change is caused by high volume of green house emissions into the atmosphere, which the pacific small island developing states are the least responsible for and yet are among the most threatened by it. Today we are more disappointed by the united nations recent report that current effort to mitigate climate change fall short of reaching the vital goal of keeping global warming below two (2) degrees celsius above the pre‐industrial levels. In the last debate at the united nations general assembly last september, i raised the legal issue of transboundary harm under international law as to whether those nations which have contributed to climate change should be held responsibe. My country and others similarly situated states will sponsor a resolution to be introduced in the united nations general assembly to request the international court of justice to render an advisory opinion on the applicability of the doctrine of transboundary harm in the case of climate change. * * * * * H.E. Mr Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of the Republic of Gabon Je tiens aussi à vous féliciter d’une part, pour votre élection à la tête de l’Organisation, et d’autre part, comme première femme à accéder à cette fonction. D’autant plus qu’au Gabon nous avons toujours été sensibles à la place qu’occupe la Femme dans la société gabonaise. En guise d’hommage, je dois rappeler, que ce sont deux femmes qui ont conduit sans heurt la délicate période de la transition dans mon pays suite au décès de mon prédécesseur, Feu le Président Omar BONGO ONDIMBA. L’une, Présidente du Sénat, a assuré l’intérim de la Présidence de la République, l’autre Présidente de la Cour Constitutionnelle. Je voudrais aussi rendre un vibrant hommage à la mémoire du Professeur Wangari MAATHAI, militante inlassable en faveur du développement durable et première première femme africaine Prix Nobel de la Paix 2004, qui nous a quitté récemment. * * * * * H.E. Mr Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire - Respecter Ia vie en rejetant Ia violence sous tous ses aspects, - Respecter les droits de l'homme, - Recourir au dialogue afin de regler pacifiquement les conflits. L'application de ces preceptes qui, a mes yeux, constituent les enjeux\"'de Ia culture de Ia paix, passent par plusieurs strategies que nous avons decide de mettre en reuvre d'une part, pour sortir definitivement de Ia crise et d'autre part, pour batir un pays emergent a !'horizon 2020 avec une societe inclusive, prospere, juste et ouverte a Ia modernite. Parmi ces strategies, il y a tout d'abord Ia construction de Ia democratie. Cette entreprise n'est pas nouvelle pour bien des nations et pour I'UNESCO, mais assurement, elle l'est pour les peuples qui sortent d'un grand traumatisme comme celui que nous avons connu. II s'agit d'une rude tache, car elle exige un engagement sur tous les fronts, dont les plus difficiles se trouvent bien souvent au niveau des esprits~ Pour Ia construction de Ia democratie, il nous faut edifier un veritable Etat de droit, ou aucun citoyen ne se fait justice, ou les rapports sont regis par des regles de droit que chacun s'engage a respecter scrupuleusement. * * * * * H.E. Mr Boris Tadic, President of the Republic of Serbia Logos, like bridges, preserves and ultimately enhances contact. It is our duty to the sort of future we seek to build, to make sure UNESCO continues to encourage all of us member states to resist the temptation to create distance and build walls of seclusion, instead of bridges of understanding. Our job is to create a harmonious symphony of mankind, to make sure we all better and more seamlessly connect, and thus enrich, the world of the 21st century—the kind of world we want our children to grow up in. For that to happen, my friends, we need more UNESCO, not less. * * * * * H.E. Mr Tillman Thomas, Prime Minister of Grenada Likewise, a global society cannot maximize its true potential with inequality among its members. Hence, attention must be paid to gender equality, as a fundamental pillar for peace. Girls and women currently make up to 70% of the world’s one billion poorest people, and the majority of the 793 million illiterate adults. As stated by Ms. Irina Bokova Director-General of UNESCO in her message on the occasion of the International Literacy Day, “Literacy is a prerequisite for peace because it carries multiple benefits, cutting across the human, cultural, social, political and economic spheres. In today’s knowledge driven societies, lack of literacy is more than ever synonymous with exclusion and marginalization”. Given that one of UNESCO`s, global strategies is gender equality, the Organisation should intensify its action in promoting education of girls and women at all levels of the Education System. This would be timely following the recent award of the Nobel Peace Prize jointly to three women, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work. Today, our youth are interconnected and are constantly communicating and playing key roles bringing change to their societies via the social media. Thus, it is important that the potential of the free, independent and pluralistic media, and especially the new social media, be harnessed. This is consistent with Agenda 21, which clearly identifies information, integration, and participation a key building blocks, to help countries achieve development. The media, in all forms, can serve as a bridge between cultures and societies. Consequently I suggest that UNESCO should intensify its action in favour of building knowledge societies. UNESCO’s mandate to contribute to bridging the digital divide by fostering information and communication capacity for universal access, freedom of expression and freedom of the press; notably through the International Programme for the Development of Communications and the Information for All Programme, should be actively pursued. * * * * * H.E. Mr Raila Odinga, Prime Minister of Kenya More recently, Africa has also faced disproportionate threats to human security –those brought about by terrorism, piracy, and human and drug-trafficking. This is another reason it is imperative that we strengthen international co-operation and collaboration, to eliminate these evil threats to peace and development. Kenya has already been in the forefront of promoting peace, stability and security in Africa. Our officers are frequent participants in regional peace initiatives and in peace-keeping missions in different parts of the world. Recently, we have made a significant contribution to the pursuit of peace in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region |