Outcomes of the Ninth Intersessional Meeting (INX) Wednesday 29 March 2017

Transcription

1 9 INX/2 PARIS 16 June 2017 Original: English Outcomes of the Ninth Intersessional Meeting (INX) Wednesday 29 March 2017 I. Opening remarks by the Chairperson of the Executive Board The meeting was opened by the Chairperson of the Executive Board, Ambassador Michael Worbs. He welcomed the Members of the Executive Board, as well as Member States non-member of the Executive Board as observers with enhanced participation status to the Third Intersessional Meeting, organized pursuant to 197 EX/Decision 28 and 44. Recalling that this Intersessional meeting represented the first time Members gathered together officially since the deadline for the submission of candidates for the post of Director-General of UNESCO, informed them that nine candidatures were received. Information pertaining to the candidates was up-loaded on a dedicated website [ and a UNESCO Press release was issued at the same time [ He thanked the members of the Secretariat especially the GBS team and the ERI web team who placed this information online in English and French very quickly. The Chairperson also mentioned that several representatives thanked him personally for having ensured that this information was made available as soon as possible, well before 1 April deadline. He informed the participants that the CVs and vision statements were being translated into the remaining working languages of the Organization and would be distributed as document 200 EX/16 in the coming days. He recalled that in 1987, when Mr Mayor was elected there were 9 candidates. In 1999, there were 11 candidates, when Mr Matsuura was elected. Again in 2009, during Madame Bokova s first election there were also 9 candidates, and concluded that having 9 candidates this year means that we are well within the same range. He thanked those Member States who presented an official candidate for the post of Director-General and wished each of them success. The Chairperson also recalled that the Executive Board would interview the candidates on 26 and 27 April next. In accordance with the established procedure, the order of the interviews would be established by the drawing of lots during a short private session that would take place at the end of the day on Monday 24 April. In this regard, he consulted the Members of the Bureau on two occasions, on ways to ensure fairness and equity in the interview process. He also invited the Vice-Chairs of the regional groups to consult with Members of the Board of their respective regions on the overall arrangements for the conduct of the interviews of the candidates. Consequently, he prepared a document integrating all comments and recommendations received that he would present to the Bureau when it meets formally on 19 April, saying that it would then be circulated to all Members of the Board, as well as each of the nine candidates for their information. It was also the Chairperson s sad duty to inform the Members of the passing of the Director of the External Audit for UNESCO particularly responsible for the Governance issue, Mr Alain Gillette. With a view to optimizing the time available and considering the heavy workload, the Chairperson reminded the Executive Board Members to consider volunteering to distribute their written statements instead of reading them out in plenary meeting. For the preparation of summary

2 9 INX/2 page 2 records, the statements would be included in an annex, and they would still be translated into either English or French, as necessary. The outcome of that proposal could be incorporated into the evaluation of the intersessional meetings and the report on governance. He had consulted extensively with the Members of the Bureau and their respective regional electoral groups to establish the agenda of the present meeting in order to take full advantage of the precious time available. The Chairperson concluded by mentioning that the day s meeting is organised in three parts: i. The traditional intervention by the Director-General, concentrating wholly on the draft 39 C/5 highlighting any and all changes over the 38 C/5, to be followed by a question and answer session. ii. Introduction of all new items presented by Member States for inclusion on the agenda of the 201 st session. In this regard, we are attempting to utilize some of the aspects of the Preparatory Group that was suspended during this biennium. iii. Some other items on the agenda of the upcoming session, as identified by Members. II. Intervention by the Director-General, followed by a question & answer session: The remarks of the Director-General, Ms Irina Bokova, are available online at the following link: On particular note, the Director-General informed the Board that, the Director of the Secretariat of the Governing Bodies (GBS), Mr Jacques Rao, would be leaving the Organization after a very long and distinguished career within the UN and in particular at UNESCO. She informed the Board that, after a fair and competitive procedure, she had appointed Ms Karima Bekri-Lisner to the post of Director of GBS. She noted that while not required by the Rules of Procedure, this decision was taken in consultation with the Chairperson of the Executive Board. The Chairperson joined the Director-General in recognizing Mr Rao s service to the United Nations. He welcomed the consultation on the appointment of Ms Bekri-Lisner, and said he was looking forward to working closely with her on the upcoming Board meetings. He also congratulated Mr Bakary Konate, who had been working at the Organization for over 10 years, on his well-deserved appointment to the role of Junior Conference Assistant within the Secretariat of the Governing Bodies (GBS) team. The ensuing Question and Answer session was led by the Director of the Bureau of Strategic Planning, for which the SR provides a summary of the main elements raised. This document is available here: [ LINK ] III. Presentations of New Items submitted by Member States: Item 32: The importance of sound in today s world: promoting best practices - Introduction by the Representative of France The Representative of France, Ambassador Laurent Stefanini, speaking on behalf of the four co-sponsors of the draft decision, explained that the sound environment is an essential component of human beings in their relationship to others and the world, and that the issue of sound and our behaviour in this environment is a priority. The subject is universal, transversal and interdisciplinary and has multiple implications; It affects the economy, the environment and sustainable development, society, health, industry, culture and communication. Because it is cross-cutting in nature, it is essential that UNESCO should take the lead rather than WHO, which may limit sound to a public health dimension and pathologies only. He recalled that there was already a Sound Week, which was the 14th edition this year, organized under the patronage of UNESCO in France and in a large number of countries. He also recalled that in 2014, Sound Week s Charter was adopted, and presented to UNESCO by the Director- General. For these reasons, the co-sponsoring States considered it logical to supplement these efforts, through a decision, incorporating the various fields of competence of the Organization. The DR is intended to continue to encourage the Director-General to promote initiatives inspired by Sound Week and is intended as a tool for the various Assistant Directors-General to continue working on these interrelated issues especially with National Commissions and through the Associated Schools Project

3 9 INX/2 page 3 Network of UNESCO. Finally, Ambassador Stefanini said that the DR, which he wished to see included in the agenda of the 39th session of the General Conference, had no impact on the regular budget of UNESCO and that all possible expenditure would be covered by extrabudgetary contributions. Item 33: UNESCO s participation in the Founding Board of the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) - Introduction by the Representative of France Ambassador Stefanini introduced this Franco-UAE initiative, noting that the first stage was launched by the President of France during the 38th session of the General Conference. The intention is to give greater international visibility to World Heritage in danger in situations of war, principally, but not limited to the Middle East. Welcoming the adoption of UNSC resolution 2347 (2017), he thanked the United Kingdom for having greatly assisted the French and Italian Permanent Missions in carrying out the negotiations in New York. Now it was the time to consider financial self-sufficiency of the ALIPH Alliance, especially with a view to attracting funds from major museum or research institutions and private individuals. The Representative noted that the Fund, created in March 2017, has raised $76 million USD, which enables it to begin its work in close cooperation with UNESCO. The main purpose of the DR was to enable the Organization to be a member of the decision-making bodies of the Fund: the Governing Body and the Scientific Council. When the Executive Board has authorized UNESCO to be a member of the Fund, a close cooperation agreement will be negotiated. He hoped that the DR could be adopted by consensus and that the Statutes of the Fund, and in particular Article 9, would be amended with this in mind. He invited Board members to send their observations and reactions so that his Delegation could take them into account thus facilitating discussion at the 201st session. Item 34: Plan of action to strengthen UNESCO s cooperation: Together for Haiti - Introduction by the Representative of the Dominican Republic The representative of the Dominican Republic, Ambassador José Antonio Rodriguez, speaking on behalf of the Latin America and Caribbean Group (GRULAC), recalled that Haiti had yet to recover from the devastating earthquake of 2010 and suffered further in October 2016, as a result of Hurricane Matthew. He lamented that Haiti, as a small island developing States (SIDS), remained most vulnerable to hurricanes within the region. While noting with gratitude, UNESCO s immediate assistance to Haiti through voluntary contributions from Chile, Spain, Canada and the European Union. This aid was for short-term projects. Noting that the managing of post-disaster situations should not be limited to shortterm projects, the Group proposes this Plan of Action as an Item on the Board s agenda with a view to seeking solutions for long-term recovery actions relevant to UNESCO s fields of competence, notably education and the environment. The proposed DR had no financial implications for UNESCO, it simply invites the Director-General to continue building capacity for projects identified by the Government of Haiti, with particular emphasis on damaged school infrastructure from a post-disaster perspective, technical and vocational education and training and reducing the vulnerability of land and people by protecting the environment and restoring fragile ecosystems affected by Hurricane Matthew, mainly in biosphere reserves. Furthermore, the DR requests the Director-General to support the plan of action and its followup and to mobilize partners and extrabudgetary resources for the effective implementation of the decision. GRULAC invited all Member States to support the proposal. Item 35: Combating violence and bullying in schools: UNESCO s Action - Introduction by the Representative of Morocco The representative of Morocco, recalled that harassment and violence in schools violate the rights of children and adolescents, including their right to education and health, and have a negative effect on academic achievement, physical and mental health and emotional well-being. School-based violence is a complex concept in many respects (its definition, its stakeholders, its typology, its causes and consequences) and that its definition varies from one school environment to another and changes according to the context (School, family, social, economic and even political). School-based violence includes physical, psychological and sexual violence and harassment. Another type of harassment, which was more difficult to identify, is online harassment or cyber-bullying, with which risk and suffering acquire a new and more dangerous dimension. The Representative noted that work on school-based violence and harassment demonstrated that the consequences of violence against children could vary according to their nature and severity and that the short- and long-term impacts were very often serious and detrimental. She recalled that international law had an arsenal of international standard-setting instruments and normative

4 9 INX/2 page 4 frameworks to protect the child and to combat the various forms of violence against them, but said that greater efforts needed to be made at the national and regional levels. She noted that UNESCO is leading the way in strengthening national education systems and helping to combat violence and harassment in schools, thus ensuring that all children and adolescents have safe and inclusive learning environments. As an example, she noted that Morocco is aware of the harmful and universal impact of this phenomenon on education systems and has adopted a national framework for public policy in favor of children, which makes the protection of children against all forms of violence a priority, through the establishment of an integrated and multidisciplinary protection system. The speaker concluded by saying that the purpose of the item was to draw attention to this phenomenon, which was becoming increasingly widespread in schools, to raise awareness and mobilize the Member States, and to invite UNESCO to step up its assistance to Member States in this field. The DR also invites the Director-General to keep the Board informed of the efforts made by UNESCO to assist them in preventing and combating violence and harassment in schools at its 205th session. IV. Presentation by ADG/CI on item 5.I.I: Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity Introduction by the Representative of the Director-General Noting that violence against journalists had increased dramatically and new forms were emerging, such as sexual harassment, affecting the freedom of the press and rights to access to information, Mr La Rue, (Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information ADG/CI), said that UNESCO was the leading agency for the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and continued important work in that area. This work was not done alone, but in partnership with an increasing coalition within the United Nations, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as well as with recognized NGOs and journalists associations. The proposed DR focused on policy making, awareness raising and monitoring. The United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity would be evaluated on 29 June 2017 with the OHCHR in Geneva. Representatives from non-governmental organizations, journalists and UNESCO would be able to attend. The DR before the Board called for recognition of work accomplished to date, and asked Member States to increase their support to allow the United Nations to continue its work in that area. In this regard, ADG/CI mentioned three dates in the UNESCO calendar that draw attention to the safety of journalists. World Press Freedom Day (3 May); the International Day for Universal Access to Information (28 September); and International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (2 November). UNESCO had also held the Journalism under fire: challenges of our time colloquium (23 March), which raised the issue of harassment by political leaders. ADG/CI also commented on monitoring and reporting, subsequent to a request by the Bureau of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), the Director-General had been producing a regular report investigating violence against and assassinations of journalists. The report, which was produced through dialogue with Member States, was not reserved for the Executive Board but was widely consulted by the United Nations and beyond. And finally, he noted that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was a priority and could only be achieved, particularly Goal 16 promoting access to information, if all sectors of the population, including the media, had a deep understanding of it. The safety of journalists and access to information was no longer only seen as a human rights or a democracy issue, but as a fundamental contributor to development for all States. Discussion/queries by the Board The vital importance of keeping the momentum and advancing the role of UNESCO on the issue of Safety of Journalists was mentioned by Sweden who encourages all Member States to participate in the multi-stakeholder consultation that will take place in Geneva in June 17, in order to strengthen the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. Furthermore, the representative informed the Board that they are preparing amendments to the proposed draft resolution focusing on the specific risks and dangers facing women journalists including threats, hate and sexual harassment. The representative of the Netherlands highlighted the importance of the International Day for the Universal Access to Information on 28 September, and emphasized that Safety of Journalists is directly linked to the right to access information, highlighting the success of the 2016 IPDC Talks, which were jointly organised between Lithuania and the Netherlands and will

5 9 INX/2 page 5 be held again in 2017 with the support of Finland. Additionally, the Netherlands commended UNESCO s efforts in strengthening the Organization s cooperation with the OHCHR, which has led to the inclusion of Safety of Journalists as a standard item on all UPR country reports. The representative of the Russian Federation emphasized that his country places great value on the Secretariat s effort to bring attention to the issues of Safety of Journalists and Impunity. He further highlighted the importance of conducting impartial and independent investigations into all instances of violence against journalists and called on UNESCO to act proactively instead of focusing on the monitoring of killings of media personnel. He acknowledged the need to take concrete steps to bolster the quality of journalists education, journalism ethics and morals. He further highlighted that the topic of Safety of Journalists should be discussed within UNESCO in a constructive atmosphere and not be politicized. The conference Journalism under Fire: Challenges of our times, which took place in UNESCO in March 2017, would present an example that discussions on this topic could lead to the further politicization of the Organisation. The Ambassador further noted that many confrontational statements were made during that conference. This politicization could present a threat to the entire organisation. Concluding his statement, the Ambassador expressed the hope that the upcoming multistakeholder consultations on the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity will take place in an impartial and non-politicized atmosphere. The representative Paraguay emphasized that CI s work is of fundamental importance to Paraguay. Paraguay is closely monitoring the progress made by the Information for All Programme (IFAP) as well as the work of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC). Paraguay has been working on training and prevention to address the issue of Safety of Journalists, which is of vital importance to the country. New challenges such as attacks through the Internet and the protection of women journalists in particular need to be tackled through a comprehensive approach. The representative further sought clarification on the details of the upcoming multi-stakeholder consultation on the UN Plan of Action in order to be able to participate fully in the consultation process. Regarding a concept note, she that a new special account was recently set up to support UNESCO s work in the area of Safety of Journalists. The representative of Morocco reaffirmed the importance of Safety of Journalists and the fight against impunity and emphasized that the country is fighting sexual harassment faced by female journalists. The representative of Argentina highlighted the importance of this issue for Latin America and further noted the relevance of capacity building and technical assistance. He highlighted an increasing need for exchange of experience and shared best practices in the area of Safety of Journalists, with a specific focus on investigative journalists and anyone involved in exposing corruption and sensitive political reporting. Addressing the Swedish delegation concerning the amendment of the draft document, the representative from the Islamic Republic of Iran highlighted the need of strengthening ethics in professional journalism, taking into account the increasing importance of social media. Furthermore, the Iranian Ambassador suggested opening a chapter on this issue during the next IPDC Talks event. And finally, the representative of Lebanon asked about the status of a proposed full model course on the Safety of Journalists in Arab States, which is to be piloted by universities across the region. Secretariat s reply to queries ADG/CI recalled that the multi-stakeholder process on the revision of the UN Plan of action will take place in Geneva, in order to ensure a process that includes a variety of other UN agencies, which are based in Geneva. Further, press associations and NGOs would be better represented in Geneva than in Paris.

6 9 INX/2 page 6 ADG/CI subsequently reaffirmed that delegations based in Paris are invited to participate in the process in Geneva, either physically or by webcast, as well in possible preparatory meetings, which could be organized if Member States would desire it. He mentioned that meeting with media regulators throughout the Latin American region could serve as an example of sharing best practices and exchanging experiences on a South-South basis. ADG/CI emphasized that the variety of discussions and opinions had added to the richness of the event. Mr. La Rue further clarified that the event was organized as a colloquium, not a conference, with a diverse pool of opinions, which did not all represent UNESCO s position. He affirmed that there are ethical challenges in a variety of areas. Issues such as journalism, biology and global warming raise new ethical questions, which could be addressed within the framework of UNESCO s mandate. Mr. La Rue mentioned the possibility of holding a colloquium on this issue with ADGs from other Sectors. Finally, he stated that the CI Sector would welcome cooperation with universities in the Arab Region. ADG/CI highlighted the importance of introducing issues related to Safety of Journalists, quality journalism and media ethics into the curricula of universities and concluded that another area of interest for the Sector is continued cooperation with the judiciary and court systems, through online courses for judges and lawyers on the Safety of Journalists in Arabic. IV. Presentation by DIR/IOS on item 22: Internal Oversight Service (IOS): annual report 2016 Introduction by the Representative of the Director-General Ms Suzanne Frueh, DIR/IOS presented the work of the service in 2016, situating it within the Organization s overall risk management framework and its three lines of defense. Internal audit and evaluation focus on performance and results, looking at policy-making, organizational functioning, internal governance and risk management processes. Investigation looks at misconduct and fraud. Last year IOS produced 28 reports, mainly in internal audit, 6 in evaluation and also supported 29 decentralized evaluations. Investigations has contributed to funds recovery. Recommendations are part of risk management work and they are at their lowest level in years. Each year IOS issues about 100 recommendations and tracks their implementation. The Director then outlined the main challenges of encountered by internal audit and evaluation, highlighting the limited resources that continued to constrain the work of IOS. To conclude she indicated that IOS was looking for a more effective way to communicate on its products and to link them to policy discussions by the governing bodies. An information meeting will be organized in April to allow for more in-depth discussion on audits and evaluations. Member States are all invited to attend. Discussion/queries by the Board Due to time constraints, no debate took place on this item. Nonetheless, two queries were raised: The representative of Algeria welcomes the announced IOS information meeting and showed interest for a more in-depth debate on the many complex issues presented in the IOS Annual Report. The representative of El Salvador supported Algeria. She also drew attention to the IOS Annual Report s paragraph 19 in relation to mobilizing resources processes are ineffective without clear accountabilities, indicating that this is a cause of great concern. V. Presentation by ADG/ERI on item 26: Proposals by Member States for the celebration of anniversaries with which UNESCO could be associated in Mr Eric Falt, ADG/ERI, recalled that, at its 195th session in October 2014, the Executive Board had adopted a revised version of the anniversaries programme, with more clearly-defined criteria and a procedure for UNESCO's association with the celebration of anniversaries. This revised programme recommends, inter alia, that Member States should preferably limit the number of birthday applications to two per biennium, one of which is gender preference, and submit these applications with the support of two other countries or a regional group. It also requires Member States to submit to the Executive Director, once the project is completed and before the submission of new requests, a detailed progress report. This package of new provisions was applied for the first time in the current biennium.

7 9 INX/2 page 7 He explained that, in accordance with the statutory procedure for selecting anniversaries, Member States were invited to submit their proposals for the period before the deadline of 15 January 2017, The Secretariat had received 55 applications from 31 Member States. The number of applications is therefore comparable to the previous biennium, but represents a very significant reduction of about two-thirds compared to the pre-review situation, where there were up to 159 birthdays. He pointed out that the Intersectoral Committee for the Selection of Anniversary Applications, which he chaired, was made up of experts in UNESCO's fields competence from the programme sectors for which the recommendations are submitted to the Executive Board. He informed that this year the selection of proposals had been made in record time and that of the 55 applications, 39 proposals had been selected and were included in document 201 EX/26. He added that, in accordance with the statutory procedure, the Secretariat had notified the Member States of the anniversaries which it proposed to adopt or exclude from the list, with appropriate justifications, and that, for five of the selected proposals, he received additional letters of support, which he proposes to add to the DR. He therefore assured Mexico, Germany and Thailand that the countries that had supported their proposal were duly included in the final list. He noted that despite the reiteration of the provisions for geographical and gender balance, the Secretariat had not seen any improvement in the current cycle. The situation remained of great concern, as geographical imbalance was as pronounced as in the past. No anniversary could be selected for Africa, as none had been proposed. Similarly, only one anniversary could be selected for the Arab States region, and for Latin America and the Caribbean, only two anniversaries could be selected. Europe thus accounted for 80% of the anniversaries retained (25 of which had been submitted by Group II, representing 64% of the total). Only five out of the 55 submitted proposals concerned women, accounting for 13% of the total. All of them were deemed admissible and were included in the list of anniversaries. The Secretariat had noted some lack of inspiration for the proposed anniversaries, such as the same individuals who had already been celebrated officially by UNESCO in the past for their birthdays were now proposed for the anniversary of their death, or vice-versa. Furthermore, it was difficult in some cases to ascertain accurate dating of anniversaries that went back several hundreds of years. Member States wishing to appeal, had a period of two months from the end of the 201st session of the Executive Board to reformulate their proposals, should they wish to do so. The new deadline for appeals was 15 June 2017 and, in accordance with 195 EX/Decision 25, Member States belonging to non-represented or underrepresented regions could submit new requests during that period. For the current biennium, that would apply to all groups except for Europe and North America. All the reformulated and new proposals would then be re-examined by the intersectoral committee and submitted to the Executive Board at its 202nd session if they met the criteria. In conclusion, he recalled that the quality of the proposals, their number, the geographical and gender balance were the responsibility of Member States. The submission of proposals was the prerogative of Member States and the Secretariat could only raise awareness and encourage the Members of underrepresented regions to introduce proposals, but could not substitute for them. Discussion/queries by the Board Due to time constraints, no debate took place on this item. Nonetheless, three comments were raised: The representative of France said that her country intended to support two anniversaries in 2018: the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade of 15 April 1818 and the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great explorer Alexandra David-Néel. The representative of Pakistan noted that his country was concerned about geographical representation in the proposed anniversaries and suggested that one reason might be the criterion under 195 EX/Decision 25 that an anniversary must be a fiftieth anniversary, a

8 9 INX/2 page 8 centenary or a multiple thereof. He proposed relaxing that criterion for non-represented or underrepresented regions. The representative of Sweden said that she was disappointed with the results of the criteria for anniversaries adopted at the 195th session of the Executive Board. Geographical representation was still concentrated in Europe and the gender balance was skewed. She looked forward to the forthcoming evaluation including the programme s financial implications for the regular budget to be examined at the 205th session of the Executive Board, in order to seriously reconsider the continuation of such an expensive programme. THE NEXT INTERSESSIONAL MEETING WILL TAKE PLACE ON WEDNESDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2017 Printed on recycled paper

9 Printed on recycled paper 9 INX/2 Annex