Statement Mr. Sokol Dervishaj Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania. 37 th session of the UNESCO General Conference

Transcription

1 Statement Mr. Sokol Dervishaj Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania 37 th session of the UNESCO General Conference Paris, 7 November 2013

2 Mr. President of the General Conference, Madam Director General, Distinguished participants, Allow me at the outset to congratulate Mr. Hao Ping, Vice minister of Education of China, for his election as the President of the General Conference. I would like to take this opportunity to also commend the excellent work of the outgoing President, Madam Katalin Bogyay, Ambassador of Hungary. On behalf of the Albanian government I would like to congratulate Irina Bokova for her nomination for a second mandate as Director General of UNESCO. We truly believe that she will demonstrate the necessary leadership to meet all the challenges that UNESCO is facing. Distinguished participants, I would like to start focusing on three of Albania s priorities in its collaboration with UNESCO. In the field of culture, our key priority is the protection and promotion of our cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible. With two sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, Albania is now focused on the preparation of the nomination file for

3 the inscription of the Albanian part of the Lake Ohrid region on the World Heritage List. Here I would like to express our most sincere gratitude to the World Heritage Centre for their continuous support, and emphasize as a successful example, the excellent cooperation between Albania, Macedonia and the World Heritage Centre in the framework of the European Union funded project Towards strengthened governance of the shared transboundary natural and cultural heritage of the Lake Ohrid region. We commend the work of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Section for the excellent work in the successful implementation of the Convention. As a member of the Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Albania has actively worked towards making the 2003 Convention an effective tool at the national level. We believe that the implementation of the cultural conventions should remain a programmatic priority for UNESCO. The challenge in the future will be to preserve their relevance, sustainability and credibility. In the field of science, we are implementing, in cooperation with the Regional Bureau in Venice, a

4 number of important projects, funded by the European Union. In cooperation with Macedonia, we have recently presented a nomination file for a Transboundary Biosphere Reserve Prespa-Ohrid Watershed, and we are in the process of preparing a new file in cooperation with Montenegro. Albania is committed to strengthen its cooperation with UNESCO in the field of natural sciences, towards achieving a sustainable and environmentally friendly development. Albania is also very committed to the promotion and the protection of Human Rights. We strongly support the human rights based approach applied by UNESCO in its strategy and its mission of promoting peace and development. We are concerned about the worldwide increase of attacks and violence against journalists, and fully support the UN plan of action on the safety of journalists, where UNESCO and IPDC (International Programme for the Development of Communication) have played a leading role. As a member of the IPDC, Albania has been active in advancing the cause of freedom of expression and freedom of press, a non negotiable principle in the United Nations.

5 Distinguished delegates, What politics cannot achieve, sometimes culture can do. In this spirit, Albania is playing an important role in building bridges of cooperation in the region through culture, comunication and tolerance. Respect for cultural diversity should be at the heart of our regional cooperation. It is only by accepting and respecting the values and the cultural heritage of each other, the only way that our region can benefit and progress. Thus, we believe that respecting the multiethnic dimension of cultural heritage is an essential condition for the enhancement of peace and stability in the region. We welcome the work of UNESCO in order to rehabilitate and protect the cultural heritage in Kosovo and we invite all stakeholders to jointly engage in protecting and promoting the cultural multiethnic heritage of Kosovo, a precious legacy that belongs to Humanity. We take this opportunity to congratulate the Kosovo authorities for their commitment in preserving this

6 heritage, which is an important vector of dialogue and reconciliation. With regard to UNESCO s reform, we congratulate the members of the Executive board for having assumed their responsibilities by determining their programmatic priorities in the context of the financial crisis. We also express our full support for the important reform that the Director General has undertaken. We need to keep UNESCO a powerful efficient tool in order to achieve our objectives. Albania also supports the result-based budgeting approach that the Organisation is adopting and expects UNESCO to report on the real impact of programmes and activities. We are fully aware that being elected in the Executive Board bears a great responsibility. Throughout our future mandate we will be committed to find a reasonable balance between our national interest and the common interest of the Organization. The Government of Albania is determined to play its part in ensuring continued success of UNESCO; keeping in mind that peace is not only UNESCO s

7 mission but it is the shared responsibility of all our nations. Thank you