Address by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of the opening of Annual ICOMOS Gala Dinner in Honour of Senator Leahy

Transcription

1 Address by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of the opening of Annual ICOMOS Gala Dinner in Honour of Senator Leahy New York, 11 December 2013 The Honourable Patrick J. Leahy, United States Senator for Vermont, President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, Ms Rachel Jacobsen, Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, United States Department of Interior, Ms Nerissa Cook, Deputy Assistant for International Organizations, United States Department of State, Mr Jon Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service Mr Gustavo Araoz, President of ICOMOS, Mr Jan C. K. Anderson, Chair of US/ICOMOS, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am deeply moved to be here. I have just come from the memorial event celebrating a man who changed the 20 th century and who set the 21 st century on better tracks. This was Nelson Mandela. Page 1 DG/2013/219

2 A giant of our times. A champion of human dignity. Our most relentless advocate for dialogue and tolerance. Mandela dedicated his life to peace, to the unity of a great nation, to the unity of humanity as a single family, brought together by shared values, united in its diversity. The world today celebrates the life of Nelson Mandela. Four American Presidents travelled to Johannesburg -- President Obama, President George W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, President Jimmy Carter -- to bear testimony to a man who never weakened, who always put values before interests, who always favoured unity over division. In a way, I think the world was in Johannesburg yesterday. And I believe it is the same message that brings us together now. The message at the heart of the World Heritage Convention. It is the idea that humanity is a single community. The idea cultural and natural heritage carries a universal value that its loss anywhere is a loss to everyone everywhere. This is what we celebrated last year on the 40 th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention, during the Gala Event I was honoured to participate one year ago. We gather this evening to honour a champion of these values. The Honourable Patrick J. Leahy, DG/2013/219 - Page 2

3 On behalf of UNESCO, in my own name, I wish to convey my deepest appreciation for your commitment to the United Nations and to UNESCO, for your defence of human rights and freedom of expression, for your work to protect cultural heritage as a wealth for all to share. On 7 February this year, Senator Leahy made a Statement before the United States Senate on the Rescue and Reconstruction of Cultural Antiquities in Timbuktu. In this Statement, he said: Besides terrorizing, torturing, mutilating and slaughtering innocent people, the rebels destroyed ancient tombs, shrines, and manuscripts dating to a period many centuries ago when Timbuktu was a crossroads for commerce and a centre of intellectual pursuits in northern Africa. These words capture the essence of UNESCO s mandate. Culture and heritage are more than buildings and manuscripts and warlords know this they are about identities and belonging. They are about values from the past that are vital for societies today and tomorrow, that are essential for building peace. The tragic events in Mali, in Libya, in Syria, show the fragility of cultural heritage in situations of conflict. In early February, I travelled to Timbuktu with the President of France, Mr Francois Hollande, to show my determination to not let extremism stand. This is why I have pledged to rebuild and restore Mali s outstanding cultural heritage -- as a source of strength for the people of Mali, as a wellspring for peace for all. Rebuilding has started in Timbuktu, and we are bringing the same determination to Syria, despite challenging circumstances. DG/2013/219 - Page 3

4 UNESCO is mobilized to fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural objects, which is an attack against Syrian identity and history. The International Council of Museums has long been one of UNESCO s most valuable partners here -- and it is in this spirit that we have launched together the International Council of Museums and the Metropolitan Museum the Red List for Syria s endangered cultural heritage. Let me take this opportunity to thank the United States Department of State for supporting this initiative. We saw the leadership of the Metropolitan Museum last June, with the return of two significant Khmer statutes to Cambodia, with the support of UNESCO, during the meeting of the World Heritage Committee -- I wish to commend once again Ms Emily Rafferty, President of the Museum, for this gesture. Cultural heritage is an open book to the countless ways people have lived together throughout history we must safeguard and highlight these interactions, to show the ties that bind us together, with a single past, with a single destiny. This is why UNESCO works to protect humanity s heritage because it is essential for peace today and tomorrow, because it is the foundation for a better future. DG/2013/219 - Page 4

5 As we all know, it was the late Russell Train who conceived of the idea that would become the World Heritage Convention. He understood the importance of heritage as a bulwark against extremism, as a force to strengthen what he called a sense of kinship with one another as part of a single, global community. he said these words in 2002, one year after 9/11. This is the core of all UNESCO s work, and it has never been so important than in this age of complexity and diversity, this time of fragility for humanity. No state can succeed alone -- we must all work together, on the basis of shared values and common rules, and this is the importance of the United Nations, to the United States and to all countries. Senator Leahy has always stood for a stronger, more effective multilateralism. Last month, the U.S. lost its vote at UNESCO -- Senator Leahy viscerally understands the consequences. The voice of the U.S. is diminished in UNESCO at a time when it is needed most. I thank Senator Leahy for his conviction that the U.S. must be fully engaged at UNESCO. DG/2013/219 - Page 5

6 Senator Leahy is a champion in the efforts to restore the U.S. to good standing at UNESCO. In this spirit, I wish to make an appeal this evening. It is an appeal for all our voices to join with that of Senator Leahy, in a chorus calling for a stronger UNESCO with a powerful U.S. voice, and let me thank here the groups from Texas, Louisiana, Ohio and Alabama, amongst so many others, for joining their voices with ours tonight. It is now my distinct pleasure to invite Senator Leahy, a good friend of UNESCO, to the floor. DG/2013/219 - Page 6