UNESCO

UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Organisation des Nations unies pour l'éducation, la science et la culture (French)
Abbreviation UNESCO
Formation 16 November 1945[1]
Type Specialized agency
Legal status Active
Headquarters Place de Fontenoy, Paris, France
Membership
195 member states
Head
Irina Bokova
Director-General of UNESCO
Website www.unesco.org

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)[2] (In French: Organisation des Nations unies pour l'éducation, la science et la culture) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) based in Paris. Its declared purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through educational, scientific, and cultural reforms in order to increase universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental freedom proclaimed in the United Nations Charter.[1] It is the heir of the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.

UNESCO has 195 member states[3] and nine associate members.[4][5] Most of its field offices are "cluster" offices covering three or more countries; national and regional offices also exist.

UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs: education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and communication/information. Projects sponsored by UNESCO include literacy, technical, and teacher-training programmes, international science programmes, the promotion of independent media and freedom of the press, regional and cultural history projects, the promotion of cultural diversity, translations of world literature, international cooperation agreements to secure the world cultural and natural heritage (World Heritage Sites) and to preserve human rights, and attempts to bridge the worldwide digital divide. It is also a member of the United Nations Development Group.[6]

UNESCO's aim is "to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information".[7] Other priorities of the organization include attaining quality Education For All and lifelong learning, addressing emerging social and ethical challenges, fostering cultural diversity, a culture of peace and building inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication.[8]

The broad goals and concrete objectives of the international community – as set out in the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – underpin all UNESCO's strategies and activities.

History

UNESCO and its mandate for international co-operation can be traced back to the League of Nations resolution on 21 September 1921, to elect a Commission to study feasibility.[9] On 18 December 1925, the International Bureau of Education (IBE) began work as a non-governmental organization in the service of international educational development.[10] However, the work of these predecessor organizations was largely interrupted by the onset of World War II.

After the signing of the Atlantic Charter and the Declaration of the United Nations, the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education (CAME) began meetings in London which continued between 16 November 1942 to 5 December 1945. On 30 October 1943, the necessity for an international organization was expressed in the Moscow Declaration, agreed upon by China, the United Kingdom, the United States and the USSR. This was followed by the Dumbarton Oaks Conference proposals of 9 October 1944. Upon the proposal of CAME and in accordance with the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), held in San Francisco in April–June 1945, a United Nations Conference for the establishment of an educational and cultural organization (ECO/CONF) was convened in London 1–16 November 1945 with 44 governments represented. A prominent figure in the initiative for UNESCO was Rab Butler, the Minister of Education for the United Kingdom.[11] At the ECO/CONF, the Constitution of UNESCO was introduced and signed by 37 countries, and a Preparatory Commission was established.[12] The Preparatory Commission operated between 16 November 1945, and 4 November 1946—the date when UNESCO's Constitution came into force with the deposit of the twentieth ratification by a member state.[13]

The first General Conference took place from 19 November to 10 December 1946, and elected Dr. Julian Huxley to the post of Director-General.[14] The Constitution was amended in November 1954 when the General Conference resolved that members of the Executive Board would be representatives of the governments of the States of which they are nationals and would not, as before, act in their personal capacity.[15] This change in governance distinguished UNESCO from its predecessor, the CICI, in terms of how member states would work together in the organization's fields of competence. As member states worked together over time to realize UNESCO's mandate, political and historical factors have shaped the organization's operations in particular during the Cold War, the decolonization process, and the dissolution of the USSR.

Among the major achievements of the organization is its work against racism, for example through influential statements on race starting with a declaration of anthropologists (among them was Claude Lévi-Strauss) and other scientists in 1950[16] and concluding with the 1978 Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice.[17] In 1956, the Republic of South Africa withdrew from UNESCO claiming that some of the organization's publications amounted to "interference" in the country's "racial problems."[18] South Africa rejoined the organization in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela.

UNESCO's early work in the field of education included the pilot project on fundamental education in the Marbial Valley, Haiti, started in 1947.[19] This project was followed by expert missions to other countries, including, for example, a mission to Afghanistan in 1949.[20] In 1948, UNESCO recommended that Member States should make free primary education compulsory and universal.[21] In 1990 the World Conference on Education for All, in Jomtien, Thailand, launched a global movement to provide basic education for all children, youths and adults.[22] Ten years later, the 2000 World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, led member governments to commit to achieving basic education for all by 2015.[23]

UNESCO's early activities in the field of culture included, for example, the Nubia Campaign, launched in 1960.[24] The purpose of the campaign was to move the Great Temple of Abu Simbel to keep it from being swamped by the Nile after construction of the Aswan Dam. During the 20-year campaign, 22 monuments and architectural complexes were relocated. This was the first and largest in a series of campaigns including Mohenjo-daro (Pakistan), Fes (Morocco), Kathmandu (Nepal), Borobudur (Indonesia) and the Acropolis (Greece). The organization's work on heritage led to the adoption, in 1972, of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.[25] The World Heritage Committee was established in 1976 and the first sites inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978.[26] Since then important legal instruments on cultural heritage and diversity have been adopted by UNESCO member states in 2003 (Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage[27]) and 2005 (Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions[28]).

An intergovernmental meeting of UNESCO in Paris in December 1951 led to the creation of the European Council for Nuclear Research, which was responsible for establishing the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)[29] in 1954.

Arid Zone programming, 1948–1966, is another example of an early major UNESCO project in the field of natural sciences.[30] In 1968, UNESCO organized the first intergovernmental conference aimed at reconciling the environment and development, a problem which continues to be addressed in the field of sustainable development. The main outcome of the 1968 conference was the creation of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme.[31]

In the field of communication, the free flow of information has been a priority for UNESCO from its beginnings. In the years immediately following World War II, efforts were concentrated on reconstruction and on the identification of needs for means of mass communication around the world. UNESCO started organizing training and education for journalists in the 1950s.[32] In response to calls for a "New World Information and Communication Order" in the late 1970s, UNESCO established the International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems,[33] which produced the 1980 MacBride report (named after the Chair of the Commission, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Seán MacBride).[34] Following the MacBride report, UNESCO introduced the Information Society for All[35] programme and Toward Knowledge Societies[36] programme in the lead up to the World Summit on the Information Society in 2003 (Geneva) and 2005 (Tunis).

In 2011, Palestine became a UNESCO member following a vote in which 107 member states supported and 14 opposed.[37][38] Laws passed in the United States in 1990 and 1994 mean that it cannot contribute financially to any UN organisation that accepts Palestine as a full member. As a result, it withdrew its funding which accounted for about 22% of UNESCO's budget.[39] Israel also reacted to Palestine's admittance to UNESCO by freezing Israel payments to the UNESCO and imposing sanctions to the Palestinian Authority,[40] claiming that Palestine's admittance would be detrimental "to potential peace talks".[41] Two years after they stopped paying their dues to UNESCO, US and Israel lost UNESCO voting rights in 2013.[42]

Activities

UNESCO offices in Brasília

UNESCO implements its activities through the five programme areas: education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and communication and information.

UNESCO does not accredit institutions of higher learning.[43]

Media

UNESCO and its specialized institutions issue a number of magazines.

The UNESCO Courier magazine states its mission to "promote UNESCO’s ideals, maintain a platform for the dialogue between cultures and provide a forum for international debate." Since March 2006 it is available online, with limited printed issues. Its articles express the opinions of the authors which are not necessarily the opinions of UNESCO. As of 2016, the latest issue posted was October–December 2011.[48]

In 1950 UNESCO initiated the quarterly review Impact of Science on Society (also known as Impact) to discuss the influence of science on society.,[49] UNESCO also publish museum international quarterly from the year 1948.

Official UNESCO NGOs

UNESCO has official relations with 322 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).[50] Most of these are what UNESCO calls "operational", a select few are "formal".[51] The highest form of affiliation to UNESCO is "formal associate", and the 22 NGOs[52] with formal associate (ASC) relations occupying offices at UNESCO are:

Abbr Organization
IB International Baccalaureate
CCIVS Co-ordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service
EI Education International
IAU International Association of Universities
IFTC International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication
ICPHS International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies which publishes Diogenes
ICSU International Council for Science
ICOM International Council of Museums
ICSSPE International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education
ICA International Council on Archives
ICOMOS International Council on Monuments and Sites
IFJ International Federation of Journalists
IFLA International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
IFPA International Federation of Poetry Associations
IMC International Music Council
IPA International Police Association
INSULA International Scientific Council for Island Development
ISSC International Social Science Council
ITI International Theatre Institute
IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
IUTAO International Union of Technical Associations and Organizations
UIA Union of International Associations
WAN World Association of Newspapers
WFEO World Federation of Engineering Organizations
WFUCA World Federation of UNESCO Clubs, Centres and Associations

Institutes and centres

The institutes are specialized departments of the organization that support UNESCO's programme, providing specialized support for cluster and national offices.

Abbr Name Location
IBE International Bureau of Education Geneva[53]
UIL UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning Hamburg[54]
IIEP UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning Paris (headquarters) and Buenos Aires (regional office)[55]
IITE UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education Moscow[56]
IICBA UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa Addis Ababa[57]
IESALC UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean Caracas[58]
UICTVET UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training Bonn[59]
CEPES UNESCO European Centre for Higher Education Bucharest[60]
UNESCO-IHE UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education Delft[61]
ICTP International Centre for Theoretical Physics Trieste[62]
UIS UNESCO Institute for Statistics Montreal[63]
UNESCO VG UNESCO Centre British Virgin Islands BVI official site

Prizes

UNESCO awards 22 prizes[64] in education, science, culture and peace:

Inactive prizes

International Days observed at UNESCO

International Days[65]

Date Name
27 January International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
13 February World Radio Day
21 February International Mother Language Day
8 March International Women's Day
20 March International Francophonie Day
21 March International Day of Nowruz
21 March World Poetry Day
21 March International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
22 March World Day for Water
23 April World Book and Copyright Day
30 April International Jazz Day
3 May World Press Freedom Day
21 May World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
22 May International Day for Biological Diversity
25 May Africa Day / Africa Week
5 June World Environment Day
8 June World Oceans Day
21 June International Yoga Day
9 August International Day of the World's Indigenous People
12 August International Youth Day
23 August International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
8 September International Literacy Day
15 September International Day of Democracy
21 September International Day of Peace
28 September International Day for the Universal Access to Information
5 October World Teachers' Day
2nd Wednesday in October International Day for Disaster Reduction
17 October International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
20 October World Statistics Day
27 October World Day for Audiovisual Heritage
10 November World Science Day for Peace and Development
3rd Thursday in November World Philosophy Day
16 November International Day for Tolerance
19 November International Men's Day
25 November International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
29 November International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
1 December World AIDS Day
10 December Human Rights Day
18 December International Migrants Day

Member states

UNESCO counts 195 member states and 9 associate members.[66] Some members are not independent states and some members have additional National Organizing Committees from some of their dependent territories.[67] UNESCO state parties are the United Nations member states (except Liechtenstein), Cook Islands, Niue, and the State of Palestine.[68][69]

Governing bodies

Director-General

Elections for the renewal of the position of Director-General took place in Paris from 7 to 23 September 2009. Eight candidates ran for the position, and 58 countries[70] voted for them. The Executive Council gathered from 7 to 23 September, the vote itself beginning on the 17th. Irina Bokova was elected the new Director-General.

The list of the Directors-General of UNESCO since its establishment in 1946 is as follows:[71]

Irina Bokova  Bulgaria 2009–present
Koïchiro Matsuura  Japan 1999–2009
Federico Mayor Zaragoza  Spain 1987–99
Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow  Senegal 1974–87
René Maheu  France 1961–74; acting 1961
Vittorino Veronese  Italy 1958–61
Luther Evans  United States 1953–58
John Wilkinson Taylor  United States acting 1952–53
Jaime Torres Bodet  Mexico 1948–52
Julian Huxley  United Kingdom 1946–48

General Conference

This is the list of the sessions of UNESCO General Conference held since 1946:[72]

Session Location Year Chaired by from
38th Paris 2015 Stanley Mutumba Simataa[73]  Namibia
37th[74] Paris 2013 Hao Ping  China
36th Paris 2011 Katalin Bogyay  Hungary
35th Paris 2009 Davidson Hepburn  Bahamas
34th Paris 2007 George N. Anastassopoulos  Greece
33rd Paris 2005 Musa Bin Jaafar Bin Hassan  Oman
32nd Paris 2003 Michael Omolewa  Nigeria
31st Paris 2001 Ahmad Jalali  Iran
30th Paris 1999 Jaroslava Moserova  Czech Republic
29th Paris 1997 Eduardo Portella  Brazil
28th Paris 1995 Torben Krogh  Denmark
27th Paris 1993 Ahmed Saleh Sayyad  Yemen
26th Paris 1991 Bethwell Allan Ogot  Kenya
25th Paris 1989 Anwar Ibrahim  Malaysia
24th Paris 1987 Guillermo Putzeys Alvarez  Guatemala
23rd Sofia 1985 Nikolai Todorov  Bulgaria
22nd Paris 1983 Saïd Tell  Jordan
4th extraordinary Paris 1982
21st Belgrade 1980 Ivo Margan  Yugoslavia
20th Paris 1978 Napoléon LeBlanc  Canada
19th Nairobi 1976 Taaita Toweett  Kenya
18th Paris 1974 Magda Jóború  Hungary
3rd extraordinary Paris 1973
17th Paris 1972 Toru Haguiwara  Japan
16th Paris 1970 Atilio Dell'Oro Maini  Argentina
15th Paris 1968 William Eteki Mboumoua  Cameroon
14th Paris 1966 Bedrettin Tuncel  Turkey
13th Paris 1964 Norair Sisakian  Armenian SSR
12th Paris 1962 Paulo de Berrêdo Carneiro  Brazil
11th Paris 1960 Akale-Work Abte-Wold  Ethiopia
10th Paris 1958 Jean Berthoin  France
9th New Delhi 1956 Abul Kalam Azad  India
8th Montevideo 1954 Justino Zavala Muñiz  Uruguay
2nd extraordinary Paris 1953
7th Paris 1952 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan  India
6th Paris 1951 Howland H. Sargeant  United States
5th Florence 1950 Stefano Jacini  Italy
4th Paris 1949 Edward Ronald Walker  Australia
1st extraordinary Paris 1948
3rd Beirut 1948 Hamid Bey Frangie  Lebanon
2nd Mexico City 1947 Manuel Gual Vidal  Mexico
1st Paris 1946 Léon Blum  France

Executive Board

Term Group I
(9 seats)
Group II
(7 seats)
Group III
(10 seats)
Group IV
(12 seats)

 India
()1seats)

Group V(a)
(14 seats)
Group V(b)
(7 seats)
2016–19[75]

 France
 Greece
 Italy
 Spain
 United Kingdom
 United States

 Lithuania
 Russia
 Serbia
 Slovenia

 Brazil
 Haiti
 Mexico
 Nicaragua
 Paraguay

 Iran
 Malaysia
 Pakistan
 South Korea
 Sri Lanka
 Vietnam

 Cameroon
 Ivory Coast
 Ghana
 Kenya
 Nigeria
 Senegal
 South Africa

 Lebanon
 Oman
 Qatar
 Sudan

2014–17[76]

 Germany
 Netherlands
 Sweden

 Albania
 Estonia
 Ukraine

 Argentina
 Belize
 Dominican Republic
 El Salvador
 Saint Kitts and Nevis
 Trinidad and Tobago

 Bangladesh
 China
 India
 Japan
   Nepal
 Turkmenistan

 Chad
 Guinea
 Mauritius
 Mozambique
 Togo
 Uganda

 Algeria
 Egypt
 Kuwait
 Morocco

2012–15

 Austria
 France
 Italy
 India
 Spain
 United Kingdom
 United States

 Czech Republic
 Montenegro
 Russia
 Macedonia

 Brazil
 Cuba
 Ecuador
 Mexico

 Afghanistan
 Indonesia
 Pakistan
 Papua New Guinea
 South Korea
 Thailand

 Angola
 Ethiopia
 Gabon
 Gambia
 Malawi
 Mali
 Namibia
 Nigeria

 Tunisia
 United Arab Emirates

Offices

The Garden of Peace, UNESCO headquarters, Paris. Donated by the Government of Japan, this garden was designed by American-Japanese sculptor artist Isamu Noguchi in 1958 and installed by Japanese gardener Toemon Sano.

UNESCO headquarters are located at Place de Fontenoy in Paris, France.

UNESCO's field offices across the globe are categorized into four primary office types based upon their function and geographic coverage: cluster offices, national offices, regional bureaus and liaison offices.

Field offices by region

The following list of all UNESCO Field Offices is organized geographically by UNESCO Region and identifies the members states and associate members of UNESCO which are served by each office.[77]

Africa

Arab States

Asia and Pacific

Europe and North America

Latin America and the Caribbean

Carondelet Palace, Presidential Palace – with changing of the guards. The Historic Center of Quito, Ecuador is one of the largest, least-altered and best-preserved historic centers in the Americas.[78] This center was, together with the historic centre of Kraków in Poland, the first to be declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 18 September 1978.

Controversies

New World Information and Communication order

UNESCO has been the centre of controversy in the past, particularly in its relationships with the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and the former Soviet Union. During the 1970s and 1980s, UNESCO's support for a "New World Information and Communication Order" and its MacBride report calling for democratization of the media and more egalitarian access to information was condemned in these countries as attempts to curb freedom of the press. UNESCO was perceived by some as a platform for communists and Third World dictators to attack the West, a stark contrast to accusations made by the USSR in the late 1940s and early 1950s.[81] In 1984, the United States withheld its contributions and withdrew from the organization in protest, followed by the United Kingdom in 1985. Singapore took the opportunity to withdraw also at the end of 1985, citing rising membership fees.[82] Following a change of government in 1997, the UK rejoined. The United States rejoined in 2003, followed by Singapore on 8 October 2007.

Israel

Israel was admitted to UNESCO in 1949, one year after its creation. Israel has maintained its membership since 1949. In 2010, Israel designated the Cave of the Patriarchs, Hebron and Rachel's Tomb, Bethlehem as National Heritage Sites and announced restoration work, prompting criticism from the United States and protests from Palestinians.[83] In October 2010, UNESCO's Executive Board voted to declare the sites as "al-Haram al-Ibrahimi/Tomb of the Patriarchs" and "Bilal bin Rabah Mosque/Rachel's Tomb" and stated that they were "an integral part of the occupied Palestinian Territories" and any unilateral Israeli action was a violation of international law.[84] UNESCO described the sites as significant to "people of the Muslim, Christian and Jewish traditions", and accused Israel of highlighting only the Jewish character of the sites.[85] Israel in turn accused UNESCO of "detach[ing] the Nation of Israel from its heritage", and accused it of being politically motivated.[86] The Rabbi of the Western Wall claimed that Rachel's tomb had not previously been declared a holy Muslim site.[87] Israel partially suspended ties with UNESCO. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon declared that the resolution was a "part of Palestinian escalation". Zevulun Orlev, chairman of the Knesset Education and Culture Committee, referred to the resolutions as an attempt to undermine the mission of UNESCO as a scientific and cultural organization that promotes cooperation throughout the world.[88][89]

On 28 June 2011, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, at Jordan's insistence, censured Israel's decision to demolish and rebuild the Mughrabi Gate Bridge in Jerusalem for safety reasons. Israel stated that Jordan had signed an agreement with Israel stipulating that the existing bridge must be dismantled for safety reasons; Jordan disputed the agreement, saying that it was only signed under U.S. pressure. Israel was also unable to address the UNESCO committee over objections from Egypt.[90]

In January 2014, days before it was scheduled to open, UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, "indefinitely postponed" and effectively cancelled an exhibit created by the Simon Wiesenthal Center entitled, "The People, The Book, The Land: The 3,500-year relationship between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel." The event was scheduled to run from 21 January through 30 January in Paris. Bokova cancelled the event after representatives of Arab states at UNESCO argued that its display would "harm the peace process".[91] The author of the exhibition, Professor Robert Wistrich of the Hebrew University's Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism, called the cancellation an "appalling act," and characterized Bokova's decision as "an arbitrary act of total cynicism and, really, contempt for the Jewish people and its history." UNESCO amended the decision to cancel the exhibit within the year, and it quickly achieved popularity and was viewed as a great success.[92]

On 13 October 2016, UNESCO passed a resolution on East Jerusalem that condemned Israel for "aggressions" by Israeli police and soldiers and "illegal measures" against the freedom of worship and Muslims' access to their holy sites, while also recognizing Israel as the occupying power. Palestinian leaders welcomed the decision.[93] While the text acknowledged the "importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls for the three monotheistic religions", it referred to the sacred hilltop compound in Jerusalem's Old City only by its Muslim name "Al-Haram al-Sharif", Arabic for Noble Sanctuary. In response, Israel denounced the UNESCO resolution for its omission of the words "Temple Mount" stating that it denies Jewish ties to the key holy site.[93][94] After receiving criticism from numerous Israeli politicians and diplomats, including Benjamin Netanyahu and Ayelet Shaked, Israel froze all ties with the organization.[95][96] The resolution was condemned by Ban ki-Moon and the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, who said that Judaism, Islam and Christianity have clear historical connections to Jerusalem and "to deny, conceal or erase any of the Jewish, Christian or Muslim traditions undermines the integrity of the site.[97][98] Al-Aqsa Mosque is also Temple Mount, whose Western Wall is the holiest place in Judaism."[99] It was also rejected by the Czech Parliament which said the resolution reflects a "hateful anti-Israel sentiment",[100] and hundreds of Italian Jews demonstrated in Rome over Italy abstention.[100] On October 26, UNESCO approved a reviewed version of the resolution, which also criticized Israel for its continuous "refusal to let the body's experts access Jerusalem's holy sites to determine their conservation status."[101] Despite containing some softening of language following Israeli protests over a previous version, Israel continued to denounce the text.[102] The resolution refers to the site Jews and Christians refer to as the Temple Mount only by its Arab name — a significant semantic decision also adopted by UNESCO's executive board last week, triggering condemnation from Israel and its allies. U.S. Ambassador Crystal Nix Hines stated: "This item should have been defeated. These politicized and one-sided resolutions are damaging the credibility of UNESCO."[103] In November 2016, the City Council of Beverly Hills, California passed a resolution to condemn the UNESCO resolution.[104]

Palestinian Authority

Palestinian Youth Magazine controversy

In February 2011, an article was published in a Palestinian youth magazine in which a teenage girl described one of her four role-models as Adolf Hitler. In December 2011, UNESCO, which partly funded the magazine, condemned the material and subsequently withdrew support.[105]

Islamic University of Gaza controversy

In 2012, UNESCO decided to establish a chair at the Islamic University of Gaza in the field of astronomy, astrophysics, and space sciences,[106] fueling much controversy and criticism. Israel's foreign ministry criticized the move and stated that the university supports Hamas (which Israel and other countries designate as a terrorist organization) and houses bomb laboratories for Hamas.[107]

The university has been linked to Hamas in the past. However, the university head, Kamalain Shaath, defended UNESCO, stating that "the Islamic University is a purely academic university that is interested only in education and its development".[108][109][110] Israeli ambassador to UNESCO Nimrod Barkan planned to submit a letter of protest with information about the university's ties to Hamas, especially angry that this was the first Palestinian university that UNESCO chose to cooperate with.[111] The Jewish organization B'nai B'rith criticized the move as well.[112]

Wikileaks

On 16 and 17 February 2012 UNESCO held a conference entitled, "The Media World after WikiLeaks and News of the World."[113] Despite all six panels being focused on WikiLeaks, no member of WikiLeaks staff were invited to speak. After receiving a complaint from WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson, UNESCO invited him to attend, but did not offer a place on any panels.[114] The offer also came only a week before the conference, which was held in Paris, France. Many of the speakers featured, including David Leigh and Heather Brooke, had spoken out openly against WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange in the past.[115][116] WikiLeaks released a press statement on 15 February 2012 denouncing UNESCO which stated, "UNESCO has made itself an international human rights joke. To use "freedom of expression" to censor WikiLeaks from a conference about WikiLeaks is an Orwellian absurdity beyond words."[117]

Che Guevara

In 2013, UNESCO announced that the collection "The Life and Works of Ernesto Che Guevara" became part of the Memory of the World Register. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a US congresswoman, condemned this decision, saying that the organization acts against its own ideals:[118]

This decision is more than an insult to the families of those Cubans who were lined up and summarily executed by Che and his merciless cronies it also serves as a direct contradiction to the UNESCO ideals of encouraging peace and universal respect for human rights.

UN Watch, also condemned this selection by UNESCO.[119]

Listing Nanjing Massacre documents

In 2015, Japan threatened to halt funding for UNESCO over the organization's decision to include documents relating to the 1937 Nanjing massacre in the latest listing for its "Memory of the World" program.[120] In October 2016, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed that Japan's 2016 annual funding of ¥4.4 billion had been suspended although denied any direct link with the Nanjing document controversy.[121]

Products or services

Information Processing Tools

[122] UNESCO develops, maintains and disseminates, free-of-charge, two interrelated software packages for database management (CDS/ISIS) and data mining/statistical analysis (IDAMS).

See also

References and notes

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  2. "UNESCO". UNESCO. Retrieved 2015-09-25.
  3. UNESCO's General Conference voted on 31 October 2011 "to admit Palestine as a member State". However, it notes that, for "its membership to take effect, Palestine must sign and ratify UNESCO's Constitution". "UNESCO " Media Services " General Conference admits Palestine as UNESCO Member State". UNESCO.
  4. "Member States | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization". UNESCO.
  5. "The Faroes become associated <ny specialized institutes and centres throughout the world". Archived from the original on 23 August 2011.
  6. "UNDG Members". United Nations Development Group. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  7. "Introducing UNESCO". UNESCO. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  8. "UNESCO • General Conference; 34th; Medium-term Strategy, 2008–2013; 2007" (PDF). Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  9. League of Nations. Records of the Second Assembly. Plenary Meetings. 5 September-5 October 1921. Geneva. P. The International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation (ICIC) was officially created on 4 January 1922, as a consultative organ composed of individuals elected based on their personal qualifications. The International Institute for Intellectual Cooperation (IIIC) was then created in Paris on 9 August 1925, to act as the executing agency for the ICIC. (1987). A Chronology of UNESCO: 1947–1987. Paris, December 1987. LAD.85/WS/4 Rev. UNESDOC database |format=PDF |accessdate=8 June 2012
  10. UNESCO. (1987). A Chronology.
  11. THE WORK OF U.N.E.S.C.O. (Hansard, 26 January 1949). Hansard.millbanksystems.com. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  12. "United Nations Conference for the Establishment of an Educational and Cultural Organisation. Conference for the Establishment of an Educational and Cultural Organisation. Held at the Institute of Civil Engineers, London, from 1 to 16 November 1945. ECO/Conf./29. UNESDOC database" (PDF). Retrieved 8 June 2012.
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