DRAFT REPORT OF COMMISSION IV PART I - …unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001099/109909e.pdf · DRAFT REPORT OF COMMISSION IV PART I (i) TABLE ... Major Programme IV - Communication,

General ConferenceTwenty-ninth Session, Paris 1997 29 C

29 C/83(29 C/COM.IV/2)10 November 1997Original: English/French/Spanish

DRAFT REPORT OF COMMISSION IV

PART I

(i)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

INTRODUCTION

DEBATE 1

Item 3.3 - Consideration and adoption of the Draft Programme and Budget for1998-1999: Major Programme III - Cultural development: the heritage andcreativity

Item 6.3 - Report by the Director-General on action taken concerning the advisability ofpreparing an international instrument for the protection of the underwatercultural heritage

DEBATE 2

Item 12.2 - Universal Forum of Cultures - Barcelona 2004

DEBATE 3

Item 4.18 - UNESCO contribution to the ‘Cultural Olympiad 2000-2004’

DEBATE 4

Item 4.2 - Jerusalem and the implementation of 28 C/Resolution 3.14

PART II

DEBATE 5

Item 3.3 - Consideration and adoption of the Draft Programme and Budget for1998-1999: Major Programme IV - Communication, information andinformatics

Item 4.4 - Implementation of 150 EX/Decision 3.1, Part III, concerning the Sana’aDeclaration

Item 4.17 - Implementation of 152 EX/Decision 3.1, Part I, concerning the SofiaDeclaration

Item 6.4 - Preliminary report by the Director-General on the feasibility of aninternational instrument on the establishment of a legal framework relating tocyberspace and of a recommendation on the preservation of a balanced useof languages in cyberspace

DEBATE 6

Preliminary discussion of the main lines of emphasis of the Draft Programme and Budgetfor 2000-2001 (30 C/5)

29 C/83(29 C/COM.IV/2)

PART I

INTRODUCTION

1. At its first meeting, held on 3 November 1997, Commission IV elected Mr FélixFernandez Shaw (Spain) on the proposal of the Nominations Committee.

2. At its second meeting, held on 3 November 1997, the Director-General paid tribute toProfessor Raymond Lemaire (1921-1997), Personal Representative of the Director-General forJerusalem.

3. The Commission approved the proposals of the Nominations Committee for the officesof the Vice-Chairpersons and that of Rapporteur, as follows:

Vice-Chairpersons

Ms Hoda WASFY (Egypt)Mr Ioan ONISEI (Romania)Mr R.A.A. RANAWEERA (Sri Lanka)Mr Cosme Adébayo D’ALMEIDA (Togo)

Rapporteur

Mr Philippe CANTRAINE (Belgium)

4. The Commission adopted the timetable set out in document 29 C/COM.IV/1.

5. The Commission went on to discuss the following items on its agenda in the course offive sessions, held from Monday, 3 November 1997 to Wednesday, 5 November 1997:*

DEBATE 1

Item 3.3 - Major Programme III - Cultural development: the heritage and creativity


DEBATE 2


DEBATE 3


DEBATE 4


* Document 29 C/COM.IV/2 (Part II) covers Debates 5 and 6.

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DEBATE 1

Item 3.3 Major Programme III - Cultural development: the heritage and creativity

Item 6.3 Report by the Director-General on action taken concerning the advisabilityof preparing an international instrument for the protection of the underwatercultural heritage

6. At its second, third, fourth and sixth meetings the Commission examined item 3.3 -Major Programme III - Cultural development: the heritage and creativity, and item 6.3 -Report by the Director-General on action taken concerning the advisability of preparing aninternational instrument for the protection of the underwater cultural heritage.

7. The representatives of 80 Member States took the floor, as did the representatives of oneAssociate Member, eight non-governmental organizations and the Chairperson of the WorldHeritage Committee.

Item 3.3 Major Programme III - Cultural development: the heritage and creativity

I. Draft resolutions which the General Conference is invited to adopt in extenso

8. The Commission recommends that the General Conference adopt the draft resolutionslisted below for the Records of the General Conference, Volume 1 (Resolutions):

(a) 29 C/DR.68 (Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal, Togo; supported byDominican Republic, Greece, Haiti, Ireland, Netherlands, Peru, Philippines) withoutamendment:

The General Conference,

Considering that it is urgent, for the sake of peace and sustainable development for all, torespond to the challenge of extreme poverty to which millions of human beings arecondemned,

Bearing in mind resolution A/50/107 of the United Nations General Assembly, in whichit proclaimed the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006),

Recalling 28 C/Resolution 3.2 on the World Decade for Cultural Development and inparticular paragraphs 3(a) and 4(c) relating to families and population groups insituations of extreme poverty and social exclusion,

Taking into consideration resolution 1997/11 on ‘Human rights and extreme poverty’,adopted on 3 April 1997 by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, in whichit invited the bodies and Specialized Agencies of the United Nations to ‘take account ofthe contradictions between the existence of situations of extreme poverty and exclusionfrom society, which must be overcome, and the duty to guarantee full enjoyment ofhuman rights’,

Considering the important role played by culture, education, information andcommunication and by the various social sciences in action to combat extreme poverty,

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Recalling the recommendation adopted by the Intergovernmental Committee of theWorld Decade for Cultural Development at its session in April 1997 on the culture anddevelopment theme in UNESCO’s programme,

Noting with interest the attention given to this matter in many of the activities proposedunder the Organization’s programme for 1998-1999,

Wishing nevertheless that the matter be accorded high priority and presented in acoherent fashion,

Urges the Member States of UNESCO, governmental and non-governmentalorganizations and international, national and private institutions:

(1) to ensure that the United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty is asuccess and satisfies the aspirations of all those throughout the world who arevictims of poverty and exclusion;

(2) to ensure in particular that cultural development (culture, education andcommunication) is accorded a prominent position in the activities of the Decade;

Invites the Director-General:

(1) to increase in all UNESCO’s programmes recognition and awareness of thecultural dimension of development as a necessary condition for reaching familiesand population groups in situations of extreme poverty, in an effort to meet thegoals of the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development and of the UnitedNations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty;

(2) to mobilize all sectors of the Organization, requesting them in the execution of thefour major programmes, transdisciplinary projects and transverse activities toaccord high priority to the issue of extreme poverty, ensuring in particular that thepopulation groups in situations of extreme poverty and social exclusion areeffectively reached.

(b) 29 C/DR.64 (Morocco, Guinea; supported by Cape Verde, Dominican Republic,Lebanon, Mali, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan,Venezuela) as modified in its two last operative paragraphs:


1. Recalling that UNESCO’s Constitution provides that the Organization willmaintain, increase and diffuse knowledge by ensuring the conservation andprotection of the world’s inheritance,

2. Reaffirming its support for the activities envisaged in the Draft Programme andBudget for 1998-1999 under Major Programme III aimed at identifying,safeguarding, revitalizing and promoting the intangible heritage of the MemberStates,

3. Stressing the role played with respect to the cultural diversity of humanity byvarious forms of popular cultural expression, such as oral traditions, rites and

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customs, music, dance, popular theatre and craft skills, which are generallytransmitted orally,

4. Stressing also the importance of the oral heritage as a source of inspiration forcreativity,

5. Taking into account the symbolic, educational, social and economic value of thiscultural heritage, which contributes to the memory of peoples, to their culturalroots, and to exchanges and dialogue, and which also helps to secureacknowledgement for the interests of future generations,

6. Considering that it is necessary, as a matter of urgency, to pursue and intensify theefforts of the Member States and the Secretariat of the Organization to identify,safeguard, revitalize and promote the various forms of intangible and oral heritage,on the basis of the provisions and guidelines contained in the Recommendation onthe Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore adopted by the GeneralConference at its twenty-fifth session,

7. Welcoming the convening at Marrakesh, Morocco, of the InternationalConsultation on the Preservation of Popular Cultural Spaces (26-28 June 1997),whose conclusions highlighted the importance for Member States of spaces andareas of popular cultural expression such as Jâma‘ el-Fnâ Square in Marrakesh,which has been the subject of an in-depth case-study aimed at illustrating theconcept of the ‘oral heritage of humanity’,

Expresses its support for the activities provided for under the programme on ‘LivingHuman Treasures’ (Draft Programme and Budget for 1998-1999, para. 03013), whichare aimed at recognizing the importance of the possessors of exceptional skills relating toareas of popular and traditional cultural expression, and at encouraging the transmissionof such skills to subsequent generations;

Decides to highlight the importance of the intangible cultural heritage for peoples andnations by proclaiming spaces or forms of cultural expression part of the ‘oral heritage ofhumanity’;

Calls on the Member States and the international community to associate themselveswith the activities to be implemented by the Organization in continuation of the activitiesenvisaged under the Programme and Budget for 1998-1999 and subsequent programmes,aimed at identifying permanent spaces or areas of popular and traditional culturalexpression which deserve to be proclaimed by UNESCO as symbols of the ‘oral heritageof humanity’;

Stresses that such spaces or areas should constitute exceptional examples of freedom anddiversity of cultural expression, of social interaction, tolerance and culturalunderstanding, of the preservation of the collective memory, of the education of youth,of the oral transmission of universal values, of exchanges among generations and ofurban integration;

Requests Member States and donors to make financial contributions in support of thisaction;

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Invites the Director-General to prepare and submit to the Executive Board at its 153rdsession (May 1998) a detailed proposal concerning the criteria for the selection of suchspaces or areas, the practical arrangements for international recognition thereof as part ofthe oral heritage of humanity, and the type of action required from the Organization, theinternational community and public and private donors in order to ensure the protectionand promotion of such cultural spaces.

II. Draft resolutions proposing to amend proposed resolution 3.1

9. The Commission recommends that the General Conference approve proposedresolution 3.1 concerning Major Programme III, as amended by:

29 C/DR.81 Rev. (Italy, Canada; supported by China, France) and 29 C/DR.121(Ukraine, Georgia; supported by Argentina, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia,Czech Republic, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Poland, Romania, San Marino, Uzbekistan)with respect to new paragraph 2.A.(c), as amended during the debate;

29 C/DR.97 (Uzbekistan; supported by Mongolia, Ukraine) with respect toparagraphs 2.A.(d), in the light of the observations made by the Director-General indocument 29 C/8-COM.IV (end of para. 8);

29 C/DR.91 (Czech Republic; supported by Belarus, Latvia, Slovakia, Ukraine,Uzbekistan) with respect paragraph 2.A.(d), in the light of the observations made by theDirector-General in document 29 C/8-COM.IV (end of para. 7), and on theunderstanding that the amendment has no budgetary implications;

29 C/DR. 95* (Hungary, Austria, Poland, Sweden; supported by Slovakia) with respectto paragraph 2.B.(e), in the light of the observations made by the Director-General indocument 29 C/8-COM.IV (end of para. 10);

29 C/DR.129 (Italy) with respect to paragraph 2.B.(f);

29 C/DR.73 Rev. (Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg; supported by Canada, CzechRepublic, Dominican Republic) with respect to paragraph 2.B.(h).

3.1 Major Programme III - Cultural development: the heritage and creativity


1. Authorizes the Director-General to implement this major programme in accordancewith the main lines of emphasis set out in document 29 C/5;

2. Invites the Director-General, in particular:

A. Under Programme III.1, ‘Preservation and enhancement of the cultural and naturalheritage’, which aims to promote an integrated approach to the preservation andenhancement of the heritage, reconciling the imperatives of conservation and the

* 95 Rev. for French version only.

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requirements of development, and to that end, to strengthen endogenous capacitiesand the participation of local communities in rehabilitation effort,

(a) to develop preventive action by encouraging the ratification and moreeffective implementation of international conventions and recommendations,and the development of strategies to enhance preparedness in case of naturalor human-made disasters, and to ensure the safeguarding of elements of theintangible heritage which are in danger of becoming extinct;

(b) to improve heritage management by facilitating its integration into nationaldevelopment plans, by encouraging participatory approaches involving thewhole community, and by reinforcing the training of specialists in collecting,conservation and museology, with emphasis on the transmission andadaptation of traditional skills;

(c) to encourage the application of the 1970 Convention and the UNIDROITConvention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects and, with a viewto preventing illicit traffic in cultural property, to support the efforts ofMember States to improve security measures in museums, to preserve andenhance collections, and to promote and adopt measures for theidentification of cultural property which is to be exported;

(d) to encourage the development of interdisciplinary approaches intended torevitalize, in a co-ordinated way, the tangible and intangible, cultural andnatural heritage, and thus help to contribute lasting solutions to thedevelopment needs of local communities;

(e) to encourage strategies to be designed to raise awareness among specialistsand the general public, especially among young people, of the wealth of thetangible and intangible heritage, including traditional music, and ethicalvalues it embodies, and to promote the participation of museums and otherinstitutions concerned with the heritage in this endeavour;

(f) to rally international support for emergency operations and for thecontinuation of safeguarding campaigns, and to assist Member States indrawing up and carrying out projects to restore the local and nationalheritage;

(g) to support the work of the statutory organs of the Convention for theProtection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, with a view inparticular to ensuring that the World Heritage List is more representative, byimplementing the Global Strategy for natural and cultural heritage and byassisting States Parties to the Convention, especially in Africa and the leastdeveloped countries, in the preparation of tentative lists and nominations;

(h) to contribute to the strengthening of local and national capacities for thelong-term protection and effective management of designated WorldHeritage properties;

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(i) to assist the States Parties to the Convention to establish systems for thesystematic monitoring of the state of conservation of designated WorldHeritage properties and to draw up reports thereon;

(j) to develop information and awareness-raising material about the worldheritage for various target groups and in particular for young people and forlocal communities living in or near World Heritage sites;

B. Under Programme III.2, ‘Promotion of living cultures’, whose purpose is toencourage creativity by enhancing expressions of popular culture, fostering artisticinformation and training networks, and contributing to the shaping of anenvironment conducive to the creation, dissemination and protection of works, inparticular through the promotion of endogenous cultural industries, involvingcreative activities protected by copyright,

(a) to continue efforts to ensure a better acknowledgement of the interactionbetween culture and development, by stimulating debate and reflection on theissues raised in the report of the World Commission on Culture andDevelopment, ‘Our Creative Diversity’, by providing support for theintergovernmental conference on cultural and media policies to be held inStockholm in 1998, and by drawing up the first World Culture Report,surveying recent trends in culture and development;

(b) to encourage art education for children and young people in school,especially in deprived urban areas and in rural areas;

(c) to contribute to enhancing traditional and popular cultures, by assisting thetraining and advanced training of young artists and the setting up ofassociative networks at the local, national and regional levels;

(d) to encourage the development of crafts, giving priority to activitiesintroducing schoolchildren to craft professions and to training and advancedtraining for young craftworkers;

(e) to promote contemporary forms of creativity by giving support to regionaland international artistic exchange and information networks and by carryingout activities designed to increase awareness of the role and status of theartist, and to develop national capacities and regional co-operation for thefunding and management of culture;

(f) to continue to promote the protection of copyright and neighbouring rightsby support for the improvement of university teaching, training for specialistsin rights management, informing specialists and raising public awareness, andto promote scientific inquiry into the problems raised in the field of copyrightby the widespread use of new interactive technologies;

(g) to encourage the formulation of policies, strategies and programmes tostrengthen national and regional production and distribution capacities in thebook and other cultural industries, and to promote the application ofagreements concerning the free circulation of cultural goods;

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(h) to promote reading and other cultural practices, and to encourage thedevelopment of formal and informal regional initiatives devoted to theexchange of information and experience in the field of the promotion ofreading, giving particular attention to children and young people and to therole children’s literature can play in learning about tolerance;

(i) to encourage the translation and distribution of major literary worksrepresentative of various cultures, in the framework in particular of theUNESCO Collection of Representative Works and by taking advantage ofthe opportunities provided by the new technologies;

(j) to encourage reflection on the cultural implications of the new informationand communication technologies, and to explore the opportunitiescyberspace offers, especially to women and young people, of taking a moreactive part in cultural life.

III. Draft resolutions proposing a shift in emphasis of the main lines of actionenvisaged in document 29 C/5

10. The Commission recommends that the General Conference approve the following draftresolutions for implementation within the framework of budget resources foreseen in draftdocument 29 C/5:

(a) 29 C/DR.54 Rev. (New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, SolomonIslands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu) relating to Major Programme III as a whole;

(b) 29 C/DR.52 (Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Senegal,Uzbekistan; supported by Australia, Bolivia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia,Egypt, France, Guyana, Haiti, Monaco, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Suriname,Uruguay, Turkey) relating to paragraph 03012, on the understanding thatcomplementary resources will be provided under the World Heritage Fund;

(c) 29 C/DR.82 (Italy; supported by Dominican Republic, Russian Federation) relatingto paragraph 03012, on the understanding that support will be given, in priority, toUNESCO Chairs;

(d) 29 C/DR.27 (United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Yemen)relating to paragraph 03013, in the light of the observations made by the Director-General in document 29 C/8-COM.IV (end of para. 17), and on the understandingthat corresponding activities will be submitted under the Participation Programme,in accordance with the rules governing it, as specified by the authors;

(e) 29 C/DR.59 (Tunisia; supported by Bahrain, Belgium, Egypt, Germany, Greece,Mali, Morocco, Qatar, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey) relating to paragraph 03013,in the light of the observations made by the Director-General in document 29 C/8-COM.IV (end of para. 19), and on the understanding that a training componentwill also be supported;

(f) 29 C/DR.117 (Zimbabwe, Benin, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia,Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda) relating to paragraph 03013, in the light of the

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observations made by the Director-General in document 29 C/8-COM.IV (end ofpara. 20);

(g) 29 C/DR.122 (Ukraine, Georgia; supported by Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, CzechRepublic, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Romania, San Marino, Uzbekistan) withrespect to paragraph 03014, in the light of the observations made by the Director-General in document 29 C/8-COM.IV (end of para. 20);

(h) 29 C/DR.128 (Italy; supported by Canada, France) relating to paragraph 03024.

11. The Commission recommends that the General Conference approve the following draftresolutions to be financed under the Reserve for Draft Resolutions:

(a) 29 C/DR.81 Rev. (Italy, Canada; supported by China, France) and 29 C/DR.121(Ukraine, Georgia; supported by Argentina, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, China,Croatia, Czech Republic, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Poland, Romania, SanMarino, Uzbekistan) relating to paragraph 03011: US $20,000, on theunderstanding that this allocation be used for supporting training in and co-ordination of data bases;

(b) 29 C/DR.111 (Islamic Republic of Iran; supported by Cameroon, DemocraticPeople’s Republic of Korea, Iraq, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sudan, United Republicof Tanzania) relating to paragraph 03013: US $10,000;

(c) 29 C/DR.64 (Morocco, Guinea; supported by Cape Verde, Dominican Republic,Lebanon, Mali, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan,Venezuela) relating to paragraph 03013: US $10,000, on the understanding thatthis amount will be complemented by the budgetary resources foreseen in draftdocument 29 C/5, and that a request under the Participation Programme could alsobe submitted in this respect;

(d) 29 C/DR.31 (Tunisia; supported by Bahrain, Chad, Egypt, Mali, Morocco, Oman,Qatar, Togo) relating to paragraph 03013: US $20,000;

(e) 29 C/DR.83 (Dominican Republic) relating to paragraph 03013: US $10,000;

(f) 29 C/DR.84 (Cuba) relating to paragraph 03013: US $10,000;

(g) in view of 29 C/DR.4 (Armenia; supported by Argentina, El Salvador, Greece,Georgia, Lithuania, Morocco), 29 C/DR.69 (Tunisia; supported by Bahrain,Egypt, Mali, Morocco, Oman, Syrian Arab Republic), 29 C/DR.85 (DominicanRepublic; supported by Belize, Uruguay) and 29 C/DR.97 (Uzbekistan; supportedby Mongolia, Ukraine) relating to paragraph 03014: US $20,000, on theunderstanding that this allocation be used for strengthening activities relating totraditional music;

(h) 29 C/DR.70 (Croatia, Kuwait, Mozambique; supported by Austria, Belgium,Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Greece, Guyana, Hungary, Panama, Papua NewGuinea, Poland, Saint Lucia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,Uruguay, Uzbekistan) relating to paragraph 03028: US $10,000, on theunderstanding that the interregional scope of the proposal will be maintained;

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(i) 29 C/DR. 95 (Hungary, Austria, Poland, Sweden; supported by Slovakia) relatingto paragraph 03032: US $10,000;

(j) in view of 29 C/DR. 45 (Togo; supported by Angola, Barbados, Belgium, Benin,Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic ofthe Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Gabon, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea,Equatorial Guinea, Haiti, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Poland, Rwanda, Sao Tome andPrincipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda),29 C/DR.65 Rev. (Morocco; supported by Algeria, Lebanon, Mali, United ArabEmirates, Saudi Arabia, Spain) and 29 C/DR.134 (Venezuela; supported byDominican Republic), relating to paragraph 03028: US $30,000, in the light of theobservations made by the Director-General in document 29 C/8-COM.IV (end ofpara. 34) and on the understanding that this allocation be used for establishing aSouth-South network for the exchange of information and experience amongregional institutions in charge of training agents responsible for cultural activities;

(k) 29 C/DR.10 (Cuba; supported by Argentina, Dominican Republic, El Salvador)relating to paragraph 03031: US $10,000;

(l) 29 C/DR.19 (Nigeria) relating to paragraph 03031: US $10,000, on theunderstanding that this allocation be used for a feasibility study;

(m) 29 C/DR.102 (Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Senegal, Benin; supported by Burkina Faso,Burundi, China, Colombia, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Hungary, Mali,Monaco, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Republic of Korea,Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Thailand) relating to paragraph 03031: US $14,000.

12. The Commission recommends that the General Conference invite authors of thefollowing draft resolutions to submit a subregional/regional/interregional request under theParticipation Programme for 1998-1999, in accordance with the procedures governing thisProgramme:

(a) 29 C/DR.4 (Armenia; supported by Argentina, El Salvador, Greece, Georgia,Lithuania, Morocco), in the light of the observations made by the Director-Generalin document 29 C/8-COM.IV (end of para. 29);

(b) 29 C/DR.69 (Tunisia; supported by Bahrain, Egypt, Mali, Morocco, Oman, SyrianArab Republic), in the light of the observations made by the Director-General indocument 29 C/8-COM.IV (end of para. 29);

(c) 29 C/DR.85 (Dominican Republic; supported by Belize, Uruguay), in the light ofthe observations made by the Director-General in document 29 C/8-COM.IV (endof para. 29);

(d) 29 C/DR.97 (Uzbekistan; supported by Mongolia, Ukraine) relating toparagraphs 03014, 03030, in the light of the observations made by the Director-General in document 29 C/8-COM.IV (end of para. 29).

13. The Commission informs the General Conference that the following draft resolutionshave been withdrawn by their authors during the debate or not retained for approval:

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(a) 29 C/DR.33 (Bahrain, Algeria, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Yemen), on theunderstanding that the proposed new line of action could be discussed in preparingdocument 30 C/5;

(b) 29 C/DR.35 (Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine; supported by Belarus, Benin,Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Kuwait, Mexico, Monaco,Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Sweden, Saint Lucia, Zimbabwe), on theunderstanding that the proposed new line of action could be discussed in preparingdocument 30 C/5;

(c) 29 C/DR.148 (Armenia), on the understanding that financing could be envisagedunder the World heritage Fund, in compliance with the relevant procedure.

IV. Budget

14. The Commission recommends that the General Conference approve the budget provisionof US $41,393,000 (para. 03001) for Major Programme III in document 29 C/5, it beingunderstood that this amount is subject to adjustments in the light of the decision taken by theGeneral Conference on the provisional budget ceiling and on the distribution of the Reserve forDraft Resolutions, and by the joint meeting of the Administrative Commission and theprogramme commissions.

V. Programme

15. The Commission recommends that the General Conference approve paragraphs 03001 to03043 of the Draft Programme and Budget (29 C/5) and paragraphs 300 to 336 of theTechnical Annex, taking into account:

(a) draft resolutions approved by the Commission (cf. paras. 10 and 11 above);

(b) recommendations of the Executive Board on the Draft Programme and Budget for1998-1999 as approved by the Commission (paras. 38-46 of document 29 C/6);and

(c) the oral report of the Chairperson of the Commission.

VI. Reports submitted to the General Conference

16. The Commission recommends that the General Conference take note of the report by theIntergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritageon its activities (1996-1997) (29 C/REP.10 and Corr. and Add.), the report by the Inter-governmental Committee of the World Decade for Cultural Development (1996-1997)(29 C/REP.11), the report by the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return ofCultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation onits Activities (1996-1997) (29 C/REP.12) and the report of the Director-General on theactivities of the International Fund for the Promotion of Culture (1996-1997) (29 C/INF.5).

17. The Commission further recommends that the General Conference adopt the followingresolutions contained in two of the above reports, without amendment:

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(a) in Annex I, document 29 C/REP.10 Add. - Report by the IntergovernmentalCommittee for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage on itsactivities (1996-1997),


1. Noting that the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Culturaland Natural Heritage has recognized that the cultural and natural heritage ‘areincreasingly threatened with destruction, not only by traditional causes of decay,but also by changing social and economic conditions which aggravate the situationwith even more formidable phenomena of damage or destruction’,

2. Considering the 25 years of experience in the implementation of the Convention,

3. Reaffirms that ‘deterioration or disappearance of any item of the cultural or naturalheritage constitutes a harmful impoverishment of the heritage of all the nations ofthe world’;

4. While reaffirming the sovereign right of the State Party concerned over the WorldHeritage sites situated on its territory, considers that a well-reflected andformulated common policy for the protection of cultural and natural heritage islikely to create a continuing interaction between States Parties,

5. Emphasizes the interest of each State Party to be informed of the experience ofothers with regard to conservation methods and the possibilities so offered,through voluntary international co-operation, for the general improvement of allactions undertaken;

6. Reaffirms the standard-setting role of the General Assembly as well as of theWorld Heritage Committee;

7. Concludes that monitoring is the responsibility of the State Party concerned andthat the commitment to provide periodic reports on the state of the site isconsistent with the principles set out in the Convention in:

(i) the first, second, sixth, seventh and eighth preambular clauses;(ii) Article 4;(iii) Articles 6.1 and 6.2;(iv) Article 7;(v) Article 10;(vi) Article 11;(vii) Article 13;(viii) Article 15;(ix) Article 21.3;(x) Article 29;

8. Emphasizes that monitoring by the State Party is part of the site managementwhich remains the responsibility of the States Parties where the site is located, andthat periodic reports may be submitted in accordance with Article 29 of theConvention;

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9. Recalls that Article 4 of the Convention provides that ‘Each State Party ....recognizes that the duty of ensuring the identification, protection, conservation,presentation and transmission to future generations of the cultural and naturalheritage ... situated on its territory, belongs primarily to that State’;

10. Recalls that Article 6 lays down the concept of world heritage ‘for whoseprotection it is the duty of the international community as a whole to co-operate’,and that Article 7 requires the establishment of a ‘system of international co-operation’ and assistance ‘designed to support States Parties’ efforts to identifyand conserve that heritage;

11. Emphasizes that periodic reporting should be part of a consultative process and nottreated as a sanction or a coercive mechanism;

12. Notes that within the broad responsibility of the World Heritage Committee instandards setting, the form, nature and extent of the periodic reporting mustrespect the principles of State sovereignty and that the involvement of theCommittee, through its Secretariat and/or advisory bodies, in the preparation of theperiodic reports would be with the agreement of the State Party concerned;

13. Further notes that the States Parties may request expert advice from the Secretariatand/or the advisory bodies and that the Secretariat may also commission expertadvice with the agreement of the States Parties;

14. Invites the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention to submit inaccordance with Article 29 of the Convention, through the World HeritageCommittee, via its secretariat the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, reports on thelegislative and administrative provisions and other actions which they have takenfor the application of the Convention, including the state of conservation of theWorld Heritage properties located on its territories;

15. Requests the World Heritage Committee to define the periodicity, form, nature andextent of the periodic reporting on the application of the World HeritageConvention and on the state of conservation of World Heritage properties and toexamine and respond to these reports while respecting the principle of Statesovereignty;

16. Requests the World Heritage Committee to include in its reports to the GeneralConference, presented in accordance with Article 29.3 of the Convention, itsfindings as regard to the application of the Convention by the States Parties;

17. Encourages States Parties to take advantage of shared information and experienceon World Heritage matters and to contribute to the conservation of WorldHeritage properties, including through voluntary contributions to the WorldHeritage Fund;

18. Invites other states to become States Parties to the Convention.

(b) in paragraph 41 of document 29 C/REP.11 - Report by the IntergovernmentalCommittee of the World Decade for Cultural Development on its activities (1996-1997),

29 C/83 - page 14(29 C/COM.IV/2)


1. Recalling Recommendation No. 27 of the World Conference on Cultural Policies(Mexico City, 1982), 23 C/Resolution 11.10 on the World Decade for CulturalDevelopment, and resolution 41/187 in which the United Nations GeneralAssembly (New York, 1986) proclaimed the World Decade for CulturalDevelopment for the period 1988-1997, and placed it under the auspices of theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,

2. Welcoming the evaluation carried out by the Intergovernmental Committee of theWorld Decade for Cultural Development at its fifth regular session (21-25 April1997) and its very positive assessment of the activities implemented within theframework of the Decade,

3. Taking note of the recommendations made by the Intergovernmental Committee atits fifth and final session (April 1997),

4. Expresses its satisfaction at the active participation of Member States, through theintermediary of the National Committees for the Decade in particular, theorganizations of the United Nations system, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and individuals in the implementation of projectsaiming at the promotion of the objectives of the Decade;

5. Takes note of the results obtained concerning the sensitization of public andprivate institutions and of a wide sector of the public throughout the worldtowards the need for better integration of the cultural dimension in thedevelopment process;

6. Notes with satisfaction that the Draft Programme and Budget for 1998-1999 hastaken account of the lessons and experience gained and the momentum generatedthrough the Decade, and enables the achievements of the Decade to be preservedthrough, in particular, the follow-up to the implementation of certain majorprojects and activities on themes linking culture and development and through thefollow-up to the report Our Creative Diversity;

7. Invites Member States, the organizations of the United Nations system, IGOs andNGOs, civil society and individuals to further their efforts aiming at promotion ofgenuine implementation of the objectives of the Decade, particularly by adopting acultural approach in the process of the elaboration and implementation ofdevelopment strategies, programmes and projects in order to assure the conditionsfor sustainable human development which fully respects diversity;

8. Invites the Director-General to take the necessary measures to submit a proposalto the United Nations General Assembly to include the cultural dimension ofdevelopment in the elaboration of the International Strategy for the next UnitedNations Development Decade.

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Item 6.3 Report by the Director-General on action taken concerning the advisabilityof preparing an international instrument for the protection of the underwatercultural heritage

18. The Commission recommends that the General Conference adopt the followingresolution contained in paragraph 9 of document 29 C/22 - Report by the Director-General onaction taken concerning the advisability of preparing an international instrument for theprotection of the underwater cultural heritage, without amendment:


Having examined the report by the Director-General on the action taken concerning thedesirability of preparing an international instrument for the protection of the underwatercultural heritage (29 C/22), including the report of the meeting of experts for theprotection of the underwater cultural heritage held at Headquarters from 22 to 24 May1996 (29 C/22, Annex I), and the comments of Member States (Annex II),

Having in mind resolution 3.13 adopted by the General Conference at its twenty-eighthsession inviting the Director-General to report back to the twenty-ninth session in orderto enable it at that session to determine whether it is desirable for the matter to be dealtwith on an international basis and also which method should be adopted for this purpose,

Noting that the Secretariat has undertaken close consultation on this matter with theDivision of the United Nations in charge of the United Nations Convention on the Lawof the Sea and with the International Maritime Organization,

Thanks the Director-General for his report;

Decides that the protection of the underwater cultural heritage should be regulated at theinternational level and that the method adopted should be an international convention;


(a) to prepare a first draft convention concerning the protection of the underwatercultural heritage;

(b) to circulate this first draft to Member States for comments and observations;

(c) to convene a small group of governmental experts representing all regions togetherwith representatives of the competent international organizations in order toconsider this draft convention for submission to the General Conference at itsthirtieth session;

Urges Member States to take immediate measures within their jurisdiction and throughinternational co-operation, to ensure that damage to underwater cultural heritage islimited until such time as a convention is adopted.

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DEBATE 2

Item 12.2 Universal Forum of Cultures - Barcelona 2004

19. At its fifth meeting, the Commission examined item 12.2 - Universal Forum on Cultures -Barcelona 2004, covered in document 29 C/58.

20. The representatives of 22 Member States took the floor.

21. The Commission unanimously decided to recommend that the General Conference adopt29 C/COM.IV/DR.1 (Spain, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bulgaria,Chile, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Finland, France, Gabon,Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lithuania, Luxembourg,Morocco, Nepal, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Senegal, SouthAfrica, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine; supported by Algeria, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba,Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Kenya, Lebanon,Madagascar, Mexico, Togo, Tunisia, Rwanda, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Slovakia, Uruguay) asamended during the debate, with regard to paragraphs 3 and 9, by its author, Spain, and withregard to paragraph 9 by Japan:


1. Having taken cognizance of document 29 C/58, submitted by Spain, concerningthe plans made by the city of Barcelona to prepare the Universal Forum of Cultures- Barcelona 2004,

2. Considering with great satisfaction that the objectives of the Forum are closelylinked to those contained in UNESCO’s programmes, particularly with regard tothe culture of peace and intercultural dialogue,

3. Believing that the Forum can make a considerable contribution to the achievementof UNESCO’s objectives and to the implementation of the recommendationscontained in the report of the World Commission on Culture and Development,through the values and ideals it seeks to promote, the impact it is likely to have andthe innovative methods it will employ,

4. Noting that the organizers of the Forum are proposing that UNESCO should betheir main partner and convinced that co-operation of this kind would beparticularly fruitful for the attainment of common goals,

5. Noting in this respect that the costs of the Forum will be fully covered by theorganizers of the Forum and that this co-operation would therefore have nobudgetary implications for UNESCO,

6. Considering that UNESCO could play a particularly effective part, in theframework of the objectives set forth in the Medium-Term Strategy 1996-2001 andin the Programme and Budget for 1998-1999, both in formulating the approachesand major themes that could guide the implementation of the Forum and inmobilizing partners and networks of various kinds to ensure the Forum’s impactand influence,

29 C/83 - page 17(29 C/COM.IV/2)

7. Decides that UNESCO, in accordance with the proposal by the organizers of theForum, should be the main partner of the Forum throughout the various phases ofthe project;

8. Invites the Director-General, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 6, toinitiate the preparatory activities falling within UNESCO’s competence, on theunderstanding that these activities do not imply any additional costs as indicated inparagraph 5;

9. Also invites the Director-General, in co-operation with the organizers of the Forumand ensuring full compliance with the 1928 Convention of the InternationalExhibitions Bureau, to prepare a draft framework agreement on the modalities ofUNESCO’s association with the Forum, together with a plan of action, forsubmission to the Executive Board at one of its forthcoming sessions;

10. Further invites the Director-General to report to the General Conference at itsthirtieth session on the implementation of this resolution.

DEBATE 3

Item 4.18 UNESCO contribution to the ‘Cultural Olympiad 2000-2004’

22. At its fifth meeting, the Commission also examined item 4.18 - UNESCO contribution tothe Cultural Olympiad 2000-2004, covered in 29 C/COM.IV/DR.2.

23. The representatives of 11 Member States took the floor.

24. The Commission decided to recommend that the General Conference adopt theresolution in 29 C/COM.IV/DR.2 (Greece; supported by Argentina, Australia, Brazil,Colombia, Cyprus, Egypt, Georgia, Honduras, Italy, Jamaica, Lithuania, Panama, Paraguay,Russian Federation, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine,Uruguay, Zimbabwe) without amendment:


1. Fully conscious of the objectives of the United Nations in respect of peace andsocial development, as they have been reaffirmed at the end of this century,

2. Considering that the essential mandate of UNESCO, the prime forum for the moraland intellectual solidarity of humanity, is ‘to contribute to peace and security bypromoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture,in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for thehuman rights and fundamental freedoms’ of all,

3. Recognizing the fundamental importance of culture as an instrument of knowledgeand mutual understanding of the peoples of the whole world in their ‘creativediversity’, as clearly highlighted by the report of the Commission chaired by JavierPérez de Cuéllar,

4. Stressing the resolute commitment of UNESCO in the construction of a culture ofpeace,

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5. Taking note of the convergence towards one and the same ideal of projects like the‘Universal Forum of Cultures - Barcelona 2004’ (29 C/COM.IV/DR.1),

6. Recalling that Greece, in its candidacy for the Olympic Games which it will behosting in the year 2004, committed itself to organizing the Cultural Olympiad,

7. Noting that the budget for the Cultural Olympiad will be fully borne by itsorganizers and that this operation will therefore not entail any direct or indirectexpenditure for UNESCO,

8. Considers that, in conformity with the objectives of UNESCO and the Olympicideal by virtue of the values it seeks to promote, the project for the CulturalOlympiad comes in the front rank of activities concerning the culture of peace andthe dialogue of cultures;

9. Decides that, in accordance with the wishes of the organizers, UNESCO will be apre-eminent partner in the project, which will be carried out from the year 2000 to2004;

10. Invites the Director-General to decide with the organizers on the forms that thisco-operation will take and in particular to draw up a Memorandum ofUnderstanding that will be submitted to the Executive Board at one of itsforthcoming sessions.

DEBATE 4

Item 4.2 Jerusalem and the implementation of 28 C/Resolution 3.14

25. At its fifth meeting, the Commission also examined item 4.2 - Jerusalem and theimplementation of 28 C/Resolution 3.14, covered in 29 C/14 and Add.

26. The Commission decided to recommend that the General Conference adopt theresolutions proposed by the Executive Board in document 29 C/14 Add., without amendment:

A


Having learned of the sudden death of the Director-General’s personal representative forJerusalem, Professor Raymond Lemaire,

1. Expresses its deep sadness and heartfelt sympathy, extending its most sincerecondolences to his wife and family;

2. Pays shocked tribute to the memory of a man who, over the past 26 years, devotedso much effort to the preservation of the Old City of Jerusalem.

29 C/83 - page 19(29 C/COM.IV/2)

B


Recalling the Hague Convention and Protocol of 1954 for the Protection of CulturalProperty in the Event of Armed Conflict, the relevant provisions of the Fourth GenevaConvention of 1949 and its Additional Protocols, the Convention for the Protection ofthe World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972) and the inclusion of the Old City ofJerusalem on the World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in danger,

Recalling that, in regard to the status of Jerusalem, UNESCO abides by United NationsSecurity Council and General Assembly decisions and resolutions and in particularby decisions 242, 252, 267, 271, 298 and 478 of the Security Council and byresolutions 2253 and 2254 of the United Nations General Assembly,

Concerned at the difficulties facing the peace process in the Middle East and thedeterioration of the situation, and in particular at the control measures that hamper freeaccess by Palestinians to East Jerusalem and the Holy Places of the Old City ofJerusalem, and at the constraints faced in educational programmes envisaged,

Having considered the Director-General’s report on this subject,

1. Recalls and reaffirms UNESCO’s previous decisions and resolutions on thesafeguarding of the cultural heritage of East Jerusalem, and requests that nomeasure and no action likely to modify the religious, cultural, historic anddemographic character of the city and the overall balance of the site be taken;

2. Welcomes the restoration work undertaken by the Waqf under UNESCO’ssupervision on Hammam al-Shifa and Hammam al-Ain, the project for thepreservation and restoration of the manuscripts of the Al Aqsa Museum andLibrary, and the project to publish the catalogue of the Al Aqsa manuscripts;

3. Expresses its satisfaction at the co-operation contemplated between UNESCO, theJerusalem-Waqf and the Welfare Association (Centre for Development andConsultancy) with a view to the restoration of historic buildings in the Old City,and the training programme for heritage specialists;

4. Thanks the Member States (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Sultanate of Oman, Qatar,Pakistan, Indonesia, Cyprus, Malta and Sao Tome and Principe) which havecontributed to the safeguarding of the cultural property of the Old City ofJerusalem, and renews its appeal for this type of contribution to be increased;

5. Thanks the Director-General for all the efforts he has made and is continuing tomake to ensure the implementation of UNESCO decisions and resolutionsconcerning Jerusalem;

6. Invites the Director-General to undertake, following the studies already carried outand in co-operation with the Jerusalem-Waqf, restoration work on the Dome of theRock;

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7. Invites the Director-General to initiate studies with a view to promoting therestoration and preservation of the historic and religious sites of all the religiouscommunities in the Old City of Jerusalem;

8. Decides to place this question on the agenda of its thirtieth session.


29 C/83(29 C/COM.IV/2)9 November 1997Original: English/French

DRAFT REPORT OF COMMISSION IV

PART II

(i)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

INTRODUCTION

DEBATE 1

Item 3.3 - Consideration and adoption of the Draft Programme and Budget for1998-1999: Major Programme III - Cultural development: the heritage andcreativity


DEBATE 2


DEBATE 3


DEBATE 4


PART II

DEBATE 5

Item 3.3 - Consideration and adoption of the Draft Programme and Budget for1998-1999: Major Programme IV - Communication, information andinformatics




DEBATE 6


29 C/83(29 C/COM.IV/2)

PART II

1. Commission IV discussed the following items from its seventh to twelfth meetings fromWednesday, 5 November 1997, to Saturday, 8 November 1997:

DEBATE 5

Item 3.3 - Major Programme IV - Communication, information and informatics




DEBATE 6


2. The Commission adopted its report (Parts I and II) at its thirteenth session, on11 November 1997.

DEBATE 5

3. From its seventh to eleventh meetings, the Commission examined item 3.3 ‘MajorProgramme IV - Communication, Information and Informatics, Programme IV.1 - Free flow ofinformation and Programme IV.2 - Capacity-building in communication, information andinformatics; item 4.4 - Implementation of 150 EX/Decision 3.1, Part III, concerning the Sana’aDeclaration; item 4.17 - Implementation of 152 EX/Decision 3.1, Part I, concerning the SofiaDeclaration; and item 6.4 - Preliminary report by the Director-General on the feasibility of aninternational instrument on the establishment of a legal framework relating to cyberspace andof a recommendation on the preservation of a balanced use of languages in cyberspace.

4. Representatives of 79 Member States took the floor, as did the representative of oneintergovernmental organization and the representatives of nine non-governmentalorganizations.

Item 3.3 - Major Programme IV - Communication, information and informatics

I. Draft resolutions which may be adopted in extenso by the General Conference

5. The Commission recommends that the General Conference adopt the draft resolutionslisted below for the Records of the General Conference, Volume 1 (Resolutions):

29 C/83 - page 2(29 C/COM.IV/2)

(a) 29 C/DR.68 (Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal, Togo; supported byDominican Republic, Greece, Haiti, Ireland, Netherlands, Peru, Philippines,Tunisia) without amendment:


Considering that it is urgent, for the sake of peace and sustainable development forall, to respond to the challenge of extreme poverty to which millions of humanbeings are condemned,

Bearing in mind resolution A/50/107 of the United Nations General Assembly, inwhich it proclaimed the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty(1997-2006),

Recalling 28 C/Resolution 3.2 on the World Decade for Cultural Development andin particular paragraphs 3(a) and 4(c) relating to families and population groups insituations of extreme poverty and social exclusion,

Taking into consideration resolution 1997/11 on ‘Human rights and extremepoverty’, adopted on 3 April 1997 by the United Nations Commission on HumanRights, in which it invited the bodies and Specialized Agencies of the UnitedNations to ‘take account of the contradictions between the existence of situationsof extreme poverty and exclusion from society, which must be overcome, and theduty to guarantee full enjoyment of human rights’,

Considering the important role played by culture, education, information andcommunication and by the various social sciences in action to combat extremepoverty,

Recalling the recommendation adopted by the Intergovernmental Committee of theWorld Decade for Cultural Development at its session in April 1997 on the cultureand development theme in UNESCO’s programme,

Noting with interest the attention given to this matter in many of the activitiesproposed under the Organization’s programme for 1998-1999,

Wishing nevertheless that the matter be accorded high priority and presented in acoherent fashion,

Urges the Member States of UNESCO, governmental and non-governmentalorganizations and international, national and private institutions:

1. to ensure that the United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty is asuccess and satisfies the aspirations of all those throughout the world whoare victims of poverty and exclusion;

2. to ensure in particular that cultural development (culture, education andcommunication) is accorded a prominent position in the activities of theDecade;

29 C/83 - page 3(29 C/COM.IV/2)


1. to increase in all UNESCO’s programmes recognition and awareness of thecultural dimension of development as a necessary condition for reachingfamilies and population groups in situations of extreme poverty, in an effortto meet the goals of the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Developmentand of the United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty;

2. to mobilize all sectors of the Organization, requesting them in the executionof the four major programmes, transdisciplinary projects and transverseactivities to accord high priority to the issue of extreme poverty, ensuring inparticular that the population groups in situations of extreme poverty andsocial exclusion are effectively reached.

(b) 29 C/DR.120 (Uruguay, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, Mexico; supported byBelarus, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Comoros, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Gabon,Haiti, Panama, Paraguay, Russian Federation, Switzerland, Ukraine, Venezuela) asamended by Uruguay and Canada:


Recalling Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which providesthat ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this rightincludes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive andimpart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers’,

Confirming that freedom of expression is a fundamental right of everyone and isessential to the realization of all the rights set forth in international human rightsinstruments,

Also recalling the American Convention on Human Rights (Pact of San José, CostaRica), the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, FundamentalFreedoms and the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights, and theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

Bearing in mind resolution 59(1) of the of United Nations General Assembly of14 December 1946 in which it is stated that freedom of information is afundamental human right, and General Assembly resolution 45/76A of11 December 1990 on information in the service of humanity, and the Commissionon Human Rights Resolution 1997/27, on the right to freedom of opinion andexpression,

Reaffirming that the rights to life and to personal freedom and integrity, the right toliberty and the security of persons, and freedom of expression are fundamentalhuman rights that are recognized and guaranteed by international conventions andinstruments,

Considering:

1. that over the past ten years an increasing number of journalists have beenassassinated for exercising their profession, a development denounced by

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various international organizations, and that the majority of these crimes stillgo unpunished,

2. that this reality in the Americas, for example, has been corroborated by theInter-American Press Association (IAPA) through investigations conductedin various countries and by special missions,

Mindful that, as a consequence of the Hemisphere Conference on ‘UnpunishedCrimes against Journalists’ convened by IAPA, several professional organizationshave decided to engage in specific joint action to shed light on unpunished crimesagainst journalists,

Conscious that the assassination of journalists goes beyond the fact of deprivingpeople of their lives, in that it involves a curtailment of freedom of expression, withall that this implies as a limitation on the freedoms and rights of society as a whole,

Invites the Director-General to:

(a) condemn assassination and any physical violence against journalists as acrime against society, since this curtails freedom of expression and, as aconsequence, the other rights and freedoms set forth in international humanrights instruments;

(b) request the authorities to discharge their duty of preventing, investigatingand punishing such crimes and remedying their consequences;

Calls upon Member States to take the necessary measures to implement thefollowing recommendations:

(a) that governments adopt the principle that there should be no statute oflimitations for crimes against persons when these are perpetrated to preventthe exercise of freedom of information and expression or when their purposeis the obstruction of justice;

(b) that governments refine legislation to make it possible to prosecute andsentence those who instigate the assassination of persons exercising the rightto freedom of expression;

(c) that legal provision be made for the persons responsible for offences againstjournalists exercising their professional duties and the media to be judgedbefore civil and/or ordinary courts.

(c) 29 C/DR.127 (Italy; supported by Monaco, Tunisia) without amendment:


Considering that one of the principal roles of information, particularly aschannelled through modern electronic media, is to serve educational, scientific andcultural objectives of humanity and to share knowledge, particularly among youngpeople, often the major part of the electronic audience,

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Bearing in mind the increasing amount of violent material made available on theelectronic media and on international networks such as the Internet and the easyaccess to these materials even by the very young,

Conscious of the absolute need to safeguard freedom of expression, as articulatedin Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and bearing in mind thevarious international instruments in support of Article 19 and of the protection ofthe young,

Requests the Member States to contribute to work carried out by the UNESCOclearing house on children and violence on the screen, established at the Universityof Gothenburg and to encourage the enlargement of its activities in co-operationwith other universities, research centres and media organizations in pursuance ofits objectives;

Invites professional associations of journalists and media to draw up, where theydo not yet exist, professional guidelines to reduce violence in the electronic mediaand in international networks such as the Internet, with the particular objective ofprotecting the very young, and to respect these guidelines through self-disciplineand self-regulation.

(d) 29 C/DR.23 Rev. (Egypt) without amendment:


Taking into consideration the importance of the Convention for the Protection ofthe World Cultural and Natural Heritage in the broadest sense including materialand intangible cultural heritage in all its forms,

Taking into account the strategies proposed by UNESCO in its Medium-TermStrategy (1996-2001) in order to confront the problems and challenges of thetwenty-first century and success or failure of development strategies,

Referring to the world appeal launched by UNESCO in October 1987 for theproject for the revival of the Ancient Library of Alexandria,

Taking into consideration the efforts of the Arab Republic of Egypt for the projectimplementation and the completion of the Foundation of Alexandria LibraryProject with total costs (US $55 million), the second phase started by establishingthe premises by estimating total costs of (US $117.50 million),

Urges Member States and the International Community to continue to provide aidfor the completion and implementation of the project for the revival of the AncientLibrary of Alexandria in accordance with that appeal.

(e) 29 C/DR.79 (Italy; supported by Israel) without amendment:


Taking into account the former resolutions regarding the restoration of the Libraryof Sarajevo,

29 C/83 - page 6(29 C/COM.IV/2)

Considering the importance of such a library as a symbol of culture, freedom,coexistence and co-operation among people having different traditions andreligions,

Evaluating in a positive way the reconstruction already started of such a monumentof culture,

Asks the international community and the single states to continue and improve allinitiatives aimed to the reconstruction and the whole rehabilitation of the library;

Proposes that the library will be declared ‘Monument of Inter-Ethnical Peace in theWorld’ (or World Monument of Inter-Ethnical Peace).

(f) 29 C/DR.34 (Canada, Germany, Morocco; supported by Belarus, Bolivia,Colombia, Costa Rica, Finland, Mali, Netherlands, Tunisia) without amendment:


Recalling that preservation of and access to the cultural heritage is one ofUNESCO’s major concerns,

Considering that, with respect to preservation of the tangible cultural heritage,UNESCO has initiated several international conventions and recommendations,including the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and NaturalHeritage, and initiated or participated in several programmes such as the ‘Memoryof the World’ and the ‘Blue Shield’ initiative,

Considering that many of the world’s cultural, educational and scientific resourcesin written form on paper are endangered because the acidic paper which have beenin common use for the last 150 years deteriorate in a matter of decades,

Considering that permanent paper with a life of hundreds of years is increasinglyavailable at comparable prices,

Considering that major and costly efforts are required to salvage the mostimportant existing publications and documents, and that these efforts could beavoided by the use of permanent paper,

Considering that the International Federation of Library Associations andInstitutions (IFLA), in resolutions adopted by its Council in 1989 and 1991,recommends that UNESCO and other United Nations agencies use permanentpaper in their publications and documents and that UNESCO survey the use ofsuch paper in its Member States,

Considering that the International Council of Archives at its twelfth InternationalCongress held in Montreal in 1992 recommended that its members encourage theirgovernments to adopt policies promoting the use of permanent paper,

Considering that this was discussed by the PGI Intergovernmental Council and itsBureau in 1993 and 1994,

29 C/83 - page 7(29 C/COM.IV/2)

Considering that in 1989 the International Publishers Association (IPA)recommended the use of permanent paper by publishers in its affiliated nationalpublishing associations,

Considering that the International Organization for Standardization through itsTechnical Committee 46 (Information and Documentation) has adoptedInternational Standard ISO 9706:1994 (Information and documentation - Paperfor documents - Requirements for permanence),

Considering that, in a number of countries, laws or regulations have been adoptedrequiring the use of permanent paper in some or all official publications anddocuments,

Commends the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions,the International Council of Archives, the International Publishers Association andthe International Organization for Standardization for their efforts to promote theuse of permanent paper;

Recommends that the Member States of UNESCO, by legislation, regulation,encouragement and example, promote the use and identification of permanentpaper in their respective territories for publications and documents to be retainedfor historical or information purposes; and

Invites the Director-General of UNESCO to ensure that UNESCO documents andpublications are printed on permanent paper and carry a statement or logo to thateffect; and arrange for the collection of data through the UNESCO statisticalsurveys on the extent to which permanent paper is being used worldwide.

(g) 29 C/DR.54 Rev.2 (New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, SolomonIslands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu) without amendment:


Recalling United Nations General Assembly resolution 45/202 adopted in 1991,which identified the need for ‘specific measures in favour of island developingcountries’,

Recalling also Agenda 21 and the First Principle of the Rio Declaration in 1992,that ‘human beings are the centre of concern of sustainable development’,

Recalling that the Programme of Action adopted by the forty-ninth session of theUnited Nations General Assembly arising out of the Global Conference on theSustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, held in Barbados, in1994,

Recalling 27 C/Resolution 13.1.1 calling for ‘co-operation with small MemberStates’,

Recognizing the commitment in paragraph 216 of the Medium-Term Strategy(1996-2001) to devising and applying specific strategies to meet the special and

29 C/83 - page 8(29 C/COM.IV/2)

urgent needs of certain groups of countries with common characteristics such as,inter alia, small island states,

Taking into account the recommendations of the eleventh Regional Conference ofUNESCO National Commissions in Asia and the Pacific, held in the Maldives from30 June to 4 July 1996, calling on the Director-General to acknowledge the specialneeds of small island states and inviting him to enhance the resources and role ofUNESCO’s unit for small states,

Bearing in mind that 151 EX/Decision 6.3 invited the Director-General to takeappropriate measures to reinforce the human, financial and technical resources inall the offices in the Asia and the Pacific region, and further invited him to ensurethat the overall level of funding in the region is further strengthened in view of thecomplexity and diversity of the region,

Recognizing the growth in UNESCO membership in the Pacific from five to14 Member States since the UNESCO Office for the Pacific States was opened inApia in 1984, and that four of these Member States (Samoa, Vanuatu, Kiribati andTuvalu) are LDCs, identified as a priority group under the Medium-Term Strategy,

Considering that the Pacific Ocean covers one third of the globe and that, while itconstitutes a rich source of life for the island states within it, its vast extent meansever-present problems of isolation such as transport and communication bothwithin the Pacific and between the island states and the outside world,

Conscious that small island states of the Pacific share a number of specificcharacteristics, among them:

rich cultural and linguistic heritage,

some of the world’s highest rates of illiteracy,

a shortage of skilled human resources,

vulnerability to the effects of global warming and to natural disasters, such ascyclones and volcanic eruptions,

increasing urban migration with accompanying social problems,

significant alienation of its youth,

limited infrastructural development in key areas such as broadcasting andtelecommunications,

increasingly negative impact on traditional values of external values throughthe culture of the screen,

Recognizing that the issue for the small island states of the Pacific is their very highdegree of vulnerability and low threshold of susceptibility to changes and risks -social, economic, environmental, natural and man-made hazards, globalization -due to their isolation, smallness, openness, fragile environment, internallygeographically scattered, high population growth with rather limited resources,

29 C/83 - page 9(29 C/COM.IV/2)

Acknowledging that Focus on the Pacific, the beginning of consultative meetingson the needs of small states - to be followed by Focus on the Caribbean - is acontinuation of the UNESCO process of consultation (for example, the nine mostpopulous Member States, Audience Africa and others), which has been fullyendorsed by previous conferences,

Noting with deep appreciation the solidarity of the Asia/Pacific region MemberStates in the interest of one and all, on national, subregional and regional levels; thegenerous expression of support by Member States in the Executive Board and thetwenty-ninth session of the General Conference,

Acknowledging UNESCO’s previous contribution to the development of thePacific in the fields of education, science, culture and communication and therecent positive assessments of the effectiveness of the UNESCO Office of thePacific states in Apia,

Welcoming the allocations already contained in draft document 29 C/5 for thePacific, in particular for continuation of the Vaka Moana programme, developmentof communication, the special project on ‘Youth leadership for a culture of peacein the Pacific’, and participation in activities under the project on environment anddevelopment in coastal regions and in small islands,

Recognizing however that there continues to be areas of urgent need in the Pacificwithin UNESCO’s spheres of competence not yet adequately addressed by theOrganization, which require urgent attention in documents 29 C/5 and 30 C/5including:

Education for development: enhancing quality living

education for functional literacy

educational reform for quality lifelong education for all from primaryeducation to higher education, but especially secondary education

development of science education and of vocational and technical education

education and training of women and youth

delivery of education and training through distance education alternativemodes

Associated Schools Project

culture of maintenance

Environment and development: sharing with the Pacific of tomorrow

scientific (both natural and social science) research on environmental issues,ocean resources and management, renewable and alternative energy sourcesand small island and coastal areas management

sustainable development

29 C/83 - page 10(29 C/COM.IV/2)

hydrology and water resources and management

culture of prevention in terms of natural and man-made hazards and disasters

environment science education

development of scientific and technological capacities and capabilities

Culture and development: our heritage and legacy for the future

preservation and maintenance of the Pacific endangered historical, cultural,linguistic and natural heritage

development of World Cultural Heritage programme and continuation of theVaka Moana project

cultural identity, social transformation and globalization

research and development of the pre-history and history of the Pacific

culture of peace

youth volunteers in heritage programmes

Social transformation and human development

develop people, the Pacific’s most precious resource

development of youth and sports programmes and databases

build a network for social research and action

capacity-building including training in social science methodology

urban migration and urban planning

population change, family structures and migration flows

poverty reduction including micro-credit programmes

coping with globalization

Communication and information for development: participation and freedom ofchoice

access to due communication and information technologies which have thepotential, through capacity-building, to reduce isolation and facilitate thetransfer of knowledge and promote regional co-operation in and across allareas of UNESCO’s mandate

continuation of the education and training for the development of indigenousmedia

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development of libraries and archives through communication andinformation technologies

development of youth and sports databases at the University of the SouthPacific

utilizing modern communications and information technologies for theprovision of education and training,

Requests the Director-General:

1. to incorporate into document 29 C/5 action to address these areas of urgentneed including inter alia:

(i) restoration of the funding allocation to UNESCO Apia under MajorProgramme I to at least the level of funding under document 28 C/5Approved;

(ii) the decentralization of funds to UNESCO Apia under Programme IV.2to enable it to undertake activities relating to the development ofinformation services (para. 04038); upgrading of archival services(para. 04040); and expanding access to global information flows andtraining of computer specialists, trainers and users (para. 04047);

(iii) increase decentralization of the programme of the education institutes;

(iv) increase decentralization of activities under the transdisciplinary project‘Educating for sustainable development’;

2. to continue in document 30 C/5 to address these urgent needs of the Pacificin accordance with the outcome of the Focus on the Pacific process, byundertaking the activities identified in the Plan of Action.

The General Conference further,

1. Expresses its appreciation to the Director-General for initiating the Focus onthe Pacific process in 1997;

2. Notes that the Pacific Member States of UNESCO, meeting at Nuku’alofa,Tonga, from 18 to 22 August 1997, welcomed the opportunity to participatein the seminar Focus on the Pacific;

3. Invites the Director-General to take measures:

(i) to establish a Pacific-UNESCO Joint Committee, and in fullconsultation and co-operation with Pacific Member States and theirNational Commissions, develop a Plan of Action for a sustainablefuture for the small island states of the Pacific in the areas of itsmandate along the lines of Focus on the Pacific held on 1 November1997 in Headquarters;

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(ii) to mobilize resources, where possible, for the implementation of thePlan of Action and to ensure that UNESCO, as the lead agency,implements the Plan of Action, in co-operation with the Pacificdevelopment partners;

(iii) to ensure that the UNESCO Office for the Pacific states plays a centralrole in the formulation and implementation of the Plan of Actionsupported by the Division of National Commissions and the Unit forRelations with Small Member States and assisted where appropriate bythe Asia-Pacific Regional Offices;

(iv) to strengthen the human resources of the UNESCO Office for thePacific states in Apia and the Unit for Relations with Small MemberStates, to a level commensurate with effective implementation of thePlan of Action;

(v) to strengthen existing Pacific National Commissions in terms oftraining and equipment, and assist in the establishment of NationalCommissions where these do not exist to enable to play their key rolein the implementation of the Plan of Action;

(vi) to encourage and ensure greater utilization of the ParticipationProgramme for and by Pacific Member States as a means of increasingtheir participation in UNESCO activities and to grant requests fromPacific Member States along the lines agreed to in the Focus on thePacific meeting;

(vii) to report on progress in the implementation of the Plan of Action tothe Executive Board at its 154th and 155th sessions and to the thirtiethsession of the General Conference.

II. Draft resolutions aimed at modifying proposed resolution 4.1 contained indocument 29 C/5

6. The Commission recommended that the General Conference approve proposedresolution 4.1 concerning Major Programme IV, as amended by:

(a) 29 C/DR.93 (Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Portugal; supported byAustralia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, France, Guyana, Kenya,Namibia, Panama, Spain, Tonga, Tunisia, Yemen, Zimbabwe) with respect toparagraphs 2.A.(c) and (d);

(b) 29 C/DR.60 (France, Finland, Luxembourg, Monaco, Russian Federation, Spain,Sweden; supported by Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, Comoros, Côted’Ivoire, Czech Republic, Egypt, Gabon, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, India, LaoPeople’s Democratic Republic, Lithuania, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Nicaragua,Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Togo, Tunisia,United Arab Emirates) with respect to paragraph 2.A.(c);

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(c) 29 C/DR.146 (Netherlands, Luxembourg; supported by Czech Republic,Indonesia, Namibia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia) with respect paragraphs 2.A.(e) and2.C.(g);

(d) 29 C/DR.38 (Germany, Austria, Croatia, Israel, Kuwait, Morocco, Philippines,Poland, Romania, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Zimbabwe; supported by Belgium,Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Netherlands, Oman) with respect to paragraphs 2.B.(a),2.C.(e), 2.C.(f) with some reservations (Austria, France, Canada) and 2.C.(h);

(e) 29 C/DR.90 (France, Luxembourg, Russian Federation; supported by Azerbaijan,Brazil, Colombia, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic,Greece, Egypt, Honduras, Hungary, India, Japan, Lao People’s DemocraticRepublic, Lithuania, Mali, Monaco, Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, Panama,Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates) with respect toparagraph 2.C.(h).


1. Authorizes the Director-General to implement this major programme inaccordance with the main lines of emphasis set out in document 29 C/5;

2. Invites the Director-General, in particular:

A. Under Programme IV.1, ‘Free flow of information’, the purpose ofwhich is to encourage the free flow of ideas by word and image and awider and better balanced dissemination of all forms of informationcontributing to the advancement of societies, without any obstacle tofreedom of expression, both through the traditional media and throughthe new electronic media,

(a) to promote freedom of expression and freedom of the press andensure the safety of journalists by increasing co-operation withnon-governmental organizations, the International Freedom ofExpression Exchange Network (IFEX) and the United Nationsagencies and programmes concerned;

(b) to promote the development of independent and pluralisticmedia, in particular by supporting local, national and regionalimplementation of the declarations and plans of action adoptedby the five regional seminars held on that theme, and to continuestudies of legislation assisting the development of such media;

(c) to contribute to the development of editorially independentbroadcasting by elaborating, together with the Member Statesand regional broadcasting unions, principles of public servicebroadcasting suitable to different socio-political contexts andlevels of technological development;

(d) to encourage Member States to provide financial and technicalresources for the establishment of broadcasting organizations asindependent public service institutions;

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(e) to heighten the educational and cultural mission of public servicebroadcasting and to encourage new approaches seeking toviolence on the screen and to provide assistance for aninternational research programme on youth and the media;

(f) to enhance the role of women in the media, especially by helpingto strengthen the WOMMED/FEMMED network;

(g) to continue implementing the Memory of the World Programmeby encouraging the formulation of national and regionalstrategies for the development of the programme and promotinga policy of digitalization and on-line access for products whichare already available and by stimulating and facilitating thedevelopment of interregional pilot projects envisaging therestoration, conservation and digitalization of collections;

(h) to facilitate access to information in the public domain with theultimate aim of building up a general electronic repository for allinformation of a public nature relevant to UNESCO’s fields ofcompetence;

(i) to help Member States elaborate national and regional policiesfor the development of information technologies, whilepromoting access to the Internet as a public service and totelematics applications for development, and to provide supportfor regional programmes of specialized information;

(j) to provide support for the initiatives of Member States wishingto make use of the possibilities opened up by the newtechnologies to improve the efficiency of the civil service andpublic services and to promote the use of telematics as an aid todecision-making and to dialogue between citizens and the publicauthorities;

B. Under the project on ‘Ethical and sociocultural challenges of the newinformation society’,

(a) to stimulate interdisciplinary reflection on the socioculturalimpacts of the new technologies and on the legal, economic andethical issues related to cyberspace to organize the collection ofrelevant information and cyberspace codes, such as legalprinciples and codes ‘de bon usage’, compiled by otherinternational and by professional organizations, so that dueaccount may be taken of them in UNESCO’s work;

(b) to collect and disseminate data, analyses and innovativeexperiences concerning the cultural and educational aspects ofthe merging information society, with special reference tocultural pluralism and linguistic diversity and the impacts oncognitive processes and ways of learning;

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C. Under Programme IV.2 ‘Capacity-building in communication,information and informatics’ the purpose of which is to help MemberStates, particularly the developing countries, and disadvantagedcommunities worldwide to strengthen their capacities incommunication, information and informatics,

(a) to continue support of developing projects related tocommunication and, to that end, to increase the fund-raisingcapacity of the International Programme for the Development ofCommunication (IPDC) and to enlist new partners;

(b) to contribute to the training of communication professionals andhelp strengthen the network of UNESCO Chairs incommunication (ORBICOM);

(c) to support the development of community media in order toenable different social groups, especially the more isolated ordisadvantaged, to participate in development strategies and, in sodoing, help local populations gain access to internationalprogrammes and services;

(d) to encourage the development and distribution, regionally andinternationally, of local audiovisual productions from thedeveloping countries;

(e) in pursuance of the enlarged mandate of the General InformationProgramme (PGI), to support the development of library andinformation services as community information centres andgateways to electronic information, to reinforce the librarynetworks and to contribute to the training of librarians andinformation and to adapt the activities in the field of informaticsand in particular those carried out under the IntergovernmentalInformatics Programme (IIP), to the new technologicalenvironment by providing, primarily in a co-developmentcontext, support for the assimilation of information technologyand the creation and enhancement of multicultural andmultilingual material on the networks with a view to itsintegration into international exchanges;

(f) to convene the statutory meetings of the PGI Council and the IIPCommittee as well as those of their bureaux as joint meetings,with a view to release funds for concrete activities in MemberStates and to establish the synergies necessary to adaptUNESCO’s activities to the challenges of the informationsuperhighway, thus enabling the thirtieth session of the GeneralConference to take a well informed decision about a possiblemerger of these two intergovernmental programmes or any otherappropriate solution;

(g) to help implement flagship projects for the restoration andmodernization of the world’s major libraries;

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(h) to encourage the modernization of archive services and tosupport efforts to ensure archive conservation and to improvetraining of archivists and to stimulate interregional professionalco-operation;

(i) to encourage the establishment of electronic networks amongscientific, educational and cultural institutions with a view topromoting co-operation in those fields, and to help strengthenregional informatics networks;

(j) to enhance the Organization’s advisory role for the setting up, inco-operation with the other major programmes andtransdisciplinary projects, of virtual learning communities andvirtual laboratories in all UNESCO’s fields of competence;

(k) to contribute to the training of computer specialists and users, inparticular by promoting the establishment and networking ofcentres of excellence and UNESCO Chairs in informatics.

III. Draft resolutions proposing a shift of emphasis of the main lines of actionenvisaged in document 29 C/5

7. The Commission recommends that the General Conference approve the following draftresolution for implementation within the framework of budget resources foreseen in draftdocument 29 C/5:

(a) 29 C/DR.100 (Sweden, Benin, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire,Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland; supported by Argentina,Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Islamic Republic of Iran, Togo)relating to paragraphs 04044-04045 and 13001-13006;

(b) 29 C/DR.149 (Islamic Republic of Iran; supported by Cuba, Russian Federation)relating to paragraph 04047.

8. The Commission recommends that the General Conference approve the following draftresolutions to be financed under the Reserve for Draft Resolutions:

(a) 29 C/DR.60 (France, Finland, Luxembourg, Monaco, Russian Federation, Spain,Sweden; supported by Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire,Czech Republic, Egypt, Gabon, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, India, Lao People'sDemocratic Republic, Lithuania, Mali, Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, Panama,Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates) and 29 C/DR.61 (Austria;supported by Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Tunisia) relating to paragraph04026: together US $20,000;

(b) 29 C/DR.110 (Niger, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal; supported by Angola, Chad,Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, Tunisia, United Republic of Tanzania),29 C/DR.21 (Nigeria; supported by Tunisia) relating to paragraphs 04023-04026,and 29 C/DR.118 (Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Senegal;supported by Tunisia) relating to paragraphs 04020-04026 and 04046: togetherUS $50,000;

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(c) 29 C/DR.32 (Malaysia, Indonesia; supported by Philippines) relating to paragraph04031: US $25,000;

(d) 29 C/DR.80 (Italy; supported by Dominican Republic, Haiti, Israel, Tunisia)relating to paragraph 04038: US $20,000;

(e) 29 C/DR.43 (Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Nicaragua,Panama, Paraguay, Peru; supported by Argentina, Canada, Chile, Côte d’Ivoire,France, Honduras, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Uruguay, Venezuela) relating toparagraph 04044: US $25,000.

9. The Commission recommends that the General Conference invite authors of thefollowing draft resolutions to submit a subregional/regional/interregional request under theParticipation Programme for 1998-1999, in accordance with the procedures governing thisProgramme.

(a) 29 C/DR.40 Rev. (Greece; supported by Cyprus, France, Togo) relating toparagraph 04047;

(b) 29 C/DR.63 (Austria) relating to all paragraphs of Major Programme IV.

10. The Commission informs the General Conference that the following draft resolutionswere not be retained for approval:

(a) 29 C/DR.101 (Sweden, Denmark, India, Norway, Côte d'Ivoire, Hungary, Iceland;supported by Dominican Republic, Netherlands) with respect to paragraph 2 ofproposed resolution 4.1;

(b) 29 C/DR.147 (Islamic Republic of Iran) with respect to paragraph 2.A (c) ofproposed resolution 4.1;

(c) 29 C/DR.107 (India; supported by Tunisia) with respect to paragraph 2.B (a) ofproposed resolution 4.1;

(d) 29 C/DR.108 (India; supported by Tunisia) with respect to paragraph 2.C (i) ofproposed resolution 4.1.

IV. Budget

11. The Commission recommends that the General Conference approve the budget provisionof US $29,862,100 for Major Programme IV (29 C/ADM/3, Annex I), it being understoodthat this amount is subject to adjustments in the light of the decisions taken by the GeneralConference on the provisional budget ceiling and on the use of the Reserve for DraftResolutions, and by the joint meeting of the Administrative Commission and of the fiveprogramme commissions.

V. Programme

12. The Commission recommends that the General Conference approve paragraphs 04003-04052 of the Draft Programme and Budget (29 C/5), paragraphs 400-434 of the TechnicalAnnex, and proposed resolution 4.1 as amended, taking into account:

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(a) draft resolutions approved by the Commission (cf. paragraphs 5 to 9 above);

(b) recommendations of the Executive Board on the Draft Programme and Budget for1998-1999 as approved by the Commission (paragraphs 47 to 57 of document29 C/6); and

(c) the oral report of the Chairperson of the Commission.

VI. Reports submitted to the General Conference

13. The Commission recommended that the General Conference take note of the report bythe Intergovernmental Council of the International Programme for the Development ofCommunication on its activities (1996-1997), the report by the Intergovernmental Council forthe General Information Programme on its activities (1996-1997), and the report by theIntergovernmental Committee for the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme on itsactivities (1996-1997).


14. The Commission recommended that the General Conference adopt the followingresolution contained in document 29 C/24, paragraph 10, as amended by France:


Recalling Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

Also recalling resolution 4.3 adopted at its twenty-sixth session ‘recognizing that a free,pluralistic and independent press is an essential component of any democratic society’,and inviting the Director-General ‘to extend to other regions of the world the action …to encourage press freedom and to promote the independence and pluralism of themedia’,

Noting with satisfaction resolution 4.1 adopted at its twenty-seventh session and, inparticular, paragraph 2.A (a) inviting the Director-General ‘to promote the free flow ofinformation at the international and national levels, press freedom, independent andpluralistic media, and a better balanced dissemination of information, without anyobstacle to the freedom of expression’,

Thanking the Director-General for having organized, in accordance with resolution 4.6adopted at its twenty-eighth session, and in co-operation with the United NationsDepartment of Public Information and professional media organizations and with theassistance of a number of donor agencies, the regional Seminar on PromotingIndependent and Pluralistic Arab Media (Sana’a, Yemen, 7-11 January 1996),

Stressing the outstanding importance of the Seminar on Promoting Independent andPluralistic Arab Media, which will contribute to creating conditions that will enablepluralistic media to develop and participate effectively in the democratization anddevelopment processes in the Arab region,

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Endorses the Sana’a Declaration as it did the declarations adopted by participants in theseminars held in Windhoek (Namibia) (29 April-3 May 1991), in Almaty (Kazakhstan)(5-9 October 1992) and in Santiago (Chile) (2-6 May 1994);

Invites Member States to facilitate the implementation of the Sana’a Declaration and tocontribute to the worldwide trends towards democracy, freedom of expression and pressfreedom;

Also invites the members of the Intergovernmental Council of the InternationalProgramme for the Development of Communication to take this Declaration into accountwhen selecting the projects that will be financed by this programme;

Further requests the Director-General to ensure that support and the required resourcesare given to activities that will facilitate the achievement of the goals and objectives of allthe declarations adopted by the seminars held in Windhoek, in Almaty, in Santiago andSana’a.


15. The Commission recommended that the General Conference adopt the followingresolution contained in document 29 C/62, paragraph 10, without amendment:


Recalling Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

Also recalling resolution 4.3 adopted at its twenty-sixth session ‘recognizing that a free,pluralistic and independent press is an essential component of any democratic society’,and inviting the Director-General ‘to extend to other regions of the world the action …to encourage press freedom and to promote the independence and pluralism of themedia’,

Noting with satisfaction resolution 4.1 adopted at its twenty-seventh session and, inparticular, paragraph 2.A (a) inviting the Director-General ‘to promote the free flow ofinformation at the international and national levels, press freedom, independent andpluralistic media, and a better balanced dissemination of information, without anyobstacle to the freedom of expression’,

Thanking the Director-General for having organized, in accordance with resolution 4.6adopted at its twenty-eighth session, and in co-operation with the United NationsDepartment of Public Information and professional media organizations and with theassistance of a number of donor agencies, the European Seminar on PromotingIndependent and Pluralistic Media (with special focus on Central and Eastern Europe)(Sofia, Bulgaria, 10-13 September 1997),

Stressing the outstanding importance of the European Seminar on PromotingIndependent and Pluralistic Media (with special focus on Central and Eastern Europe)which will contribute to creating conditions that will enable pluralistic media to developand participate effectively in the preservation of democracy and development in thisregion of the world,

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Endorses the Sofia Declaration as it did the declarations adopted by participants in theseminars held in Windhoek (Namibia) (29 April-3 May 1991), in Almaty (Kazakhstan)(5-9 October 1992) and in Santiago (Chile) (2-6 May 1994);

Invites Member States and the organizations concerned to follow up and implement theSofia Declaration and to contribute to the worldwide trends towards democracy,freedom of expression and press freedom;

Further requests the Director-General to ensure that support and the required resourcesare given to activities that will facilitate the achievement of the goals and objectives of allthe declarations adopted by the seminars held in Windhoek, in Almaty, in Santiago,Sana’a and Sofia.

Item 6.4 - Preliminary report by the Director-General on the feasibility of aninternational instrument on the establishment of a legal framework relatingto cyberspace and of a recommendation on the preservation of a balanced useof languages in cyberspace

16. The Commission recommended that the General Conference take note of the preliminaryreport by the Director-General on the feasibility of an international instrument on theestablishment of a legal framework relating to cyberspace and of a recommendation on thepreservation of a balanced use of languages in cyberspace and adopt the resolution submittedin document 29 C/23, paragraph 38, as amended by the Working Group (Australia, Canada,Denmark, France, Germany, Russian Federation, Spain, United Kingdom of Great Britain andNorthern Ireland):


Having examined the preliminary report submitted by the Director-General on thefeasibility of an international instrument on the establishment of a legal frameworkrelating to cyberspace and of a recommendation on the preservation of a balanced use oflanguages in cyberspace,

Taking into account the complexity and the diversity of the legal, ethical and societalissues raised by the Global Information Infrastructure and the Global InformationSociety,

Recognizing the urgent importance of establishing a framework relating to cyberspace atinternational level by formulating a body of educational, scientific and cultural principlesand guidelines,

Convinced that UNESCO should be the Organization of the United Nations system totake the intellectual lead in this area,

Stressing that full consideration and discussion should be given to all relevant aspects,

Thanks the Director-General for his preliminary report;

Invites the Director-General to continue the Organization's work on legal, ethical andsocietal aspects of cyberspace and in particular to:

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(a) pursue further consultation and collaboration with Member States, interestedbodies and competent international organizations inside and outside the UnitedNations system including the private sector;

(b) prepare and organize regional and international meetings of experts to clarifypolicy priorities in line with the needs of Member States;

(c) report to the thirtieth session of the General Conference;

(d) prepare a draft recommendation on the promotion and use of multilingualism anduniversal access to cyberspace to be submitted to the thirtieth session of theGeneral Conference.

DEBATE 6

Preliminary discussion of the main lines of emphasis of the Draft Programme andBudget for 2000-2001 (30 C/5)

17. Commission IV devoted its eleventh meeting on the afternoon of Friday, 7 November1997 to discussion, within the framework of the examination of Major Programme IV(Communication, information and informatics), of the main lines of the Draft Programme andBudget for 2000-2001. A total of 24 speakers took the floor following the presentation by theAssistant Director-General for the Communication, Information and Informatics Sector and thepreliminary remarks by the Chairperson of the Commission on the importance of terminology.

18. Several delegates referred to the framework that ought to guide reflection ondocument 30 C/5, namely the Medium-Term Strategy for 1996-2001, and therecommendations of the Executive Board on the Draft Programme and Budget for 1998-1999contained in document 29 C/6. Several delegates also stressed the need to increase the fundingallocated to Major Programme IV in order to meet the new challenges in the field ofcommunication and information. It was suggested that the following proposals should be takeninto account in the consultation on the preparation of draft document 30 C/5:

In view of the challenges of globalization and the issues at stake in the informationsociety, the importance of the intellectual and ethical mission of UNESCO wasreaffirmed. In that connection, several speakers urged UNESCO to continue toencourage reflection on the socio-cultural implications of the information andcommunication technologies, the aims of the information society, and the impact of theinformation revolution on society, on the sense of identity, etc. Many speakers stressedthat the role of the Organization was to foster understanding of those phenomena and topromote the use of means of communication and information as a factor for progress,peace and rapprochement between various groups and regions of the world.

With regard to the presentation of the C/5 document, the need was stressed for a moreprecise definition of the main lines of action with regard to the objectives being soughtand the resources available. In view of the growing convergence in that field, stress wasalso laid on the need for greater synergy and increased complementarity between thethree intergovernmental programmes, and for closer collaboration with all the partnersconcerned in order to avoid duplication and to reap optimum benefit from the resourcesavailable. In that connection, the possibility was raised, with respect to document 30 C/5,

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of devising qualitative and quantitative performance indicators in order to gauge theimpact of the actions undertaken;

The possibility of developing partnerships with the private sector in order to remedythe insufficient level of resources was raised by several speakers, who urged UNESCOto engage in serious reflection on that matter. Suggested examples of initiatives to beexplored were the development of partnerships with universities, the creation ofUNESCO Chairs, and collaboration with intergovernmental organizations and NGOswith a view to reinforcing the capacity of the developing countries;

Given the eminently transdisciplinary nature of the actions undertaken under MajorProgramme IV, the importance of regular co-operation with the other programmesectors was underscored. One delegate urged the establishment of a co-ordinationmechanism for the implementation of joint activities in that field;

19. As a large number of delegates pointed out, document 29 C/5 contains several newactivities which warrant being pursued in document 30 C/5. These are, in particular, activitiesaimed at promoting the use of the Internet as a public service accessible to all, the initiativeaimed at facilitating access to information coming within the public domain, and the proposalto establish UNESCO as a ‘virtual cultural centre’, or again the use of telematic resources for‘on-line governance’.

20. The initiatives taken by the Organization with respect to the establishment of a legalframework relating to cyberspace and to the preservation of a balanced use of languagesin cyberspace (29 C/23) should also be pursued in document 30 C/5. In this connection,emphasis should be placed on the quality of the message, the diversity of contents andcontinuous and distance training, and allowance should be made for the vulnerability ofminority and vernacular languages. As one delegate pointed out, particular attention should begiven to digitalization and to the importance of this technique for the conservation ofknowledge and for the creation of new jobs.

21. The objectives and priority activities which should also be taken into account whendocument 30 C/5 is being prepared include the following:

The promotion of freedom of expression and freedom of the press and of pluralismand independence of the media. In the view of some delegates, the arrival ofmultimedia and the development of new media - which go beyond the confines ofnational borders - make it necessary to develop new approaches to self-regulation, whichshould come from the producers themselves, acting in conjunction with users and therepresentatives of civil society. Others expressed the hope that UNESCO would lookinto the question of the concentration of the media. Yet others considered that stressshould be laid in document 30 C/5 on activities in support of ‘young people and themedia’;

The development of infrastructure in the field of communication, information andinformatics in the developing countries and the training of personnel are anotherpriority objective for document 30 C/5. Special attention should be given to initiativesaimed at fostering the development and appropriation of the new technologies, toexchanges and co-operation both between North and South and between South andSouth and, above all, to the training of trainers and users;

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The role of public and school libraries as a means of access to information andknowledge was also very widely raised in the course of the discussion. UNESCO willhave to pursue and strengthen its action in support of the development of libraries - bothtraditional libraries and ‘electronic’ libraries - and of information and archives services indocument 30 C/5. Virtual libraries should also be accorded an important place indocument 30 C/5;

Lastly, the Memory of the World Programme, whose activities should be more clearlydefined, should also have its place in document 30 C/5. While stressing the importance ofdigitalization, some speakers highlighted the importance of conserving originals, books,documents, etc. One delegate expressed the wish to see the launching of an intersectoralproject on the use of the Internet for the promotion of the heritage. Other delegatesproposed that the Memory of the World Programme should be more particularlydirected towards the narrowing, in the long run, of the gap between the information‘haves’ and the information ‘have-nots’.

22. At its twelfth meeting, on Saturday, 8 November 1997, the Commission held apreliminary discussion on the main lines of thrust of the Programme and Budget for 2000-2001(30 C/5). Eighteen speakers took the floor.

23. The majority of speakers were in favour of adopting a forward-looking approach basedon the interactions between culture and development as initiated in document 29 C/5 and therelevant resolutions adopted or approved by Commission IV. However, the dynamics of thisapproach should not lead to a dispersion of efforts.

24. Document 30 C/5 should also take into account the results of the 1997 WorldConference on the Implementation of the Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artistand those of the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural and Media Policies forDevelopment (Stockholm, 1998). Independently of the Stockholm Conference, it is importantthat UNESCO should engage in an in-depth reflection on the place and definition of cultureboth within societies and in the Organization’s programmes. This will require, in particular, theelaboration of indicators, for example reliable statistical tools, which should be devised incollaboration with the future UNESCO International Institute for Statistics and other partners.

25. Evaluation of the results of the World Decade for Cultural Development should help todefine the main lines of thrust of document 30 C/5. That document should also ensure thecontinuity of flagship projects being implemented under the Decade, in particular informationexchange networks and projects being organized jointly with WHO and UNICEF.

26. Three key ideas that should be highlighted in document 30 C/5 emerged from the variousstatements:

the heritage - protection and rehabilitation of the heritage and increasing awareness ofthe need to preserve it;

a shift of focus in the direction of living cultures;

endogenous training of cultural development agents.

27. In the field of heritage protection, the following lines of action were suggested:

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(a) elaboration of a strategy for the prevention of illicit traffic in cultural property, inparticular through the establishment of inventories and the identification zones atrisk;

(b) creation of an international fund of extrabudgetary resources to finance preventivemeasures against illicit traffic in cultural property. A feasibility study should besubmitted to the forthcoming session of the General Conference after itsexamination by the Executive Board;

(c) a transdisciplinary programme for the identification, protection and enhancement ofvernacular architecture as an integral part of the heritage and a repository oftraditional craft skills;

(d) an integrated approach to the preservation and enhancement of the heritage, takinginto account the socio-economic parameters of development;

(e) continuation of the programme of cultural volunteers for the preservation of theheritage, in collaboration with the system of United Nations volunteers;

(f) action to increase awareness of the heritage by publishing manuals suitable for usein primary education and adapted to local conditions;

(g) activities aimed at strengthening local populations awareness, of the value of theircultural and natural heritage and of their role in safeguarding it;

(h) a more balanced geographical distribution of sites inscribed in the World HeritageList and adoption of more rigorous follow-up methods;

(i) monitoring and co-ordination of activities involving the heritage by the WorldHeritage Committee, which is composed of experts, in order to enhance efficiency;

(j) development of a world network of children’s museums.

28. With regard to the strengthening of activities involving living cultures, the main focuseswill be as follows:

(a) copyright and neighbouring rights, in particular their ethical and culturaldimensions;

(b) the role and status of the artist in society;

(c) cyberspace and culture;

(d) activities aimed at encouraging contemporary creation;

(e) priority to training activities for jobs in cultural industries and to arts and craftactivities that help to create jobs;

(f) increased attention to the performing arts;

(g) training and research in the field of translation, especially literary translation;

29 C/83 - page 25(29 C/COM.IV/2)

(h) strengthening of the programme of sponsored fellowships for artists.

29. In connection with the endogenous training of cultural development agents, the followingpoints were made:

(a) due training should be seen as a distinct feature of Major Programme III;

(b) prominence should be given to regional and sub-regional centres in theimplementation of UNESCO’s programme;

(c) a contribution should be made to the training of researchers and the supervision ofendogenous research through ad hoc experts in the framework of North-South andSouth-South co-operation.

30. The speakers also recalled that the priority groups defined by UNESCO, in particularyoung people and women, should be the main beneficiaries and partners of MajorProgramme III in document 30 C/5.

31. A basic distinction should be drawn in the programme between long-term activities,which are a virtually permanent function of UNESCO, and more specific projects that arelimited in time.


29 C/83 Add. and Corr.(29 C/COM.IV/2)12 November 1997Original: English/French/Spanish

REPORT OF COMMISSION IVParts I and II

ADDENDUM AND CORRIGENDUM

Part I

Paragraph 1

In the first line of the Introduction , replace ‘3 November 1997’ by ‘20 October 1997’.

Paragraph 8

After ‘29 C/DR.68 (… supported by …’, add the following country: ‘… Tunisia …’

Paragraph 8

In the first line of the last paragraph of 29 C/DR.64, replace ‘153rd session’ by ‘154thsession’.

Paragraph 8

Add 29 C/DR.54 Rev.2 adopted in extenso

Paragraph 9

In the last line of paragraph 2.B(f) of proposed resolution 3.1, add after ‘copyright’ the words‘and neighbouring rights’.

Paragraph 10

Replace 29 C/DR.54 Rev by ‘29 C/DR.54 Rev.2’ and add Nauru and Samoa to the list ofcountries supporting this draft resolution.

Paragraph 10

Add after ’29 C/DR.52 (… supported by …’, the following countries: ‘… Cyprus… Greece…’.

Paragraph 13

Delete the phrase ‘have been withdrawn by their authors during the debate or not’ so as toread: ‘the following draft resolutions have not been retained for approval’.

29 C/83 Add. and Corr. - page 2(29 C/COM.IV/2)

Paragraph 15

Add after ‘Technical Annex’ the following phrase: ‘and proposed resolution 3.1 as amended’.

Paragraph 15

In the parentheses at the end of subparagraph (a), add ‘9’ after ‘paras.’, so as to read‘(cf. paras. 9, 10 and 11 above)’.

PART II

Paragraph 5

Under 29 C/DR.54 Rev. 2 add: ‘(… Nauru, … Samoa…)’.

Paragraph 6

In 29 C/DR.93 add after ‘(… supported by:’ … Canada …

Paragraph 6

In 29 C/DR.90 add after ‘(… supported by:’ … Togo …

Paragraph 6

Change lines 5 and 6 in proposed resolution 4.1, paragraph 2.C(e) so as to read: ‘… networks,to contribute to the training of librarians and information professionals, and to adapt …’

Paragraph 8

In 29 C/DR.60 add after ‘(… supported by:’ … Australia …

Paragraph 16

In the draft resolution in 29 C/23, paragraph 38, modify the final paragraph (para. (d)) to readas follows: ‘prepare a draft recommendation on the provision of universal access to themulticultural heritage of humanity via the promotion and use of multilingualism incyberspace …’, the rest of the paragraph remaining unchanged.

Paragraph 22

Add after ‘(30 C/5)’ the following phrase: ‘with regard to Major Programme III (Culturaldevelopment: the heritage and creativity)’.

Documents

DRAFT REPORT OF COMMISSION IV PART I - …unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001099/109909e.pdf · DRAFT REPORT OF COMMISSION IV PART I (i) TABLE ... Major Programme IV - Communication,