STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR GÜLNUR AYBET, PERMANENT DELEGATE OF TÜRKİYE TO UNESCO, AT THE 216TH SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

Thank you Madame Chair,
President of the General Conference,
Madame Director General,
Distinguished Delegates,

At the outset, I would like to once again express my heartfelt gratitude for the support and assistance provided by the Member States and the Secretariat following the devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye on the 6th of February.

The earthquakes caused widespread damage and loss of life, and the aftermath was an incredibly challenging period for those affected.

However, with our efforts and the support of the international community, recover is underway. We are also working closely with the relevant departments of the Secretariat to coordinate post-disaster efforts within UNESCO's mandate.

Distinguished colleagues,

UNESCO has long been at the forefront of efforts to promote education as a fundamental human right.

UNESCO's expertise in education is more important now than ever before, particularly in the face of new challenges and ongoing wars.

The implementation of national commitments submitted during the Transforming Education Summit is of great importance in this regard.

We remain committed to supporting UNESCO's leadership and expertise in reforming the Global Education Cooperation Mechanism and achieving SDG4.

On this occasion, I would like to express our concerns about the decision to exclude girls from education in Afghanistan. Education is a universal human right which all individuals must enjoy on the basis of equal opportunity.
As expressed by our President, this decision has no bearing with practices in Islam and to this end we mobilised the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to hold an Extraordinary Meeting on the 11th of January to give clear and unified messages concerning this decisions. We must continue to give coherent and consistent messages to the interim government of Afghanistan on this issue.

We also call for an immediate end to all attacks against educational institutions that impede the right to education, particularly in Ukraine, but also whereever in the World such attacks take place.

UNESCO plays an important role in raising awareness and initiating global efforts to combat discrimination and racism.

Having said that, vile attacks committed against the Holy Qur’an and our flag are concrete examples of xenophobia and hate crimes, that are dangerously becoming widespread in Europe. Therefore, Islamophobia should not be excluded in UNESCO’s activities that fall within its mandate to combat racism and hate crimes, including the incorporation of Islamophobia and anti-Islam hate crimes in the implementation of the Roadmap against Racism and Discrimination.

As one of the seven countries of the IOC CoastWAVE project in the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean region, Türkiye performed the first Tsunami Ready drill exercise of the region.

We also established our own National Ocean Decade Committee to coordinate activities of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

In collaboration with the UNESCO Secretariat, Türkiye recently organized an International Workshop on Geopark Management and hosted 15 international experts and aspiring geopark project representatives from 10 Member States.

At the last Executive Board session, I had the pleasure to share some information on the Zero Waste Global Commitment initiated by our First Lady Her Excellency Emine Erdoğan.

In the course of the year, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution “Promoting Zero Waste Initiatives,” which was proposed by Türkiye and co-sponsored by 105 member states.

Thanks to this resolution, the UN General Assembly formally recognized the importance of zero waste initiatives and established the 'International Day of Zero Waste' to be observed annually on March 30.

In line with this decision, we were honored to host the first observance of International Day of Zero Waste here at UNESCO with the participation of Permanent Delegations and the Secretariat. This celebration also featured a special video message delivered by Her Excellency Emine Erdoğan.

Through the MONDIACULT Declaration adopted last year, we have committed ourselves to the aim of reaffirming culture as a global public good.

In that regard, we would like to commend the sectoral and intersectoral initiatives taken by the Secretariat to foster our call for culture to be included as a specific objective among SDGs.

Last year was also marked by the fiftieth anniversary of the 1972 World Heritage Convention. Although several events were organized throughout the year, we regret that we could not celebrate this anniversary to its fullest extent.

We are confident that we will have a successful World Heritage Committee meeting this September and can make up for the missed opportunities.

I would also like to recall that the 15th Annual Conference of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network will be hosted by İstanbul in September. We highly encourage the representatives of the member cities of this Network to participate in this important event.

Finally, I would like to underline that it is crucial to ensure that UNESCO’s programmes and activities remain sustainable and effective despite the current challenging conditions, primarily in terms financial resources.

As we prepare for the second biennium, dire financial conditions and the inflation rates that the member states have to endure should be taken into consideration.

Considering the current economic situation, it may be necessary to make some difficult decisions. However, I am confident that by working together, we can ensure that UNESCO's programs and activities continue to be effective and impactful.

Thank you.