President of the
General Conference,

Madame Director
General,

Distinguished
Delegates,

Aswe come to the end
of this biennium, we stand on the threshold of a new era.

At the halfway mark
in our pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals, a deteriorating World
raises questions about our political commitment to achieving a stable world.

While pressing
challenges all around the world increasingly demand our attention, there is
much that UNESCO can accomplish with its 194 member states.

Last month the World
Heritage Committee could finally be held in person after four years.

For two weeks, we
worked together on how to tackle the major global challenges facing our common
heritage, while celebrating inscriptions of new sites, including two of our
own, to the prestigious World Heritage List. We thank Saudi Arabia for
successfully hosting the 45^th WHC in Riyadh.

On this occasion I
would like to reiterate that Türkiye, if elected to the World Heritage
Committee in the upcoming elections next month, will do its utmost to further
strengthen the role of the WHC and to promote a more balanced representation on
the list.

In our endeavours in
the field of culture, UNESCO must also continue to reinforce efforts to combat
the illicit trafficking of cultural property worldwide, including Occupied
Palestine.

On that note, it is
with great sadness that we are left to observe the escalation of violence and
tension once more in that same region. We remain deeply concerned about the
recent unfolding events in Israel and Palestine.

Türkiye attaches
great importance to the restoration of calm in the region as soon as possible,
and we strongly condemn and regret the loss of ALL innocent lives.

Conflicts do not
occur without a cause. And the root causes of conflicts need to be addressed in
order for them to be resolved.

The heart of UNESCO’s purpose which is the embedding of peace in the
minds of men and women is not an abstract aspiration but a living goal. Therefore, these
unfortunate developments once again show the importance of the two-state
solution vision as the only way forward.

Our authorities
continue their intensive contacts with the relevant parties to ensure that
these developments can be brought under control before they escalate further.

In the context of our
interest in pursuing stability in all regions, we would like to call on all
interested and well-intentioned actors to bring their constructive
contributions to the peace process in the Caucasus.

The signing of a
comprehensive peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia based on
sovereignty and territorial integrity remains crucial to bring lasting
settlement to the conflict. We would like to express our unwavering support for
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

Distinguished
colleagues,

We acknowledge UNESCO's
pivotal role in combating discrimination and racism and in promoting
awareness of these issues. This is vital for fostering social harmony.

However, we are also
deeply concerned about the increasing cases of intolerance, xenophobia, racism
and Islamophobia, including vile attacks committed against the Qur’an, which have reached
alarming proportions in the last year, particularly in Europe.

In this regard, we
welcome the UN General Assembly’s resolution on “Promoting interreligious
and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speech” which
deplores all acts of violence against holy books as a violation of
international law.

It is crucial for
UNESCO to incorporate the decisions of the UN General Assembly and its bodies
into its efforts.

With this in mind, I
would like to highlight the importance of including the fight against
Islamophobia in UNESCO’s Roadmap Against Racism and Discrimination at our last
session. We will follow the progress achieved in this field at the upcoming
session when we address the next report.

Dear colleagues,

Recently, the UN
Secretary General warned us that “the era of global warming has ended” and “the
era of global boiling has arrived.”

In this context food
security is one of the main areas affected by climate change. We must
develop and implement the right policies for the sustainable use of resources.

In line with this
understanding, we believe that the Zero Waste movement initiated by
First Lady Emine Erdoğan will significantly contribute to combating climate
change and achieving sustainable development goals.

We call on all
parties to support the Zero Waste movement and subscribe to the Declaration of
Goodwill for Global Commitment to Zero Waste which now can be done digitally.

Distinguished
delegates,

In a changing world, transforming
education has become indispensable and is a lifelong process.

The implementation of
national commitments submitted during the Transforming Education Summit are
important in this regard. We also welcome the UNESCO initiative “The Dashboard
of Country Commitments and Actions to Transform Education” launched during the
SDG Summit in New York.

We reiterate our
commitment to supporting UNESCO’s leading role in reforming the Global
Education Cooperation Mechanism and realizing the SDG4.

As a country with a
large young population, Türkiye is interested in following the developments
regarding ASPNet and creation of the Young Ambassador’s programme.

It is also vitally
important to continue giving coherent and consistent messages to the relevant
authorities to rectify any decisions that deny access to equal and quality
education for all.

Distinguished
Delegates,

After the
extraordinary meeting of the General Conference last July, we moved into a new
phase with an opportunity to increase the operational capacity of the
organization through increased funding.

With the return of
the United States which we are pleased about, let us also be reminded
that we are now bigger and stronger. This compels us to be better.

By adhering to the
spirit of collaboration and the principle of mutual understanding, we must
continue to provide our added value in the fight against multidimensional
crises despite our differences.

Thank you.