UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization News (bi-monthly); United Nations Task trative apparatus of its own. (The Com- Force on Environment and Human Settle- mittee worked as advisory organ from ments: Report to the Secretary-General, 1922 until 1946 when its role was taken 15 June 1998, New York 1998. over by UNESCO.) Internet: Homepage of UNEP: www. In 1925, France, responding to a re- unep.org; UNEP Industry and Environment quest by the Assembly of the → League Unit: www.unepie.org/; International Insti- of Nations, after the latter had been un- tute for Sustainable Development, Earth Ne- gotiations Bulletin (reports on the sessions able to secure funding to maintain a sig- of the Governing Council of UNEP and on nificant office in Geneva, created the In- other important UNEP meetings): www.iisd. ternational Institute for Intellectual Co- ca; further: www.ecologic-events.de/ieg-con operation, a legally independent institu- ference/en/index.htm; www.reformtheun.org/ tion with a secretariat of its own, fi- index.php/united_nations/c495?theme=alt 2. nanced by the French government. The International Committee of Intellectual Co-operation continued to exist as the UNESCO – United Nations Institute’s Board of Trustees. Educational, Scientific and Cultural From the beginning, conflicts sur- Organization rounded the creation of UNESCO: Should it be a governmental or a non- I. Introduction governmental organization? (→ NGOs) UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Should the Organization be concerned Scientific and Cultural Organization) solely with education and culture was founded on the initiative of the (“UNECO”) or should it encompass fur- Conference of Allied Ministers of Edu- ther areas, such as science and commu- cation, set up during World War II. Also nication? Should UNESCO work on the the → Charter of the UN contains pro- basis of a global scientific humanism, or visions which designate the founding of should it be strictly functional and lim- an international organization for educa- ited to practical activities accepted by tion and culture (cf. Arts. 13, 55 and 62 the majority of its members? UN Charter). II. Purposes and Functions On 16 November 1945 representatives of 37 states meeting in London signed UNESCO’s Constitution (UNTS Vol. UNESCO’s Constitution and Preamble 4, No. 52) entered into force on in which the signatories – still under the 4 November 1946; on 14 December shock of crimes against humanity com- 1946, an agreement of 4 June 1946 be- mitted by Fascism – declared “that since tween UNESCO and the → Economic wars began in the minds of men, it is in and Social Council confirming its status the minds of men that the defences of as a → specialized agency of the UN peace must be constructed“. This ideal- (UN Doc. A/77 of 30 October 1946) istic idea (reduction of enemy images, was approved by the → General As- positive concept of peace) expresses the sembly in resolution 50 (I) in accor- hope that education towards an ideal dance with Articles 57 and 63 of the → human being will lay the foundations Charter of the UN. for securing world peace (→ Peace, UNESCO’s purpose is “to contribute Peace Concept, Threat to Peace). to peace and security by promoting col- The founding members of UNESCO laboration among the nations through could refer to a number of models. In education, science and culture in order 1922, the Council of the → League of to further universal respect for justice, Nations set up an International Commit- for the law and for the human rights and tee of Intellectual Co-operation, com- fundamental freedoms which are af- posed of 12, later 15 prominent scien- firmed for the peoples of the world, tists, which served as an advisory body without distinction of race, sex, lan- of the Assembly and the Council of the guage or religion by the Charter of the League of Nations without an adminis- United Nations“. 715 UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization To realize this purpose, UNESCO has disciplinary action”. (UNESCO Doc. 34 the following functions, as laid down in C/4, 5) its Constitution (Art. 1): III. Membership - to advance the “mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples through According to UNESCO’s Constitution, all means of mass communication, membership of the UN (→ Membership and to that end to recommend such in- and Representation of States) carries ternational agreements as may be nec- with the right to membership of essary to promote the free flow of UNESCO. States which are not mem- ideas by word and image”; bers of the UN may be admitted to - to “give fresh impulse to popular edu- membership upon recommendation of cation and to the spread of culture”; the Executive Board by a two–thirds - to “maintain, increase and diffuse majority vote of the General Confer- knowledge” by recommending inter- ence. The Federal Republic of Germany national conventions to conserve and is member of UNESCO since 11 July protect the world’s inheritance of 1951. books, works of art and monuments of Between 1946 and 1956, UNESCO’s history and science, “by encouraging membership rose from 28 to 80 and international co-operation in all reached 161 in 1984. At the beginning branches of intellectual activity”, and of the 1990s, UNESCO’s membership by “initiating methods of co-operation further increased due to the political calculated to give the people of all changes in Central and Eastern Europe countries access to the printed and and the collapse of the former USSR. published material produced by any of As of October 2008, UNESCO has 193 them”. member states and 6 associate members. The concrete steps to achieve these ob- During the middle of the 1980s, the jectives are laid down in medium–term United States and United Kingdom left strategies covering a period of six years the Organization accusing UNESCO of (C/4 documents which are conceived as over-politicizing its work and of poor a rolling strategy, allowing for a revi- internal management. Whereas the Unit- sion every two years). The 34th General ed Kingdom returned to the Organiza- Conference held in October 2007 in tion in 1997, the United States contin- Paris adopted the sixth medium-term ued to refuse to re-enter UNESCO until strategy for 2008-2013 (UNESCO Doc. October 2003 (→ UN Policy, USA; → 34 C/4) and the two-year programme UN Policy, United Kingdom). 2008-2009 (UNESCO Doc. 34 C/5) IV. Organizational Structure which were discussed by the Executive The organs of UNESCO are: the Gener- Board after being drafted by the Secre- al Conference, the Executive Board and tariat. The Midterm Strategy 34C/4 is the Secretariat headed by a Director- structured around five programme- General. driven objectives for the entire organiza- The General Conference as tion which are designed to respond to UNESCO’s supreme decision-making specific global challenges and represent and supervisory body meets (since the core competencies of UNESCO → 1954) in ordinary session every two within the UN system. Those five years. Voting follows the principle „one overarching objectives are divided into state - one vote“, but since 1976 the 14 strategic programme objectives (cf. practice has been to take decisions by section V.). In his introduction, the Di- consensus. The General Conference also rector-General claims: “UNESCO’s elects the members of the Executive comparative advantage within the Unit- Board, which (since 1995) has 58 mem- ed Nations system is its ability to re- bers and meets at least twice a year. It spond to complex contemporary prob- functions as a link between the General lems in a comprehensive and relevant Conference and the Secretariat. The manner through intersectoral and inter- 716