By Hatem Mohamed SHARJAH, (Pakistan Point News - 04th Mar, 2020) The rise of violent extremism, with culture and identities on the frontline of new wars was at the heart of the challenges met by Irina Georgieva Bokova, a Bulgarian politician, during her tenure as the Director-General of UNESCO from 2009 through 2017.
"We saw the systematic violations of human rights, the persecution of people on cultural and religious grounds. We saw terrorist attacks. We saw the intentional destruction of the past, in Syria and Iraq," she told the Emirates news Agency, WAM, on the sidelines of the now-running 9th International Government Communication Forum which opened today in Sharjah.
"What Daesh did was really heartbreaking to see something belonging to humanity and protected under UNESCO deliberately targeted by fanatics and extremists," she added.
But this was not the only challenge that Bokova encountered and urged her to enter the race to become the United Nations' first female secretary general in 2014 after she became the first female to run UNESCO earlier.
"US withdrawal from UNESCO was a loss for multilateralism," she said, adding, "despite the withholding of [US] funding, since 2011, we have deepened our partnership."
The United States officially left the global cultural heritage and preservation organisation in 2019.
"My ambition was always to bring countries together to save human heritage. How to respond to the destruction of human heritage was a difficult question that I had to deal with to convince politicians that these sites (being destroyed) do not belong to history only but rather to humanity at large.
"We in UNESCO managed to get a series of resolutions from the Security Council for the first time to address this issue."
Universality, she continues, is critical to UNESCO’s mission in order to strengthen international peace and security in the face of hatred and violence, to defend human rights and dignity.
"Together, we can work to protect humanity’s shared cultural heritage in the face of terrorist attacks and to prevent violent extremism through education and media literacy. This is why I regret the withdrawal of the United States. It is a loss to UNESCO. It is a loss for multilateralism and a loss for the sustainable development agenda. Multilateralism is under attack."
Having said that, she enthused, UAE comes at the forefront of countries providing tangible support to UNESCO.
"H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, has come to us. Sharjah and the UAE always provide tangible support for UNESCO," Bokova said, praising the UAE leadership for promoting culture and the arts.
"We know the power of the arts for transforming societies, educating about certain values and uplifting the human spirit. UNESCO values UAE for its political will and leadership in promoting equal opportunities and social inclusion, educating girls and women, and promoting arts and culture."
Bokova described women’s empowerment as a societal issue. "I believe women’s empowerment is the agenda of 21st century. Women’s empowerment is the solution for society to become prosperous, and peaceful and for countries to get more social cohesion. It’s the right time to admit that without women’s empowerment, you cannot have a sustainable peace."
