UNESCO Board appeals for protection of cultural sites in war-torn areas.

UNESCO Board appeals for protection of cultural sites in war-torn areas

The Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at its 1987 session (13 May-19 June, Paris) appealed for efforts to protect the cultural heritage and institutions of three nations affected by armed conflicts-- Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. It also approved measures taken to adapt to the budgetary consequences of withdrawal from the organization of the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore.

The 51-member Board, expressing concern over conditions prevailing near the archaeological site at Tyre in southern Lebanon, asked that UNESCO, with the agreement of Lebanese authorities, alert local and world opinion to the dangers confronting the cultural heritage represented by those important artifacts. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) would be asked to extend its protection to that site in concert with the request from the Lebanese authorities.

Concerning the Iran-Iraq war, the Board called for a study of ways that UNESCO could participate actively in efforts aimed at establishing peace between the two countries and to protect their educational, scientific and cultural institutions, as well as their cultural and natural heritage.

In the area of finances, the Board asked for continued efforts to achieve additional savings. It recommended that a $313 million budget for 1988-1989 be adopted by the UNESCO General Conference when it meets from 20 October to 24 November in Paris.

UNESCO Director-General Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow told the Board that UNESCO's operations, reduced in terms of both money and staff, were nevertheless proceeding smoothly, and its programme implementation rate during 1986 in the areas of education, science, culture and communication had been 94.5 per cent.

The staff had been reduced by about 800, and its budget was lowered from $374 million in 1984-1985 to $290 million in 1986-1987. An unprecedented number of reforms had been instituted so that UNESCO now had the lowest percentage--8.1 per cent--of high-ranking executives in the United Nations system, he said.

Mr. M'Bow also reported a "positive change' in the attitude towards UNESCO on the parts of the United Kingdom and the United States, both at official and private levels, citing the work of such citizens groups as "Americans for the Universality of UNESCO' and "Friends of UNESCO' in the United Kingdom.