When we take a look at the current situation the world is in, there seems little to uplift our spirits, and much more we would rather choose not to look at:

It is now over a year since the Middle East was dragged into a new spiral of violence and suffering by the horrific terror attack of Hamas on Israel. The heavy toll this conflict has taken on civilians, especially women and children, is devastating. A rising number of children are out of school in the region and are at risk of becoming a lost generation. The risk of further escalation and a full-scale regional war is dangerously high.

It is also nearly 1000 days since the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has started.

In Afghanistan, we witness systematic gender persecution against women and girls.

In Haiti the multidimensional crisis is causing great concern.

Other crises – among one of particular concern in Sudan – are on-going, however to a large extent ignored by the global public.

The effects of climate change become more and more obvious and force millions of people to flee and destabilize whole regions.

These are very concrete emergencies for millions and millions of humans – and we simply have to do better protecting them, together, multilaterally, inside the UN – and also inside UNESCO.

We have been observing for quite some time how the United Nations Charter and elementary principles of international law are increasingly being called into question, in particular by the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine.

Germany will stand firmly by Ukraine’s side and hosted the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024 in Berlin. We are grateful to UNESCO for its participation. Culture was integrated into the conference for the first time ever. It was highlighted that attacks on peoples’ culture are also attacks on their identity.

In addition to that, the „Recreation Project“ of the German Commission for UNESCO has enabled hundreds of Ukrainian children to attend UNESCO Associated Schools in Germany in the last two years.

Germany also supports education within Ukraine via the „Education Cannot Wait“ fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises and via our contribution to the „Global Partnership for Education“ supporting, amongst others, education in Ukraine, including distance learning opportunities, teacher development and psychosocial support for children and young people.

As to women and girls in Afghanistan, Germany has launched, together with Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, an initiative to hold the de facto authorities in Afghanistan accountable for their violation of the Convention on the Elimination of all Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to which Afghanistan is a state party. We firmly believe that women’s rights are key for global stability, resilience and sustainable development. That is why Germany is standing up for gender equality and diversity worldwide, also as a co-chair of the Equal Rights Coalition with Mexico,

Excellencies,

it is high time to move back to a constructive agenda. The many challenges, the millions of people suffering – our task could not be clearer.

Only a few weeks ago, the entire UN family managed to set a strong sign of hope in NY.

When UN member states agreed in consensus, after co-facilitation by Namibia and Germany, and with the strong leadership by the Secretary General and the President of the General Assembly, on the Pact for the Future.

The mandate of UNESCO is placed right at the center of the Pact:

- We need to follow up on the commitment to foster science, technology and innovation to achieve the SDGs and to „invest in quality education for all“. They are cornerstones of UNESCO’s work. Germany is proud to host the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning and the UNESCO International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training and welcomes their contributions to achieving SDG4.

- The Pact also calls to continue the important work regarding the ethics of AI

- and the need to bring people together again through the protection and promotion of culture and sport as integral components of sustainable development.

- We must emphasize civil society and stakeholder engagement with the aim of a more inclusive and networked multilateralism - and oppose strategies to narrow their space in multilateral fora

Germany very much welcomes the coming into force of the UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development. The recommendation is a unique global standard-setting instrument to guide national education policies. We call for an action-oriented approach to ensure its implementation in all Member States.

In order to be capable to fulfill its mandate, UNESCO also has to address the challenges regarding its management and organization. The IOS report and the excellent work of BSP clearly display which procedures and mechanisms need improvement.

We welcome the recommendations and expect UNESCO to swiftly move forward in their implementation. We need the whole potential of UNESCO with its strong networks, creative talents and knowledgeable experts in addressing the global challenges just outlined before.

It is in this spirit that we are looking forward to the discussions and decisions at this Board. Let us keep up the hopes and the spirit of the Summit of the Future, in order to make UNESCO the strong and effective player in the implementation of the Pact for the Future it needs to be. Let us work together in order to realize our share in the overarching goal of rebuilding trust in the international system and addressing global challenges together.

Thank you and Germany aligns with the EU statement.