EU Statement on the UNESCO80 Roadmap – 224th Executive Board, UNESCO

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union, and the candidate countries Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Moldova, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine, and the Principality of Andorra, the Principality of Monaco, and the Republic of San Marino.

UNESCO80 is a unique opportunity to make UNESCO more resilient, cost-efficient and responsive and above all, more effective for the people it serves.

The European Union thanks the Secretariat for its forward-looking roadmap of UNESCO80 and for ensuring alignment with the UN80 Initiative, fostering greater coherence across the UN system.
The European Union views UNESCO80 as an opportunity to focus on UNESCO’s core mandate and areas of comparative advantage, whilst upholding rules-based multilateralism, a human-rights based approach, and mainstreaming gender equality across all sectors. 

We look forward to contributing to the Mandate Implementation Review, encouraging stronger prioritisation in the programme and budget framework, clear impact reporting and monitoring, adaptable governing body resolutions, and innovative fundraising models.

We underline that the comparative advantage of the Communication and Information Sector needs to be strengthened to safeguard UNESCO’s central role in the unrestricted pursuit of objective truth, the free exchange of ideas and knowledge, the freedom of expression, and the safety of journalists.

Concernant les changements structurels proposés, l’Union européenne salue la création d’un secteur scientifique intégré visant à éliminer les doublons, à réduire les coûts et à renforcer l’impact de l’interface science-politique.

La mise en œuvre et l’impact de l’action de l’UNESCO dans les situations d’urgence doivent demeurer au cœur de son mandat.

L’Union européenne est disposée à collaborer avec ses partenaires pour faire progresser la réforme de l’UNESCO.