Saudi Arabia’s Contributions Culminate in its Re-election to UNESCO Executive Board

Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan delivers Saudi Arabia’s speech at the UNESCO General Conference in Paris. (SPA)
Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan delivers Saudi Arabia’s speech at the UNESCO General Conference in Paris. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia’s Contributions Culminate in its Re-election to UNESCO Executive Board

Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan delivers Saudi Arabia’s speech at the UNESCO General Conference in Paris. (SPA)
Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan delivers Saudi Arabia’s speech at the UNESCO General Conference in Paris. (SPA)

As a culmination of its contributions to promoting education, culture and science around the world, Saudi Arabia has won membership in the Executive Council of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the 2023-2027 session, for the second time in a row, during the 42nd session of the UNESCO General Conference.

Prince Badr bin Farhan, Minister of Culture and Chairman of the National Committee for Education, Culture, and Science, said: “As one of the founding members of UNESCO since 1946, Saudi Arabia fully supports the enhancement of the education, culture, and science sectors globally.”

He added that the Kingdom’s victory was a result of the member-states’ confidence in Saudi Arabia’s effective contribution to supporting the three sectors in achieving sustainable development goals and serving as catalysts for empowerment and prosperity worldwide.

Prince Badr bin Farhan noted that Saudi Arabia was the first country to take the initiative to include the cultural dimension in the agenda of the G20 Summit, adding that UNESCO was a party in the first joint meeting of the group’s culture ministers, during the Kingdom’s presidency of the summit in 2020.

Regarding the partnership between his country and the organization in the fields of education, science and culture, the minister pointed to the Saudi Fund at UNESCO, through which the Kingdom launched six pioneering projects to make a positive impact on cultural heritage around the world.

Prince Badr explained that Saudi Arabia, through its membership in the Executive Board of UNESCO, will collaborate with member states to strengthen international cooperation, achieve the organization’s strategic targets, and sustain its vital role within the organization.

The Executive Council is one of the three constitutional bodies of UNESCO, which include the General Conference and the General Secretariat. Its members are elected at the General Conference, which is held every two years.



UN Puts 4th Century Gaza Monastery on Endangered Site List

The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File
The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File
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UN Puts 4th Century Gaza Monastery on Endangered Site List

The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File
The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File

The Saint Hilarion complex, one of the oldest monasteries in the Middle East, has been put on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites in danger due to the war in Gaza, the body said Friday.
UNESCO said the site, which dates back to the fourth century, had been put on the endangered list at the demand of Palestinian authorities and cited the "imminent threats" it faced.
"It's the only recourse to protect the site from destruction in the current context," Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, told AFP, referring to the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.
In December, the UNESCO Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict decided to grant "provisional enhanced protection" -- the highest level of immunity established by the 1954 Hague Convention -- to the site.
UNESCO had then said it was "already concerned about the state of conservation of sites, before October 7, due to the lack of adequate policies to protect heritage and culture" in Gaza.
The Hamas attack on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 39,175 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.