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Statement of H. E. Mr. JANG Ki-Won Ambassador and Permanent Delegate
Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Korea to UNESCO
At the Plenary Debate of
the 186th Session of the Executive Board of UNESCO 9 May 2011, Paris
Thank you, Madam Chair,
I would like to begin by expressing my sincere appreciation to the Director- General for the improved presentation of draft document 36 C/5. I would also like to express our support for her continued reform efforts in enhancing the effectiveness of the Organization.
Let me now address some of the key issues.
With regard to Draft 36 C/5, Madam Director-General stated in her introductory remarks that she proposed “repositioning from efficiency to effectiveness” in its planning of programs and budget for the next biennium.
It sounds that UNESCO is heading into the right direction.
At the same time, however, I would like to emphasize that effectiveness should not be pursued at the cost of efficiency - efficiency is an integral part of effectiveness.
The performance indicators as presented in the draft 36 C/5 do not clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of programme implementation. We find them mostly input-oriented and quantitative in nature, for instance; number of countries, number of workshops and number of institutions. With them, it is difficult to make any qualitative assessment of real impact and effectiveness of
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each program. My delegation is of the view that the evaluation in the 36 C/5 should be further improved by including outcome-oriented measures and more pertinent performance indicators.
When it comes to the budget ceiling of next biennium, the Republic of Korea reaffirms its stance based on the principle of Zero Nominal Growth. I would like to draw your attention to the UN Secretary-General’s initiative to cut the regular budget of the UN by 3%. My delegation believes that UNESCO should also align itself with the same initiative in response to the current economic climate.
Field Network Reform
For Field Network Reform, UNESCO should take effectiveness as well as efficiency issue into consideration at every stage of its on-going reform process.
While welcoming the Secretariat’s more detailed action plan of phased implementation, we believe it is crucial for the Secretariat to take necessary measures to minimize the size of additional recurrent cost.
IEE
With regard to UNESCO’s reform process, I would like to commend the significant work achieved by the ad hoc Working Group on Independent External Evaluation, and especially its constructive recommendations crystallized through intensive discussions among the Member States.
I understand the reform issues raised by IEE have been revisited and discussed over quite some time within UNESCO. To make meaningful changes at this juncture, the reform process should be undertaken as a common responsibility for both the Governing Bodies and the Secretariat.
I therefore strongly wish that the Board members endorse the recommendations of the Working Group by consensus, so that we can move a step forward in implementing them.
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Madame Chair,
I would like now to refer to the execution of some of UNESCO’s major programs.
On Education, the importance of Education for All (EFA) program was once again highlighted in last March on the occasion of the 10th EFA High Level Group Meeting held in Jomtien, Thailand. I believe that the outcomes of the meeting contain several policy implications.
First of all, the Global Monitoring Report warns us that the EFA goals may not be reached by the target year 2015. This means that we seriously need to double our efforts to accomplish the EFA goals for the remaining period.
Secondly, it is necessary to make the use of international events of high-level political representation as an effective tool for EFA advocacy. For example, in order to raise the visibility of EFA goals among the policy makers, UNESCO will be able to actively participate in the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness to be held in Korea in November this year.
And lastly, we need to start preparing for the post-2015 process. I believe now is the right moment for the Member States to launch discussions on what to do after 2015.
In this regard, I would like to put a special emphasis on UNESCO’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) strategy adopted in 2009. For its successful implementation, I believe UNESCO needs to strengthen and further expand its partnership with other international organizations and donors to mobilize necessary resources.
To facilitate discussions on the TVET strategy, the Republic of Korea proposed an additional agenda item to this session of the Board. I hope there will be
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active and lively exchange of views among the Member States on this important issue.
Madame Chair,
On Social and Human Sciences, I believe many of its programs deserve more attention and higher visibility. In this context I am pleased to inform you that the Republic of Korea and UNESCO will jointly host the first World Humanities Forum to promote academic discussions on humanities in November 2011. All Member States are kindly invited to participate in this meaningful event.
On Communication and Information, the Memory of the World program (MOW) has contributed to enhancing awareness on the importance of documentary heritage and capacity-building for its protection. Given the growing interest of Member States in the MOW program, UNESCO needs to reinforce its operational capacity to meet with increasing expectation and demand from the Member States.
In conclusion, Madame Chair, there is little doubt that UNESCO is currently at a critical juncture for changes in a large scale. New challenges and possible solutions are on the table before us all at the same time – IEE recommendations, new 36 C/5, new program cycle, new field network and new working methods, just to name a few. I feel very much honored to partake in this process. I look forward to working closely with all members of the Executive Board and the Secretariat to successfully complete this mission.
Thank you.
