Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Head of the National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO, Representative of Ukraine at the Executive Board of UNESCO Sergiy Kyslytsia, heading the official delegation of Ukraine, took part in the 196th Session of the Executive Board of the Organization and delivered a speech within the framework of its general political discussion at the plenary sitting.
In his speech, the Head of the Delegation of Ukraine stressed the need to achieve a higher level of cooperation between states in search of answers for today’s challenges, including those within international organizations, to develop rapid and effective measures to combat global and regional crises of humanitarian character, and to enhance UNESCO’s role in the UN system.
Particular attention was paid by the Head of the Delegation of Ukraine to the situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea due to the temporary occupation of the peninsula and massive and systematic violations of human rights there, the policy of intolerance and discrimination on ethnic, religious and other signs.
In the context of the resolutions adopted at the two previous sessions of this governing body of UNESCO and the new draft document “Follow-up by UNESCO of the situation in the autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine)” submitted by Ukraine for the current session, S.Kyslytsya underlined that Ukraine defended its right to preserve and protect the Ukrainian cultural, natural and scientific heritage in the territory of the peninsula, occupied by Russia, to ensure the stable work of educational and research institutions in the Crimea, and hoped that UNESCO’s voice would be heard among the voices of other competent international organizations.