UNESCO General Conference Meets In Paris, Adopts Resolution On International Terror

The UNESCO General Conference, which has met in Paris for a 31st session, has voted on a resolution in connection with the latest acts of international terrorism and has accepted it unanimously. Russia took an active part in the drafting of the resolution. Expressing "sorrow and indignation" at the tragic events of September 11 in the United States, the conference delegates condemned acts of terrorism, deeming them an attack on the entire humanity. In this context, the resolution stressed "the renewed relevance" of the efforts to assert the values of tolerance, mutual understanding, and the culture of peace and dialogue between civilizations. Many candidates during the proceedings urged UNESCO adopt a clearer stance toward international terror, which they identified as a challenge to the organization's fundamental values. Sources in the Russian Foreign Ministry said the remarks of Valentina Matviyenko, who led the Russian delegation, invited a flurry of comments. Matviyenko said that UNESCO, as a forum of the world's intellectual elite, could contribute to the global anti-terror campaign by consistently forming a general atmosphere of total rejection of terrorism, regardless of the shape it takes or the slogans it uses.