UNESCO contribution to Gaza reconstruction and development – Decision

The Executive Board,

1. Recalling the provisions of the four Geneva Conventions (1949), the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954) and the related Protocols, and the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972), and the recommendations, resolutions and decisions of UNESCO on the protection of cultural heritage,

2. Having examined documents 182 EX/55 and Add.,

3. Having also examined documents 182 EX/54 and Add.,

4. Noting with deep concern the very heavy toll suffered by Palestinian civilians, the deaths and injuries inflicted on Israeli civilians during the escalation of violence and hostilities in December 2008 and January 2009,

5. Also noting the destruction of infrastructure, the significant deterioration of basic services, and the damages to schools, universities and cultural heritage sites caused by the escalation of violence and hostilities in December 2008 and January 2009, and recognizing that schools, universities and cultural heritage sites should not be involved in military conflicts,

6. Recalling the information meeting held by the Director-General on 6 February 2009 to provide Member States with an update on the outcome of the rapid needs assessments conducted in the Gaza Strip, and UNESCO’s participation in the humanitarian response to the situation resulting from the escalation of violence and hostilities in December 2008 and January 2009,

7. Also recalling the strong commitment made by the international community in favour of the Gaza Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan presented at the International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Economy for the Reconstruction of Gaza (2 March 2009, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt),

8. Congratulates the Director-General for UNESCO's rapid response to the situation in the Gaza Strip, thanks him for the opening of a UNESCO project antenna in Gaza City and the initiatives that have already been implemented in the field of education, and for the safety of media professionals, as reflected in the six UNESCO projects retained in the United Nations Flash Appeal for Gaza;

9. Calls upon the Director-General to continue contributing to the United Nations humanitarian response in Gaza within the Organization’s fields of competence;

10. Notes in this regard the importance of free and sustained movement of personnel and humanitarian relief items for the successful implementation of the above-mentioned projects;

11. Calls upon the Director-General to participate actively in the integrated United Nations response to the Gaza Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan developed by the Palestinian Authority, by focusing on UNESCO's contribution to its educational and cultural heritage protection components;

12. Thanks Member States and donors, in particular Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser al Missned, First Lady of Qatar and UNESCO Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education, for their generous financial contributions to the UNESCO projects retained in the United Nations Flash Appeal for Gaza, and invites Member States, international governmental and non-governmental organizations and relevant international and national institutions, as well as private institutions, to further assist in this regard through extrabudgetary funding;

13. Decides to include this item in the agenda of the Executive Board at its 184th session, and invites the Director-General to submit to it a progress report thereon.

[Extracted from Decisions Adopted by the Executive Board at its 182nd session, Paris 7-23 September 2009)