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At the 40th session of the General Conference of UNESCO on 14 November in Paris, Lithuania underlined the importance of human rights in implementing UNESCO’s programmes and achieving Organization’s goals. ‘‘Respect for human rights is a precondition of peace and security and is essential for sustainable progress“, Permanent Delegate of Lithuania to UNESCO Ambassador Irena Vaišvilaitė noted while delivering the national statement.  

The statement also emphasized that Lithuania is a strong supporter of safety of journalists and trustworthy media.

‘‘Our societies increasingly face hybrid threats, distorted information, which leads to the distrust in media. Now more than ever it is important to promote and encourage high-quality independent journalism and strengthen critical thinking and resilience, which is key in countering disinformation“, Ambassador I.Vaišvilaitė underlined. She also drew attention to UNESCO‘s programmes related to communication and access to information in which Lithuania participates significantly.

During the session of the General Conference, Lithuanian delegation stressed as well the importance of women and girls empowerment, girl’s education and commended UNESCO’s efforts to ensure the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence. It was also noted that, through the ongoing UNESCO‘s Strategic Transformation exercise, the Organization should improve its accountability, transparency, efficiency and risk management.

The General Conference of UNESCO, that meets every two years, is the most important governing body of the Organization comprising 193 members. This year’s session, taking place on 12-27 November, will begin to formulate guidelines for UNESCO’s medium-term strategy for 2022-2029.

At the 40th session of the General Conference of UNESCO Lithuania is represented by a delegation composed of the representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture, the Lithuanian National Commission for UNESCO, academic and youth organizations.

Photo credit: Ph. S. Msadek, Ph. S. Fassatoui