A PARLIAMENTARY committee has acknowledged that the new director-general
of UNESCO, Spanish biochemist Federico Mayor, has corrected many of the
faults that led the British government to withdraw at the beginning of 1986.
But the MPs have held back from proposing that Britain applies to rejoin
immediately, and have described recent proposals put forward by Mayor, which
include the creation of about 20 senior positions, as 鈥榰ncertain and confusing鈥�.
鈥楽ome more time is necessary before it will be possible to be certain
of the director-general鈥檚 ability to deliver the reforms which UNESCO badly
needs,鈥� says the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee in a report
published last week. 鈥業f there is real evidence within the next 12 months
that he has succeeded, we see no reason why the UK should not join in a
year鈥檚 time.鈥�
Foreign Office minister Tim Sainsbury is expected to make a similar
statement this week, when he announces the conclusions of a government review
of Britain鈥檚 attitude towards the organisation.
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The report follows an announcement earlier this year by the Foreign
Office that it intended to review Britain鈥檚 position on rejoining UNESCO.
The Foreign Office, in turn, is widely seen as reacting to an announcement
by President George Bush that the US is considering its position.
The Foreign Affairs Committee reported that it was impressed by the
evidence presented to it by Mayor that he was trying to streamline the organisation.
For example, he has moved many activities away from UNESCO鈥檚 Paris headquarters,
and has focused work around the areas outlined in its constitution: education,
science, culture and communication.
According to the report, recent changes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet
Union 鈥榟ave at least reduced the dangers of a recrudescence of politicisation
of UNESCO鈥檚 programmes鈥�, stating that 鈥榗learly the old political battles
between East and West will no longer be a problem鈥�.
The committee pointed out that despite Britain鈥檚 withdrawal, British
organisations kept in touch with activities that they considered to be worth
supporting. The Natural Environment Research Council, for example, told
the committee that the secretariat of UNESCO鈥檚 Man and Biosphere Programme,
in which NERC scientists still participate, 鈥榯reats the UK as virtually
a full member鈥�.
Mayor鈥檚 attempts to persuade Britain to return have not been helped
by strong criticism, among both member governments and the agency鈥檚 staff,
of his latest round of reforms. Last week, for example, more than 800 UNESCO
employees stopped work for two hours in protest at Mayor鈥檚 proposal to distribute
much of the agency鈥檚 work to regional centres, a move which they claim would
lead to significant redundancies at the Paris headquarters.
