“The safeguarding of cultural heritage is the essential element to ensure peace and sustainable development of all peoples”. With these words Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Angelino Alfano, expressed his intense satisfaction after this morning’s adoption of the Appeal entitled ‘Protecting Culture and Promoting Cultural Pluralism: the key to lasting peace’ by UNESCO’s General Conference . The Appeal, which was promoted by Italy, was read aloud by children and teenagers coming from all around the globe in the six official languages of the United Nations.
Minister Alfano underlined how the Appeal addresses Governments, but especially the younger generations, in order for them to safeguard cultural heritage and the universal values it stands for. This solemn act, in fact, recalls us that the safeguarding of cultural heritage and cultural pluralism are essential elements to foster peace, security and sustainable development.
Minister Alfano proudly remembered that Italy was elected for the first time Chair of UNESCO’s Culture Commission, in which the Appeal was approved. “This result”, he continued, “is a consequence of the intense work carried out by our country at UNESCO, which succeeded in raising the international community’s awareness on the importance of safeguarding cultural heritage as the expression of peoples’ identity, and of cultural pluralism as an essential condition for peaceful coexistence and sustainable development”. It’s in this framework that Italy – the first among all of UNESCO’s Member States – decided to establish a national Task Force composed of cultural heritage experts and Carabinieri from the Department for the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage.
Furthermore, Minister Alfano announced that, Italy will organize an event on this topic at the end of November, in the framework of its Presidency of the UN’s Security Council. The latter will be devoted, among others, to the follow-ups of Resolution 2347, which was the first to establish a link between the the safeguarding of cultural heritage and lasting peace and security.
