INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Sri Lanka has been elected to the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the
term 2023-2027, during the 42nd General Conference of the inter-governmental organization on Wednesday (15) in Paris.Sri Lanka obtained 144
votes out of 188 member states voting at the said election, co-securing the 3rd highest vote count from the region, with Bangladesh, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.The member states of the UNESCO elected 6 members, out of 9 candidates from the Asia-Pacific
Region, to the UNESCO Executive Board
The other countries who were elected from the region are Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Republic of Korea and Australia
Sri Lanka last served on the Executive Board from 2015 to 2019, it added.The UNESCO contributes to peace and security by promoting
international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication and information
It also contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
principles upheld by UNESCO to promote collaboration among nations through education, science and culture, in order to further universal
respect for justice, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms of the peoples of the world.Since the inception, Sri Lanka has played a
significant role and made proactive contribution towards the furtherance of the mandate of the UNESCO
Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO is the government arm for implementing the UNESCO Agenda in Sri Lanka, under the guidance of the
Ministry of Education.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the Sri Lanka Embassy in Paris and the Ministry of Education is pleased
that in the past months, Sri Lanka has been successful in consecutively being elected to 3 UN bodies/committees: Committee on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and
Members of their Families (CMW), and the UNESCO Executive Board, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
