Paris, October 14, 2024. This Monday, the general debate of the 220th session of the Executive Council, the main body of the organization, in which Cuba participates as a member, began at UNESCO headquarters.
During her speech, the Cuban Representative to this body, Ambassador Dulce Buergo Rodríguez, president of the Cuban National Commission for UNESCO, denounced the negative impact of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the US government more than 60 years ago.
In this regard, the Cuban delegate referred to the intensification of these sanctions with the unjust inclusion of Cuba in the unilateral list of countries that supposedly sponsor terrorism, which hinders the country's participation on equal terms as a member state of UNESCO.
The Executive Board is meeting from Monday until 24 October with a busy agenda, which includes - among its main topics - proposals on the programme and budget for the next period 2026-2029, the follow-up to SDG 4 and preparations for the World Education Meeting, the procedures for the election of the next director general of the organization and the consequences of the current situation in the Gaza Strip within the scope of UNESCO's mandate.