Russia hopes for UNESCO’s role in resistance to intolerance, nationalism - Lavrov

PARIS, November 6. /TASS/. Russia hopes the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will take a pro-active part in resistance to intolerance and it is certain about the need for encouraging inter-cultural dialogue to the maximum extent, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in the course of the general political debate at the 38th session of UNESCO’s General Conference. "To build up from what UNESCO’s Secretary-General Irina Bokova said while making an allusion to Leo Tolstoy I would like to add this. The great Russian author saw humanity’s genuine prospects in ridding it from violence, lies and hypocrisy and in perfecting the moral nature of people," Lavrov said. "In this respect it is hard to overestimate the significance of UNESCO, which has firmly established itself as a reliable humanitarian basis of the global architecture and universally recognized forum for the protection of the spiritual and cultural heritage." "One can say that the hopes of participants in the first UNESCO General Conference have come true. They charged the organization with the noble mission of forming the intellectual and moral conditions crucial to ensuring the effective operation of the entire UN system," Lavrov said. "These days, too, the organization is called to contribute to bolstering the climate of trust and mutual understanding among countries and peoples and advance ever-lasting moral values shared by all main world religions and cultures." "We hope for UNESCO’s proactive role in resistance to intolerance, nationalism and discrimination. It is essential to encourage in all possible ways the dialogue among civilizations, cultures and religions keynoted by mutual respect," Lavrov said. Read more