Nigeria, 30 others elected members of UNESCO Executive Board

Nigeria, 30 others elected members of UNESCO Executive Board

Nigeria and 31 other countries have been elected into the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

A UN statement said the ongoing 36th session of the General Conference elected board members to four-year terms on the basis of a geographical allocation.

Countries elected

Nigeria, Namibia, Ethiopia, Mali, Gabon, Malawi, Angola and Gambia were the African countries to join the executive board.

The Middle East and North Africa will be represented by the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia with Austria, France, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland and the US from the Western European and other countries group.

Russia, Czech Republic, Montenegro and former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia were chosen from Eastern Europe while Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador and Mexico were elected from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Republic of Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea will represent Asia on the board.

UNESCO’s General Conference

UNESCO’s General Conference comprises the agency’s Member States and is tasked with determining the agency’s policies and main lines of work.
The conference also elects the 58-member Executive Board, which assumes the overall management of the agency.

The new members joined others elected during the 2009 session of the General Conference and whose mandate will expire in 2013.

NP/ Adekusibe/Ekata