03000     General Conference resolution 37 C/Res.37 for Major Programme III

The General Conference,

1.     Authorizes the Director-General:

        (a) to implement during the period 2014-2017, the plan of action for Major Programme III structured around three main lines of action, with special emphasis on Africa, gender equality, least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS), as well as youth and the most vulnerable segments of society, including indigenous peoples;

        (b) to resort also in the implementation of the plan of action for Major Programme III to South-South and North-South-South cooperation, as complementary modalities for delivery of the programme and to continue to develop partnerships with civil society, the private sector, research institutions, organizations of the United Nations system, and other international organizations at all stages of programme development, in order to:

        Strategic objective 6: Supporting inclusive social development, fostering intercultural dialogue for the rapprochement of cultures and promoting ethical principles

            (i) mobilize the social and human sciences to enable social transformations and intercultural dialogue conducive to social inclusion, poverty eradication, environmental resilience, elimination of discrimination, violence prevention and peaceful resolution and social responsibility with a forward looking and a multidisciplinary strategic approach through:

            •     strengthening the links between research and policy-making in relation to social transformation and cultural pluralism for sustainable inclusive social development including with the participation of youth and built on the long standing experience of the Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Programme;

            •     supporting the development and implementation of fully inclusive human rights-based, gender-sensitive and socially-inclusive policies that promote the welfare of marginalized groups and those exposed to environmental vulnerability and the culture of peace and nonviolence by reinforcing human and institutional capacities, at the national and municipal level, taking into account also issues related to access to information and new means of communication; 

            •     leading focused initiatives in education, the sciences, culture, communication and information that support the emergence of more inclusive and resilient societies and broad-based intercultural dialogue;

            •     mobilizing foresight techniques, critical thinking, philosophy and humanities, to map out current and future needs in terms of inclusion and sustainability and to design innovative proposals for the development of public policies, bridging evidence-based and action-oriented research, policy-making and practice;

            (ii) further strengthen UNESCO’s actions in bioethics and clarify the ethical, legal and societal implications of cutting-edge science, emerging technologies and their applications through an inclusive international dialogue, in particular by:

            •     fostering international, regional and national debate on bioethical issues through the work of the International Bioethics Committee (IBC), the Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee (IGBC) and the UNESCO Chairs in bioethics and human rights, including monitoring emerging bioethical challenges in order to promote, if necessary, further normative actions and the creation of national bioethics committees;

            •     promoting existing standard-setting instruments in the field of bioethics (Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights, International Declaration on Human Genetic Data, Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights), and support Member States in their implementation;

            •     ensuring, through education and awareness-raising, that relevant audiences are familiarized both with key ethical challenges and with the resources available to address them, in particular through the maintenance and development of the online Global Ethics Observatory (GEObs) with the assistance of IBC and the World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) and the development and dissemination of appropriate ethics pedagogical materials;

            •     promoting the World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) as a forum for international expert discussion of scientific responsibility and the ethical, legal and societal aspects of science governance and sustainable development;

            • developing a comprehensive international ethical, legal and societal framework for science based on recognition and effective implementation of the 1974 Recommendation on the Status of Scientific Researchers and pursuing efforts towards its revision;

            •     enhancing understanding of the emerging ethical, legal, environmental and societal implications of convergence between nanotechnologies, biotechnologies, information technologies and cognitive science; (iii) ensure a multidisciplinary and coordinated action by UNESCO on youth, in line with the UNESCO Operational Strategy on Youth for 2014-2021, in particular by:

            •     providing upstream policy advice and capacity development for the formulation or review of transversal and inclusive public policies on youth, favouring the equal participation of young women and men and in line with national needs; 

            •     fostering youth civic engagement and supporting youth-led or youthfocused initiatives enabling democratic participation, social innovation and community building;

            •     coordinating the UNESCO-wide Youth Programme and ensuring a comprehensive UNESCO contribution to the United Nations collaborative work on youth guided by the Five-Year Action Agenda of the United Nations Secretary-General and the World Programme of Action for Youth;

            (iv) capitalize the potential of sport as a means in mobilizing sustainable development, social inclusion and ethical principles, working where appropriate, with the Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport (CIGEPS) and its Permanent Consultative Council by:

            •     guiding national and international policy development in the areas of physical education and sport in coordination with United Nations agencies;

            •     contributing to designing appropriate governance frameworks and carry out capacity building to safeguard the integrity of sport;

            •     enacting national anti-doping policies in accordance with the 2005 International Convention against Doping in Sport, monitoring the convention’s implementation and supporting capacity building at the national and regional levels through the Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sport;

            (v) coordinate the application of a human rights-based approach across all programmes and activities of the Organization and coordinate input to United Nations human rights mechanisms, such as the Universal Periodic Review, and to United Nations inter-agency processes, including the United Nations Development Group (UNDG);

        (c) to allocate for this purpose an amount of $33,197,000 for the period 2014-2015;

2.     Requests the Director-General:

        (a) to implement the various activities authorized by this resolution in such a manner that the expected results defined for the two global priorities, Africa and gender equality, pertaining to Major Programme III are also fully achieved;

        (b) to report periodically to the governing bodies, in the statutory reports, on the achievement of the following expected results:

        Main line of action 1: Mobilizing future-oriented research, knowledge and policy making to support social transformations, social inclusion and intercultural dialogue

            (1) Future-oriented social science and humanities research on social transformations and intercultural dialogue enhanced through the uses of sustainability science as well as fully inclusive human rights-based and gender-sensitive initiatives to strengthen national social science policy and international scientific cooperation;

            (2) Focused initiatives in education, culture, the sciences, communication and information developed that support the emergence of more inclusive societies and greater intercultural dialogue;

            (3) Capacities of decision-makers, civil society organizations and other key stakeholders strengthened, to design and implement innovative proposals for the development of public policies in favour of social inclusion and intercultural dialogue, particularly targeting disadvantaged populations;

        Main line of action 2: Empowering Member States to manage the ethical, legal, environmental and societal implications of scientific and technological challenges with a view to achieving inclusive and sustainable social development

            (4) Capacities of Member States strengthened to manage bioethical challenges arising from science and technology, operationalize universal bioethical principles, and engage fully in the global bioethical debate;

            (5) Ethical, legal and social implications of cutting-edge science, emerging technologies and their applications identified;

         Main line of action 3: Building policies through a participatory process with stakeholders in both the fields of youth and of sports; supporting youth development and civic engagement and promoting a human rights-based approach in UNESCO’s programmes

            (6) Capacities of Member States strengthened to design and implement multistakeholder and inclusive public youth policies, and young women and men engaged in community building and democratic processes;

            (7) Multi-stakeholder and inclusive public policies designed and implemented by Member States in the field of physical education, sports and anti-doping;

            (8) Human rights-based approach further integrated in activities across UNESCO’s major programmes and in all the phases of programme cycle;

        (c) to report, in her six-monthly statutory reports on the execution of the programme adopted by the General Conference, on measures taken to optimize the use of resources in the implementation of programme activities;

        (d) to undertake, during the period 2014-2017, a review of the main lines of actions and their expected results, including those of the intergovernmental and international programmes pertaining to Major Programme III and to propose their continuation, reorientation, including possible reinforcement, exit strategies or termination, based on clear evaluation criteria.