Evaluación económica

Friday, 22 November 1946 at 3 p. m.

President

M.

(Brazil)

The EXECUTIVE SECRETARY : The first announcement I wish to make is to suggest that we send a telegram to M. Trygve Lie, Secretary- General of the United Nations, who cabled to me regretting he was unable to be present here. We suggest that we send a telegram in your name : “The delegations of 44 nations, assembled for the first General Conference of Unesco, greatly regret your absence, very gratefully received your message conveyed by M. Benoît-Lévy and much appreciate your promise of support in our endea- vours. Unesco places full confidence in close con-

structive co-operation with the United Nations” Signed by the-president and myself.

A g r e e d .

9 . G E N E R A L D I S C U S S I O N O N T H E W O R K O F T H E P R E P A R A T O R Y

COMMISSION (continuation)

The PRESIDENT (translation) : The list of speakers is now practically exhausted and, as we wish to close the general discussion this afternoon, — 57 —

I shall be glad if those delegates who wish to speak will send in their names as soon as pos- sible.

I call upon Dr. G. A. Raadi, delegate of Iran. Dr. G. A. RAADI (Iran) (translation) : First of all I wish to say how much my country appre- ciates the privilege of being allowed to take part in this assembly. We are fully conscious of the great responsibility which this participation in- volves in the dual task ahead, which Professor Huxley described so remarkably in his report — namely, to preserve and consolidate peace and security, and to work for the welfare of mankind. Our delegation is particularly glad that Unesco has chosen Paris as the centre of its activity, and we wish to thank France for her very cordial hospitality.

Our tribute to France is all the greater because of the strong cultural ties, which bind our two countries and which never weakened at the most tragic moments of the war, when the élite of our country, always guided by the noble ideals of which the French people has been the prot- agonist, followed with acute anxiety the course of her destiny.

We listened with close interest to the speeches of M. Bidault, the French Minister for Education and other speakers in this Hall on the absence of our heroic ally, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Iran, from her place at the crossroads of civilizations, is perhaps in a better position than any other people to realise that nothing enduring can be achieved on an international level without the active and unreserved co-oper- ation of the Soviet Union. The absence of one of the greatest of world powers is not merely a handicap to the smooth running of this in- ternational organisation, it has, alas, more im- portant consequences. We have a long common frontier with this great power, and we know that Russia’s absence, if definite and permanent, would constitute a serious danger for us as well as for the future of the world. Some countries may look upon Soviet Russian collaboration in all its forms and aspects of the new international order as merely desirable or useful; for us and for certain other people this collaboration has vital signif- icance. We consider it absolutely necessary that the co-operation of this great power should be assured, wherever an attempt is made to further the cause of peace and better understanding among peoples.

At the present stage one of the primary objects of Unesco, perhaps the most pressing, is to secure this co-operation. Iran is ready to devote all its efforts to this same end.

This affirmation may seem presumptuous on our part, when one considers that our country has had the sad honour for the last year of being a sore point in the relations between certain great powers. We do not seek this limelight and we de- cline this honour. On the contrary, proud of the tradition we inherit from a three thousand year old civilization, we wish with all our heart and soul to act as the uniting link within this new ins- titution.

What hopes do we place on Unesco?

First of all we look upon it as the embodi- ment of true disinterested greatness of thought and culture.

In the second place, we hope that it will enable powers which in political jargon are classed as “ small ” to find compensation in the cultural and spiritual spheres for their material weakness.

Can not a nation like Iran, without false mo- desty, play again the part she played in the past? In the course of history has she not been a meeting ground for the east and the west — for Indian wisdom and Greek culture? Did we not play the same role in the formation of Isl- amic civilization? Did we not even serve as an educative force for the destructive Mongol hor- des, in inspiring them with ideals of culture and art which they later propagated when they went to establish a realm in India?

We still possess to-day most of the elements that were the basis of our historical action. This is why we wish to place our experience and our spiritual force at the service of Unesco. We hope to bring to you here our, power of synthesis, which has been the salient feature of our civil- ization, and which is to-day the basis for co-oper- ation between all peoples, and an essential con- dition for understanding and peace.

Dr. Huxley’s report refers to the fight against illiteracy as one of the primary purposes of Unesco. We also attach very great importance to this problem. If there are nations favoured by nature, history or economic factors, for whom illiteracy is no more a problem of first impor- tance, let us admit frankly that this is not the case for certain’ other countries like our own, where geographical, social and political condi- tions have so far not permitted the means of education and expression of thought to be put at the disposal of every individual. We know that accidents of history and geography have contributed largely to this fact, but cannot ent- irely explain it. History shows us convincingly that people in different countries have been kept systematically in ignorance by tyrannical govern- ments, by foreign conquerors, or even by the action of certain forces, invisible but none the less active, making of the people a clay more eas- ily moulded in the hands of their masters and so more easily enslaved. These factors of tyranny and of imperialism cannot properly be called ‘‘ accidents ’’. Whatever the cause of illiteracy, a vigorous fight against it is a primary condition for the success of Unesco.

In the past, numerous attempts have been made to obtain intellectual co-operation between peo- ples, but two world wars within a generation bear eloquent witness to their failure. Surely one of the chief reasons for this failure lies in the fact that this co-operation so far has been limited to the élite, and that no serious effort has been made to extend its benefit to the people as a whole? If Unesco is to achieve something enduring, she must go deep and establish her roots among the masses of the people. She must set out to realize her ideal from the bottom.

Illiteracy is neither a natural fact nor an acci- dent. But if for argument’s sake we do not ex- clude these terms, then Unesco must fight against

all the factors, including political ones, that are the real causes of ignorance amongst vast masses of people.

It is too much to expect men brought up in an atmosphere of extreme nationalism to work for universal peace and understanding. Unesco must form a new generation, instil in it from child- hood the ideals that are its cornerstones. A gener- ation educated in this way will know no other ideals than those of international collaboration. As regards the work of reconstruction, we find a very reassuring allusion in the report of Dr. Hux- ley. It is undeniable that countries devastated by Nazi invaders must have first priority. But it should not be forgotten that other countries which did not suffer the dismal privilege of occupation, but which nevertheless did not stint their con- tribution to the cause of democracy, should also receive special consideration.

May I be allowed to make a statement on the somewhat ambiguous juridical position of my country in this organisation? We deeply regret that Iran cannot participate more actively in the work of this conference. In the absence of an elected Parliament — the elections having been delayed by the political situation — we have not been able to deposit our instrument of rati- fication. The Council of Ministers has, however, expressed their agreement with the Constitution of Unesco by a special decree, which will be sub- mitted to the new Parliament as soon a it meets. Thus Iran, who is a member of the United Na- tions Organization, is in a position not unlike that of countries which have declared their defi- nite acceptance.

The difficult conditions that still prevail in the world will not make our task an easy one. Not- withstanding this our country is very confident in the success of this Organization.

Unesco will be like the forum of ancient Rome, where the citizens of a great empire would come to exchange their ideas and their experiences.

The East does not come here empty-handed. We have our scientists, philosophers, poets : men like Avicenna, Ghazali, Omar Khayam, Ferdussi, Saadi and Hafiz are known in Europe to a re- grettably small number of specialists only. Take Khayam for example, certainly one of the found- ers of modern mathematics, who in Europe is only known as a poet through Fitzgerald’s great trans- lation.

What conclusions can we draw from this? That human genius is not the monopoly of any nation or any race. It belongs to all nations. You are here to prove by your actions that equality among men is not an empty dream.

We proclaim our faith in this Organization, The PRESIDENT (translation) : I now call

on M. Ibarra, delegate of Nicaragua.

M. IBARRA (Nicaragua and Costa-Rica) (trans- lation) : One of the supreme aims of Unesco is to ensure peace between the peoples of the world through education, science and culture.

I do not wish to make a long speech. I want to express briefly my ideas on the tremendous work which Unesco proposes to undertake.

In order to make a successful start, we must have the full co-operation of Soviet Russia, given with goodwill and without suspicion, in the ideal of Unesco, which is the establishment later on of a solid peace, a peace which is the natural and normal evolution of the mind. Moreover, if the ideal of a solid peace is to be total and not totali- tarian, all nations of the world without exception must have full voting rights in this Organization. wish to make a suggestion which concerns both Nicaragua and Costa Rica, whose represen- tative I am, on the question of finance. Compared with the larger and more developed countries of South America, both these countries have small budgets. It is essential, therefore, that contribut- ions to Unesco’s budget shall be allocated in accordance with the economic means of each state.

The peoples of all races must be able to take part in the work of Unesco.

Since 1919 there has been an international peace movement which, like the League of Na- tions, has failed. It may be that man is not yet sufficiently enlightened. In any case, we have seen representatives of a great culture and an advanc- ed civilization belonging to the white and yellow races unleash a second world war which was the complete negation of human dignity and culture. This may be due to the gradual distortion of man from childhood to maturity through the process of his education, It has been said that occasion- ally man gives up one culture for another more corresponding to his state of evolution.

I am sure that education is closely bound up with this problem. A bad education not only distorts succeeding generations of children, but also affects the mental state and, consequently, the material riches of a country. This is true for the people of all nations. Since Prussia became a military camp, German education has sunk to the goose-step of Hitler’s regime, with the results we know so well; this hard-working people with its exceptional aptitude for science plunged man- kind into chaos and misery from which it will take years to recover.

This terrible relapse in human dignity was the fault of the teachers, the governing classes and all men responsible for the fate of their country.. I will give you one example of the deplorable result of this education; in a concentration camp in Poland where wholesale cremation was prac- tised, a little Jewish girl danced, full of confidence and joy, in front of the door of the crematorium. She did not know her fate, but her torturer did. He was a civilised man of the twentieth century, disciplined and educated to burn innocent child- ren to death in a crematorium. His blind obed- ience to inhuman tyranny is a striking result of the education he had received.

Unesco is starting its work at a time which is still full of uncertainty, when peace is still in doubt. It seems that we are on the brink of a. new era, the era of the atomic bomb with the spirit of Hitler still alive in the world.

It may be that Unesco’s creation at this mom- ent arises from some secret forces in human

nature which are trying to defend the existence a n d t h e r i g h t s o f o u r s p e c i e s . I s n o t t h i s n e e d — 5 9 —

for unity in international co-operation a token of these hidden forces of nature? Unesco must co-operate with the work of all cultural and inter- national associations concerned with education,. science and culture; but it must at once enlist the co-operation of private international bodies concerned with education.

Unprecedented progress has been made in the system of education during the last fifty years. The aim now is to achieve the full natural develop- ment of the child and not to impose upon him rigid standards from outside, whether these come from the State, from adults or from religious or political creeds. I have a justified distrust of the direct intervention of politics in education.

It is the cultural contribution of a people which matters, whatever the politics of the country. It is thanks to its culture that France had the whole-hearted sympathy of the Latin American peoples during the first and second world wars. The simple people of Nicaragua and Costa Rica made their small contribution to the liberation of a people who had contributed down the ages to universal culture.

Nicaragua is the country of Ruben Dario, the greatest poet of our century in the Spanish lang- uage. Out of admiration for France he has trans- lated into the Spanish language some of the glory and spirit of the French literature. He and many other great men of Latin America have made a spontaneous contribution to international relat- ions by spreading the spirit of French culture from one end of our continent to the other, from Mexico to the Argentine.

In conclusion may I draw attention to the work of education and culture in the small country of Central America which I have the honour to re- present here, Costa Rica, one of the most peace- ful countries of the world.

Culture in all its aspects has always been of the greatest interest to the Government. It can be said that illiteracy does not exist in this count- ry; her greatest army is the army of ‘school teachers. In 1 9 2 6 the strength of the regular army was between 800 and 1,000 men, in other words, a police force.

The peasant and the workman have quiet well- balanced minds. For them politics provide a dis- traction at the time of elections, but once these are over the successful candidate shakes the hand of his opponent and they both return to their work as happily as if they were coming from a football match.

There has never been a tyrant in the Govern- ment of Costa Rica. Almost all modern institut- ions of education exist, and the country is just- ly proud of its schools, which are installed in the most beautiful buildings of the capital and other towns.

I should like to quote a tribute paid to this country by President Hoover during a visit in 1929 : “ Costa Rica’s achievements ’’, he said, “in the fields of culture and civilization are exemplary. It has maintained the integrity and dignity of the nation with an army which con- tains less than a quarter of the number of school teachers. All these qualities testify to the noble

character of the people and government of Costa R i c a . ”

I wish to thank Dr. Huxley for having under- taken a work started by the Ministers for Edu- cation exiled in London in 1942. The work to be done will be difficult and hard, but with the help of enthusiastic and efficient young men it will be crowned with success, and Unesco will be the cradle of a new civilisation.

Finally I would congratulate the delegates on their suggestions. Among the documents of Unesco I can, however, find no plan for raising the social, moral and economic position of the primary school- teacher. Some countries, particularly the U. S. A.,