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UNESCO in brief
 The Second Protocol
The Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in Event of Armed Conflict entered into force on March 9. The Protocol, adopted at The Hague in March 1999, strengthens the 1954 Hague Convention and its First Protocol.More |
 46 million children out-of-school in South and East Asia
Despite significant increases in enrolments over the past decade, there are still some 46 million children out-ofschool in the 22 countries of South and East Asia, according to the South and East Asia Regional Report, published by UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics.More |
 Strengthening Earth science research
On February 10 at Headquarters, UNESCO’s Director- General signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with the United States Geological Survey and the German Geo Forschungs Zentrum to strengthen cooperation in the field of earth sciences.More |
 The high cost of repeating
Student repetition in Latin America costs the region over $11 billion annually, according to research in 15 countries by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics.More |
 Sustainable development labs
Meeting at UNESCO on January 26th, West Africa’s environment ministers called on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) to use biosphere reserves “as laboratories for sustainable development”.More |
A deadly year for journalists
UNESCO Director-General Koīchiro Matsuura in January deplored the increase in the number of reporters killed in 2003. “It is a source of grave concern that the number was higher than in any year since 1995”, he said, commenting on reports by professional organizations which set the 2003 figure at between 36 and 42.More |
Underway
The Bureaux of the International Bioethics Committee (IBC) and the Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee (IGBC) met with the chairpersons of the 24 national bioethics committees of the European Union in Rome last December 19 for the first round of consultations in the preparation of a future declaration on universal norms in bioethics.More |
 Copyright on line
About 100 legal texts dealing with copyright and connected rights are now accessible online. The list includes the national legislation of UNESCO’s Member States, and is regularly updated by the Organization’s Cultural Enterprise and Copyright Section.More |
Two new social science Chairs
At the beginning of this year, the Ayrton Senna Institute in Brazil welcomed a new Chair for Education and Human Development, bringing to 25 the number of UNESCO Chairs dealing with sustainable development.More |
 Art alert
A “Red List of Latin American Cultural Objects at Risk”, covering pre-Colombian and Colonial cultural heritage, has been published by the International Council of Museums (ICOM), an NGO that works closely with UNESCO in the struggle against the traffic of cultural objects.More |
 E-9 recommits
Education ministers from nine high population countries - Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan - reaffirmed their commitment to Education for All and agreed to strengthen their cooperation towards this end when they met in Cairo (Egypt) last December.More |
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