Faroes join UNESCO

Paris, 13 October

• © UNESCO/A.Wheeler
• Jørgen Niclassen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Faroes (left) with the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura

The Faroe Islands on 12 October became an Associate Member of UNESCO, which now counts 193 Member States and seven Associate Member States. UNESCO’s membership* stands at 200, one of the highest in the United Nations system.

UNESCO’s first Associate Member from Europe, the Faroe Islands are an archipelago of 18 islands located in the North-Atlantic Ocean, about halfway between Scotland and Iceland, inhabited by about 49,000 people. Known for their unspoiled landscape, traditional architecture and distinct cultural identity, the islands have been an autonomous region of Denmark since 1948.

Their admission to UNESCO follows an application filed on their behalf last July by Per Stig Møller, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark. The application was put on the agenda of UNESCO’s General Conference, taking place between 6 and 23 October.

Jørgen Niclassen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Faroe Islands, took the floor at the plenary session of the General Conference on 12 October to express the satisfaction of his government in this regard.

According to UNESCO’s Constitution, “Territories or groups of territories that are not responsible for the conduct of their international relations may be admitted to UNESCO as Associate Members. […] Their admission and their rights and obligations are determined by the General Conference.”

• Author(s):UNESCOPRESS
• Source:UNESCO Press Release No. 2009 – 120
• 14-10-2009