Minister Tekin delivered the national statement during the morning session of the General Policy Debate at UNESCO's 43rd General Conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

 

Minister Tekin began his speech by saying, "On the 80th anniversary of UNESCO, I am honored and pleased to address you in Samarkand, one of the ancient cities of our brotherly nation Uzbekistan and the heart of Turkistan, for the first time in many years outside Paris." He congratulated Prof. Khaled El-Enany, who was elected Director-General of UNESCO with strong support, and stated that Türkiye has stood by him since the very beginning of his candidacy. Tekin added, "We firmly believe that Mr. El-Enany, with our full support, will swiftly address the structural challenges currently facing UNESCO. Likewise, I would also like to congratulate Mr. Khondker Mohammad Talha on his election as President of the General Conference and wish him every success."

 

Minister Tekin stated that, as Türkiye, we stand ready and eager to strengthen cooperation in every area and every sector, in line with our ongoing duties as members of both the Executive Board and the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO.

 

Minister Tekin highlighted the words of the great Sufi philosopher Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi from the 13th century, who said, "It is not those who speak the same language, but those who share the same feelings who truly understand each other." He emphasized that UNESCO was founded with this very spirit-by members of the international community driven by a sense of responsibility, aiming to promote peace, justice, human rights, and democracy through the power of culture, education, and science. It has since carried out invaluable work toward these ends.

 

Minister Tekin stated that a key milestone in this mission was the proclamation of the framework for the Fourth Sustainable Development Goal-ensuring inclusive, equitable, and quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. Türkiye, particularly over the past 22 years, has taken significant steps toward this goal, in close partnership with UNESCO.

 

Highlighting that every issue to be discussed at the conference is undoubtedly important, but emphasizing that we must not lose sight of our fundamental mission as education leaders, Tekin stated, "That mission is the role of education in safeguarding peace, human rights, and justice, and in building a world that is livable for everyone. Wherever in the world a person is deprived of the right to live with dignity, subjected to injustice, oppression, or violence, or marginalized for who they are, we must collectively foster a culture of prevention. Education is the most powerful tool for achieving this. Had we truly fulfilled this mission, there would be no genocides or violations of human rights anywhere in the world-least of all in Gaza. If the world had stood united against those who attempt such atrocities, these violations would not have occurred. Therefore, I call upon all of us to reexamine our curricula with this perspective in mind."

 

Tekin noted that Türkiye has renewed all its education programs around a philosophy centered on humanity, justice, democracy, human rights, and peace. He explained, "Through our new Century of Türkiye Education Model, our goal is to cultivate students who uphold human rights, justice, and peace-without exceptions or conditions. Our call to the international community today is this: Let us build this vision together."

 

Tekin underlined that Türkiye actively follows the digital transformation in education and contributes to the development of new technologies. He recalled Türkiye's constructive contributions to the discussions held during UNESCO's Digital Learning Week in September. Tekin added: "As a member of the World Heritage Committee and a country with 22 sites on the World Heritage List, Türkiye will continue to promote the unifying power of culture under UNESCO's guidance."

 

Tekin, emphasizing the great importance of UNESCO's mission and holding high expectations for its work, noted, "It is therefore imperative that we raise our voices even louder in the face of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Following the peace agreement reached after this genocide, humanitarian aid, unfortunately, has not yet reached Gaza at the desired level due to Israel's lawless stance.

 

Palestine's cultural heritage has been destroyed, and thousands of children have been denied their right to education. Israel's atrocities have not been confined to Gaza; they have spread across the region like a wave of fire." 

 

Tekin stated that the perspective on environmental issues should be reconsidered based on the principle that nature also has rights over humans, and explained that Türkiye is striving to support this philosophy through the Zero Waste Project.

 

Tekin concluded his address with the following remarks: "We hold active roles in UNESCO, of which we are a founding member, and are among the countries contributing the most to its regular budget. Türkiye is ready to assume greater responsibilities at UNESCO in the new term. In this regard, we wish to reaffirm Türkiye's candidacy for the Executive Board for the 2025-2029 term, and to express our firm commitment to contributing actively to UNESCO's work in its executive bodies in the new term."