Represented by

MacEwan University

Delegation from
The Federal Republic of Nigeria

Position Paper for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

The topics before the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization are: Education for All:
Strengthening Rural Education; Promoting Women in Science; and Protecting World Heritage Sites against New
and Emerging Threats. The Federal Republic of Nigeria is committed to demonstrating international cooperation and
collaboration through working with fellow UNESCO Member States to improve access to and quality of Rural
Education, protect World Heritage Sites, and ensure Female access to careers in Science and Technology.

I.

Education for All: Strengthening Rural Education

Reaffirming UNESCOs current initiatives within the Education 2030 Framework cognitive of Sustainable
Development Goal (SDG) 4, the Nigeria recognizes the importance of a quality education for all. Echoing the
Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Education for All (ERA) agreements, Nigeria has worked to
establish and enforce the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act which strives to achieve inclusive education.
Despite collaborating with the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and adjusting methodical approaches to
education as seen in the National Policy on Gender in Basic Education, the Guidelines for Identification of Gifted
Children, and the Implementation Plan for Special Needs Education Strategy, UNESCO estimates that 39% of rural
children remain out of school. Furthermore, students within rural schools face several challenges including
overcrowding, a lack of learning materials, and an absence of basic resources such as water and electricity. As stated
in the International Fund for Agricultural Developments (IFAD) Rural Poverty Report, more than 70% of the
developing worlds extreme poor reside in rural areas and the discrepancy between Africas educated rich and
educated poor continues to grow as a lack of funding and support to rural areas remains an international trend.
Acknowledging the success of initiatives launched by the private sector, such as Samsungs solar-powered Smart
School Solution, Nigeria urges private sectors such as Samsung Electronics Africa and NGOs such as Relief
International to aid in the development of sustainable education facilities in rural areas that follow the Smart
Schools model. Using recycled shipping containers, this approach works to create educational infrastructure at a
low cost and is highly sustainable. The proposed framework accommodates for resource concerns in rural areas and
further aids in digital literacy, addressing the concern of a digital divide noted in UNESCOs Medium-Term Strategy
for 2014-2021. Implementing such a program would establish a greater number of schools and further, work toward
increasing technological exposure of rural students. Along with basic resources, programs aimed at adequately
training teachers are imperative in the development of these rural facilities as effective centres for learning.
Reminding the international community of their commitment to rural development as outlined in
E/CN.4/RES/2004/48 and UNESCOs current Priority Africa denoted by the Medium-Term Strategy, Nigeria
advocates for the collaboration, cooperation, and support of Member States affluent in effective education
development. Nigeria further calls on the joint efforts of UNICEF and UN Development Programme (UNDP) in
overseeing and implementing the suggested courses of action.

II.

Promoting Women in Science

With the recent adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by the UN, Nigeria emphasizes the
importance of SDG 5 and the message contained in A/HRC/RES/27/6, particularly as it relates to the equal quality
of female education and empowering women to pursue equitable careers in the Sciences. Nigeria is committed to
working with Member States through the UNESCO framework of the Priority Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP)
I and II to assess and improve the ability of Women and Girls to access a scientific education. Noting the principles
of Gender Equality in Education, Nigeria acknowledges the difficulty of increasing the ability of women in a rural
setting to access education, as noted in Working Paper A/C.3/70/L.24/Rev.1, due in part to a lack of support for
female access to Science education from husbands, brothers or fathers. Because of this, and in support of improving
universal access to education in accordance with A/RES/66/137, which stresses the need for education and
vocational training to be accessible for both Men and Women, Nigeria encourages the introduction of programs
offered by organizations such as MenEngage: Boys and Men for Gender Equality into rural areas, which involve
educational efforts, workshops and coordination efforts with national and local governments to engage Men and
Boys in helping to create gender equality. The introduction of these programs, especially at a primary school level,

creates an opportunity to mitigate societal factors emerging from Men and Boys that discourage women from
pursuing careers in Science related fields, or in attending school altogether. Nigeria encourages the engagement of
Men and Boys in these types of programs in order establish long term, fundamental change of the sociocultural
beliefs and practices that Adefunke Ekine, author of Enhancing Girls Participation in Science in Nigeria, notes
keeps women and girls from attending school and engaging in Science and Technology fields. By combining
programmes to engage Men and Boys in Gender Equality with clinics designed to encourage Women and Girls in
Science, such as the Ghana Science Clinics for Girls, Nigeria affirms that efforts to combine the implementation of
these programs will improve womens access to an equitable primary school education and create a greater
enthusiasm for both men and women in pursuing Science related education. Nigeria recognizes that funding is
crucial in establishing these programs, as several programs such as local clinics organized by private and
government partners aimed specifically at promoting engagement in Science, Math and Technology (SMT) have not
been implemented in Nigeria due to lack of funds. To combat this as well as reduce corruption and ensure
transparency, Nigeria recommends to the General Assembly that funding for the implementation for these programs
come directly from the UNDP, UNICEF as well as from private donations. Nigeria further recommends these funds
should be provided directly to the partner groups and NGOs administering these programs, with administration of
these programs occurring under the auspices of local NGOs and the UNDP, in order to further reduce corruption and
bypass recalcitrant government partners who may be reluctant to implement such programs for Women.

III.

Protecting World Heritage Sites against New and Emerging Threats

The Nigeria acknowledges the unique ability of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS) to provide both
historical and cultural benefits to the host nation and the international community as recognized by the Convention
Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972). Nigeria is committed to recognize
and protect this important function of Heritage Sites in accordance with Strategic Objective 7 of UNESCOs
Medium Term Strategy Document 37 C/4. Nigeria has ratified the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention for the
Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and in accordance with Security Council resolution
S/RES/2199, condemns both the theft and destruction of artifacts from heritage sites, and the destruction of those
sites themselves, by groups such as the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant (ISIL). Nigeria further condemns the
sale of looted artifacts to finance terrorist groups as outlined by UNESCO Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property in
Iraq and strongly endorses the provisions of S/RES/2161 that ensure that no funds are made available to terrorist
groups, particularly through the purchases of stolen and looted antiquities. In order to avoid providing funding to
terrorist groups through the irreparable damage to WHS through the knowing or unknowing purchase of stolen
artifacts, Nigeria encourages an increase in the monitoring and cataloging of all at risk WHS sites, as determined by
the World Heritage Committee, in order to increase information available to law enforcement and Member States
about artifacts that have been damaged, are missing or have been sold into the black market. By increasing
cooperation and knowledge of missing or stolen artifacts between member states and law enforcement agencies such
as INTERPOL, Member States can distinguish between the sale of artifacts from legal sources and those artifacts
that have been looted from WHS sites by a terrorist group. Further, Nigeria notes that an effective catalogue of atrisk WHS would allow the preservation of the cultural value imbedded within sites, should they be looted or
destroyed. Nigeria recommends an expansion of the Emergency Safeguarding of the Syrian Heritage Project, as this
project provides an effective framework for the cataloguing and recording of damaged, missing or looted items, with
a priority on creating a database of looted items for international law enforcement partners. Nigeria suggests
partnering with the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
(ICCROM) in implementing this project to take advantage ICCROMs local expertise in cataloging and maintaining
Cultural Heritage sites .As the looting of WHS presents a serious threat the loss of culturally significant properties,
Nigeria further recommends that this program be implemented under the auspices of the World Heritage Convention
(WHC) Reducing Disasters Risks at World Heritage Properties which allows for emergency assistance, funded by
the World Heritage Fund, to any Member State that demonstrates an immediate and pressing danger to a WHS. By
combining this cataloguing of WHS artifacts in the Syria project with Reducing Disasters Risks at World Heritage
Properties, the protection of WHS can be expanded beyond threatened only by terrorism. Nigeria notes that the
WHC mandate includes the protection of WHS that may be under threat from climate change, habitat degradation or
natural disasters. With natural heritage sites such as Osun-Osogbo sacred forest under potential threat from climate
change, Nigeria stresses that the cataloguing of WHS artifacts should not be limited to those sites threatened by
terrorism. Rather, Nigeria recommends that all types of risk should be considered when providing funding for
artifact cataloguing under the auspices of this project.