Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Accepted in Part
The UK Government should push for an urgent, independent review of UNESCO’s investigatory powers and...
Recommendation
The UK Government should push for an urgent, independent review of UNESCO’s investigatory powers and processes, and formally request that the organisation pursue its mandate with determination and commitment. The UK should adopt a policy of coordinating with allies to block and reduce the influence of the worst human rights- abusing countries on the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. (Paragraph 31) Diaspora and culture
Government response summary AI-generated
The government agrees that UNESCO should be aware of the situation and commits to raising its concerns with UNESCO partners, but implicitly rejects pushing for an urgent independent review of UNESCO's powers or coordinating to block countries, citing UNESCO's limited mandate.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted in Part
The Government is committed to helping to protect culture and heritage around the world, including in Xinjiang, and we agree that it is important for UNESCO to pursue its mandate with determination and commitment. However, we also recognise that UNESCO’s mandate is limited in scope, and that while it has international obligations over World Heritage Sites, it is not responsible for policing the protection of all cultural and religious heritage sites around the world. Nevertheless we agree with the Committee that UNESCO should be fully aware of what is happening in Xinjiang, and consider carefully how it can pursue its mandate in this context. We therefore agree to raise our concerns with our UNESCO partners. Diaspora and Culture
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