EXCLUSIVE: Moushira Khattab presents her vision for UNESCO

CAIRO – 8 September 2017: A day before choosing the new director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Egypt and Africa’s nominee for post, Moushira Khattab presented her vision for UNESCO in an exclusive interview with Egypt Today

“My message to the International Community is that Egypt is presenting very solid candidate, a candidate with the experience and a track record that can help UNESCO.

The Egyptian candidate enjoys the full fledged support of the African continents. The Egyptian candidate is someone who lived all her life as a global citizen.

My vision for UNESCO is a UNESCO closer to the people and closer to its mandates. A vision that makes UNESCO focused, transparent and effective.

My mission for UNESCO is to implement its mandate and its integrity through multidisciplinary human rights approach, an approach that focused also in education not only as a human right on its own but also as an enabler for the achievements of all human rights that are touched by the mandate of UNESCO with regard to culture, protection of heritage, protection of the environment, and free flow of knowledge and development of communication.

The protection of heritage and the culture of peace is very important target that UNESCO must include when working on its mandate in its integrity.”



Earlier, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told Egypt Today that “Egypt exerted a lot of effort regarding Khattab's nomination to the post of director-general of the UNESCO and intensified its efforts to secure the vote of member states of the executive board in her favor.”

“However, Egypt is vigilant that certain countries might pay large sums of money to shift the votes in favor of their own candidate,” he added.

Khattab has a Ph.D. in children rights from Cairo University; in addition to an M.A. in international relations from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA and a B.A. in Political Science from Cairo University's Faculty of Economics and Political Science.

She was ranked third out of the five leading female human rights activists in the Middle East and North Africa in 2013.

Among Khattab’s eminent job positions are her diplomatic and ministerial duties as the former minister of family and population in Egypt, former assistant minister of foreign affairs, and ambassador of Egypt to the Republic of South Africa, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Khattab has had an eclectic career. She served in Egypt’s diplomatic missions in Australia, Hungary, Austria and the United Nations (New York and Vienna).

She is also a human rights activist; advocating the rights of children and women, and functioning as former Chair of the UN Committee on Children's Rights based at the UN Headquarters in Geneva.