Mosul reconstruction to give Unesco window to revive fortunes

PARIS: The United Nations’ cultural agency wants to use the reconstruction of Iraq’s second city Mosul as a way to restore its credibility and show how a fraying multilateral order can be revived, its director general said yesterday.

Officially entitled the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Parisbased Unesco is best known for designating and protecting world heritage sites, from the Galapagos Islands to the tombs of Timbuktu.

It was plunged into turmoil almost a year ago after the United States pulled out, striking a blow to multilateralism and raising questions over the funding of an agency founded after World War Two.

While most of its activities are uncontroversial, Unesco has seen internal political fights between some of its 195 member states in recent years that have paralysed its work, notably on issues related to the Holy Land.

Those culminated in the United States and Israel announcing their withdrawal from the organisation, accusing it of anti-Israel bias, just days ahead of the new Director General Audrey Azoulay’s appointment in October 2017.

Almost a year later, Azoulay has sought to refocus the agency on its fundamentals, with Mosul’s reconstruction at the centre of that effort.

“At a time when multilateralism is sometimes being questioned, the objective and magnitude of this initiative shows exactly why an organisation like Unesco is important,” Azoulay told Reuters ahead of a conference in Paris on Mosul.

Partnering with the Iraqi government, Unesco wants to position itself as the go- to coordinator to rebuild some of the city’s landmarks that were turned to rubble by urban warfare between Islamic State militants and the US-backed coalition.

Mosul needs at least 2 billion of reconstruction aid, according to government estimates.

Azoulay said she wanted to restore the city’s heartbeat, diversity and history, while using Unesco’s educational programmes to combat extremism. — Reuters