Ambassador Ernesto Villegas thanked UNESCO for post-earthquake cooperation

Published at: 09/10/2026 09:43 PM

Ambassador Ernesto Villegas Poljak, permanent delegate of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), made his first speech to the Executive Council during the 225th session of this body, in which he reaffirmed his country's commitment to the founding principles of the organization and to the promotion of peace, social justice and dialogue between peoples.

He noted that the Unilateral Coercive Measures (MCU) against Venezuela hinder the fulfillment of its obligations and disturb the exercise of the rights of the Venezuelan people, including those related to the fields of competence of UNESCO: science, education, culture and communication.

“That's right: for now. Because the Venezuelan people fight and are reborn every day, expanding capacities to pave the way to prosperity with social justice,” he said, according to a note from the Permanent Delegation of Venezuela to UNESCO

Villegas also vindicated the mettle of Venezuelan women and Venezuelans. “A people with orchestras and cultural collectives, communes and condominiums, scientific hotbeds and educational communities, among other forms of participation, that resisted, resists and will resist until it is rid of everything that hinders its sovereign development,” he said.

During his speech, he stressed the importance of strengthening peace, removing inequalities and promoting international cooperation, while reclaiming Liberator Simón Bolívar's thinking about the balance of the universe as a current aspiration in the face of conflicts that threaten humanity.

In this context, he recalled the constitutional mandate of UNESCO to build the bastions of peace in the minds of men and raised the need to explicitly incorporate women into that mission.

The permanent delegate also thanked UNESCO for the cooperation provided to Venezuela after the earthquakes of last June 24, which included the coordination of the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) together with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), as well as the activation of the Emergency Fund for Cultural Heritage.

It ratified the country's commitment to the Group of Friends of Disability, constituted by UNESCO at the behest of Venezuela.

The ambassador expressed his solidarity with the peoples affected by natural disasters, climate change “and by those artificial earthquakes that are genocides, bombings, blockades, xenophobia, racism, hatred and sanctions.”

“Venezuela today is committed to diplomacy to manage contradictions with other countries and to constructive dialogue between Venezuelans and Venezuelans to develop in peace and democratic coexistence,” he said.

The Venezuelan representative referred to the visit of Pope Leo XIV to UNESCO, on September 25, during which His Holiness addressed the ethical and human challenges of artificial intelligence (AI).

Villegas warned that this technology, without proper counterweights, can turn against humanity, but that, used responsibly, it can also contribute to removing the deep inequalities that exist on the planet.

He celebrated the Pope's words during his recent visit to UNESCO, in favor of human dignity in the face of the rise of AI.

With this intervention, Venezuela confirms its willingness to actively contribute to UNESCO's debates and initiatives in favor of peace, international cooperation and a more just and inclusive future for all peoples.