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UNESCO Director-General, Ms Irina Bokova, expressed her deep sadness at the passing today of Mr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, the first Secretary-General of La Francophonie.

“Boutros Boutros-Ghali devoted his life to promoting the ideals of a more just, peaceful and equitable world, the importance of democratizing globalization and strengthening South-South solidarity –he was a tireless advocate for dialogue and cooperation and defender of human rights and cultural diversity,” said the Director-General.

“On behalf of UNESCO, I wish to say how much his powerful voice will be missed. He was both a diplomat and an intellectual, drawing on the wealth of Egyptian and Arabic culture to share his passion for peace with the world. He was a close friend of UNESCO, contributing actively to the mission of the Organisation, as  Vice-President of the Permanent Forum of Arab-African Dialogue for Democracy and Human Rights, created with the support of UNESCO, and as Chair of the International Panel on Democracy and Development, established by UNESCO in 1998.”