「世界の記憶」改革案承認　異議申し立て可能に―ユネスコ

　【パリ時事】国連教育科学文化機関（ユネスコ）の執行委員会は１５日、「世界の記憶」（世界記憶遺産）の申請登録に際し、当事国による異議申立制度を設ける改革案を全会一致で承認した。異議が出た場合、関係当事国が対話を行い、合意が得られるまで遺産登録されない。
　執行委は全１９３加盟国・地域が参加する総会に次ぐユネスコの意思決定機関で、地域枠に応じ投票で選ばれた５８カ国で構成されている。
　現行制度では民間団体や地方自治体も登録を申請できるが、新制度では加盟国の政府を通じて行うことになる。また、最終的な登録決定の権限がユネスコ事務局長から執行委に移行する。
　今回の制度改革は、２０１５年の「南京事件」に関する資料の登録や１６年の従軍慰安婦関連資料の登録申請を受けて、日本政府が「審査過程が不透明だ」として働き掛けていた。（2021/04/17-09:29）

UNESCO's Executive Board unanimously approved a plan to reform the application process for inscription on the Paris-based U.N. cultural body's Memory of the World Register by introducing an objection system.
   The reform was requested by the Japanese government, which criticized the lack of transparency in the program's screening process following the 2015 registration of records related to the 1937 Nanjing massacre of Chinese civilians by Japanese troops and the 2016 application for registration of materials related to so-called comfort women, mainly Koreans, who were forced into prostitution for Japanese troops before and during World War II.
   The board adopted Thursday the reform plan not to allow artifacts to be added to the Memory of the World Register if a country concerned files an objection and related nations do not come to an agreement to resolve the matter.
   The reform plan requires new applications to be submitted via the governments of member states. Under the current system, civic organizations and local governments are also eligible to submit candidates for inclusion in the Memory of the World list.
   The plan also transfers the authority to make the final registration decisions from the UNESCO director-general to the Executive Board.