Ararat Mirzoyan summarised the Presidency of of Armenia in La Francophonie and the implementation of commitments undertaken by OIF members under the Yerevan Declaration
Within the framework of the 43rd Session of La Francophonie Ministerial Conference held on November 18 in Djerba, Tunisia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan summarised the process of fulfilling the commitments undertaken by the member-states at 2018 Summit of La Francophonie held in Yerevan, and Armenia’s presidency in the Organization during the past four years. As a result of the Yerevan Summit, in addition to the Yerevan Declaration, six resolutions were adopted on crisis, post-crisis and peace-building situations in the French-speaking world, the 25th anniversary of the Paris Principles, citizenship and human rights education, neglected tropical diseases, cultural participation, knowledge exchange and impetus for research.
Ararat Mirzoyan emphasised that the key provisions and commitments of the Yerevan Declaration adopted following the Yerevan Summit were based on the idea of “Living Together”, anchored on humanitarian values, francophone solidarity and respect for linguistic and cultural diversity. Over the past years, the spread of intolerance, hate speech and discriminatory phenomena has shown how important it is to create a fair society, promote tolerance and cultural diversity.
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The Foreign Minister of Armenia noted that during the past four years, peace, democracy, protection of human rights, good governance and commitments to “Living together” have been in the heart of attention of La Francophonie more than ever. With the support of the OIF and the involvement of national human rights institutions, the member countries had the opportunity to implement a number of measures in favour of peace and democracy and protect human rights.
Minister Mirzoyan particularly highlighted the efforts of the International Organization of Francophonie towards strengthening peace in the Francophone world, consistent work with international and regional partners in the direction of crisis prevention and conflict management, as well as preventive diplomacy and mediation guided by the ideas of collective Francophone solidarity.
The Armenian side welcomed the “French Language, Cultural and Linguistic Diversity” project carried out within the framework of strengthening linguistic and cultural diversity in the Francophone region, the “French in International Relations” program aimed at promoting the use of French in international relations, as well as the adoption of the declaration on the French language in Djerba.
Ararat Mirzoyan also touched upon the role of youth when it comes to prevention of conflicts, sustainable development, environment, gender equality, and the work in the field of prevention of radicalization and extremism manifestations.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Government