During the visit of the Minister of Culture and Communications of Quebec, Mathieu Lacombe, to UNESCO, the question of Quebec’s place in this UN forum arose again. Allow me to clarify by basing my legitimacy on the fact that I have had the privilege of having been the first official representative of Quebec under the Canada-Quebec Agreement on UNESCO from 2006 to 2011.

From the outset, it must be remembered that UNESCO is a UN organization governed by United Nations rules. There are only two ways to become a member, unless you want to be accredited to NGOs or national commissions, as is the case in Catalonia.

The first way is that of full members and is reserved for sovereign states recognized by the international community, giving them all the powers such as B. Seating on bodies (General Assembly, Executive Board, Intergovernmental Committees, etc.) and participating in the work of standard-setting instruments (conventions), influencing agendas, drafting decisions and conducting debates.

Official status within the Permanent Delegation of Canada gives Quebec access to all of these activities and bodies, provided common ground is found with the Canadian authorities. Diplomacy is therefore practiced at all levels.

UNESCO has 193 member states, including Palestine. The Holy See is an observer there and two states are said to be non-members: the United States and Israel, which slammed the door in 2018 after Palestine joined, thereby depriving the organization of some international legitimacy, and above all a large budget. The United States has indicated its willingness to rejoin the organization soon.

The second way is that of associate members. This group includes twelve small federated or regional states, often islands. They cannot exercise all powers, are more vigilant and owe their support to the countries to which they belong.

None of the associate members can be compared to Quebec. Without denigrating the British Virgin Islands, Aruba, Tokelau or the Åland Islands, Quebec has greater ambitions, a diplomatic system unique in the world, a significant membership in the world of Francophonie, a recognized contribution on the international stage for sustainable development and culture , education, science and much more.

The only possible option

The political and administrative arrangement that allows Quebec to be a member of Canada’s permanent delegation and to make its voice heard according to its international policies, program and competencies is not only the best but the only possible option. The operating rules of international organizations are as follows.

The achievement that best illustrates the benefits of this agreement for Quebec is undoubtedly the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, one of the greatest achievements of Quebec diplomacy since the adoption of the Gerin-Lajoie Doctrine. Researchers, artists, civil society and the Quebec government, led by the Department of International Relations and La Francophonie, have benefited from the Canada-Quebec Convention and its Memorandum of Understanding.

In collaboration with the International Organization of Francophonie, this ecosystem presented itself for years in the UNESCO offices and in the delegations in Paris, laying the foundations for the first versions of the Convention, imposing its rhythm in the bodies, influencing the operational guidelines and positioning its experts to strengthen the capacities of the countries in the south.

This success would never have been possible without the political and administrative agreements that have been in place since 2006. We could list other significant achievements under Quebec’s leadership, such as in terms of ethics in science, the fight against radicalization or the ethical responsibility of artificial intelligence.

This practice of international relations sometimes makes other member states and the UN civil service uncomfortable, but it also violates the Westphalian order of sovereign states and makes some representatives of Global Affairs Canada shudder. But modernizing institutions is always a bit of a hassle.

It will be interesting to see how this agreement will affect Canada’s behavior in the work of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, whose fourth negotiating session will be held in Ottawa in Spring 2024. Although this future normative instrument has an important theme, the UNESCO Forum took place last week, led by the United Nations Environment Programme.

Québec is an important and recognized player in the bulk of the UN conventions on climate and biodiversity. In this sense, it is legitimate to work with the Canadian government, as is the case with UNESCO.

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