17 March 2023
Every year on 20 March, the Francophone world celebrates the International Day of La Francophonie, which is also French Language Day at the United Nations. This date marks the birth of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF)/International Organization of La Francophonie (IOF) in Niamey, Niger, on 20 March 1970. The philosophy of the four IOF founding fathers—President Léopold Sédar Senghor of Senegal and his counterparts, Presidents Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia and Hamani Diori of Niger as well as Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia—is perfectly reflected in a phrase by Mr. Sédar Senghor, who was also a poet: "in the rubble of colonialism, we found this marvelous tool, the French language”; in essence, IOF makes use of French to serve solidarity and development, and to bring people together.
Over the course of the Summits of Heads of State and Government, the supreme body of the institutional Francophonie, which meets every two years, work in the political field (peace, democracy, human rights), sustainable development, economy and digital cooperation have been added to the original areas of Francophone cooperation, namely, the French language, culture and education. Together, these missions define the raison d'être of La Francophonie.
In its interventions, IOF favors three cross-cutting priority themes: teaching/learning French, gender equality and initiatives in favour of youth.
Because the Francophone world is young! It includes 765 million young people representing incredible potential. In some countries, 70 per cent of the population consists of young people.
Built on the values ??and vision of the founding fathers, as set out above, the mission of La Francophonie takes on an ever-renewed relevance, serving populations with agility, solidarity and efficiency, particularly in the context of the global challenges that we are going through and at a time when multilateralism is being called into question.
La Francophonie brings together 88 States and Governments from the northern and southern hemispheres, united by a common language and values, and representing a melting pot of cultural diversity. Its members are deeply committed to multilateralism.
Appointed in 2021 as Representative of IOF to the United Nations, I have the privilege of bringing to the United Nations the political and diplomatic action led by the Secretary-General of La Francophonie, Louise Mushikiwabo, in close coordination with the missions of the IOF member States gathered within the Group of Francophone Ambassadors. Fully committed to promoting and defending the status of French, one of the official languages of the United Nations and a working language of the Secretariat, IOF representation has a broader ambition, the defense of multilingualism within the United Nations.
Indeed, in United Nations forums, the trend towards monolingualism, which has been growing for several decades in favour of English, has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The decline of French in the activities and functioning of the United Nations system is a regrettable reality. Paradoxically, United Nations bodies have never deliberated so much on the issue of multilingualism. A large volume of resolutions, decisions and strategic frameworks aimed at promoting multilingualism have been adopted but have not stemmed the decline in the use of French and the other official languages.
This negative dynamic should not undermine our hope that the position of French and linguistic diversity will improve in United Nations programmes and processes, particularly in the post-COVID-19 era. There are a few reasons for such optimism.
Firstly, multilingualism has been enshrined many times by the General Assembly as a core value of the United Nations. The Member States ensure its implementation, and the Group of Francophone Ambassadors is particularly mobilized. As a sentinel of multilingualism and the French language, they document the obstacles to the Organization's linguistic regime and challenge senior United Nations officials on the shortcomings observed, particularly with regard to major negotiations that take place without interpretation. The Francophone Ambassadors systematically highlight their respect for multilingualism and the status of French at the United Nations in the context of the statements presented at the opening of the work of its bodies. They underline the close link between full respect for multilingualism and the revitalization of multilateralism.
Secondly, the strengthening of the normative framework and institutional arrangements intended to advance multilingualism at the United Nations is a positive step for the rebalancing of languages. The United Nations has equipped itself with essential instruments. These include the , launched in 2020, which aims to provide a common reference system for all official languages in the areas of assessment and identification of language skills, determination of language requirements during recruitment, management and strategic planning of human resources, and language teaching. The Secretariat will soon adopt a strategic framework on multilingualism, which will allow the systematic integration of multilingualism into the work of the Organization. This action, led by the Office of the Coordinator for Multilingualism, receives IOF support.
Thirdly, the United Nations management teams are well aware that multilingualism is a vector of efficiency and confidence in action taken by the Organization, the mobilization of States, and the transparency and national ownership of the decisions and recommendations of the United Nations system. The United Nations Secretary-General is fully committed to multilingualism; he has made it a priority of his mandate. The Secretary-General has clearly expressed himself in favour of strengthening the presence of senior Francophone officials within the United Nations, both at Headquarters and in the field. To that end, IOF is working with the Secretariat to promote calls for applications to its networks.
IOF Representation is the linchpin of the various monitoring and influence networks supporting the French language at the United Nations. It ensures the coordination of the Group of Francophone Ambassadors and deepens the partnership with the Secretariat for greater influence of French language at all levels.
The political and diplomatic field has not been left out. Building on its guiding principles of cooperation and solidarity, IOF takes political action to prevent and respond to crises and conflicts in the countries of the Francophone world in close cooperation with our international partners, at the forefront of which is the United Nations.
Here are some examples:
IOF contributes directly to strengthening the capacities of its member States and their personnel in order to optimize the Francophone contribution to United Nations peace operations, and to bring French to life in these missions. The largest peacekeeping operations are indeed deployed in Francophone countries—the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). This cooperation has led to a number of tangible results, including training programmes developed for the first time in French for heads of missions as well as female military officers, and a pilot project developed with MINUSMA in Mali to strengthen the French language skills of non-French-speaking troops.
IOF also conducts crisis prevention and management activities through diplomatic and political initiatives as part of collective dynamics aimed at greater efficiency.
Finally, La Francophonie accompanies the democratic processes of the Member States by providing expertise based on a unique mechanism, its institutional networks, bringing together judicial, regulatory and mediation institutions as well as those dealing with human rights. IOF is also committed to supporting electoral processes.
The theme chosen for the International Day of La Francophonie 2023 is "321 million Francophones, a world of cultural content", celebrating Francophone cultural creation and diversity, but also to highlight the need to promote access to Francophone cultural content online and its “discoverability”. A vast cultural programme will thus mark the celebration of the International Day on five continents: .
Our cultural diplomacy constantly reinforces the political and technical action presented in this article. It is the hallmark of IOF and of the universal values ??and humanism it promotes, and illustrates our tireless commitment to full respect for diversity.
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