The World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE), an impartial body which reports directly to the UNWTO General Assembly, met under a new chair and with a new composition. After deliberations, the Committee agreed to issue the following statement:

The World Committee on Tourism Ethics, welcoming the statement of UN Secretary-General that “Continuing the war in Ukraine is morally unacceptable, politically indefensible and militarily nonsensical”, in firm belief that tourism is a vital force for peace and a factor for friendship and mutual understanding among the peoples of the world, urges the Russian Federation to end its invasion against Ukraine which is putting millions of lives at risk, threatening their peace and security. Guided by Article 1 of the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, the Committee calls on all efforts to be extended towards peace negotiations in accordance with the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter.

While the right to tourism is forcibly taken away during conflicts, tourism is always a reminder of the importance of dialogue, peace, tolerance, and sustainable development among countries.

The WCTE functions are to interpret, apply, and evaluate the provisions of the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, in addition to ensuring the promotion of its ethical principles and the monitoring of its practical implementation by governments and the private sector.

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About UN Tourism

The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UN Tourism promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

Our Priorities

Mainstreaming tourism in the global agenda: Advocating the value of tourism as a driver of socio-economic growth and development, its inclusion as a priority in national and international policies and the need to create a level playing field for the sector to develop and prosper.

Promoting sustainable tourism development: Supporting sustainable tourism policies and practices: policies which make optimal use of environmental resources, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and provide socio-economic benefits for all.

Fostering knowledge, education and capacity building: Supporting countries to assess and address their needs in education and training, as well as providing networks for knowledge creation and exchange.

Improving tourism competitiveness: Improving UN Tourism Members' competitiveness through knowledge creation and exchange, human resources development and the promotion of excellence in areas such as policy planning, statistics and market trends, sustainable tourism development, marketing and promotion, product development and risk and crisis management.

Advancing tourism's contribution to poverty reduction and development: Maximizing the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and achieving the SDGs by making tourism work as a tool for development and promoting the inclusion of tourism in the development agenda.

Building partnerships: Engaging with the private sector, regional and local tourism organizations, academia and research institutions, civil society and the UN system to build a more sustainable, responsible and competitive tourism sector.

Our Structure

Members: An intergovernmental organization, UN Tourism has 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and over 500 Affiliate Members.

Organs: The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Organization. The Executive Council take all measures, in consultation with the Secretary-General, for the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly and reports to the Assembly.

Secretariat: UN Tourism headquarters are based in Madrid, Spain. The Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General and organized into departments covering issues such as sustainability, education, tourism trends and marketing, sustainable development, statistics and the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), destination management, ethics and risk and crisis management. The Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Department carries out development projects in over 100 countries worldwide, while the Regional Departments for Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East serve as the link between UN Tourism and its 160 Member States. The Affiliate Members Department represents UN Tourism's 500 plus Affiliate members.

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