UNESCO’s 193 member states are gathering in Paris for a two-day meeting aimed at voting on the United States’ plan to rejoin the UN cultural and scientific agency.
FILE – The logo of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is seen during the 39th session of the General Conference at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on Saturday, November 4, 2017. UNESCO’s 193 member states are gathering on the Thursday of June. The purpose of the two-day meeting in Paris on May 29, 2023 was to vote on the United States’ plan to rejoin the UN cultural and scientific agency, after a decades-long dispute over whether to include Palestine as a member. Controversy had arisen due to the move of the organization. (AP Photo/Christophe Enna, File)
The Associated Press
Paris — UNESCO’s 193 member states are gathering in Paris on Thursday for a two-day meeting aimed at the UN cultural and scientific agency after a decades-long dispute arising from the organization’s move to include Palestine as a member. to vote on the United States’ plan to rejoin.
The US announced earlier this month that it wanted to return, five years after leaving the agency during Donald Trump’s presidency.
US officials say the decision was motivated by concern that China is filling a gap left by the US in UNESCO policymaking, particularly in setting standards for artificial intelligence and technology education around the world.
The ratification by the member states seems to be a formality as no country has objected to the withdrawal of the country which was once the biggest financier of the agency. The voting is expected to take place on Thursday or Friday.
The US and Israel ceased funding to UNESCO in 2011 after they voted to admit Palestine as a member state. The Trump administration decided to completely withdraw from the agency the following year in 2017, citing long-standing anti-Israel bias and management problems.
The Biden administration has already requested $150 million in the 2024 budget for UNESCO dues and arrears. The plan predicts similar requests for years to come until the $619 million loan is repaid in full.
It forms a large part of UNESCO’s $534 million annual operating budget. Before leaving, the US contributed 22% of the agency’s total funding.
Israel has long accused the United Nations of anti-Israel bias. In 2012, over Israel’s objections, the State of Palestine was recognized by the United Nations General Assembly as a non-member observer state. The Palestinians claim the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip – territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war – for an independent state. Israel says the Palestinians’ efforts to seek recognition at the United Nations are aimed at avoiding a negotiated solution and are aimed at pressuring Israel for concessions.
The United States had previously pulled out of UNESCO in 1984 under the Reagan administration because it found the agency mismanaged, corrupt, and used to advance Soviet interests. It rejoined in 2003.
