The United States of America has announced its decision to rejoin the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) after a 12-year absence. UNESCO revealed that the US will rejoin the organisation in July. The country withdrew all its funding from the cultural agency in 2011 and later announced its complete withdrawal from UNESCO, which will be reversed after more than a decade.
In a statement, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay expressed delight at the US decision, stating that it is “a strong act of confidence in UNESCO and in multilateralism”. It indicates the country’s confidence in the way the agency has been implementing its mandate on culture, education, science and information.
The funding cut in 2011 was due to UNESCO’s intention to expand membership to Palestine, resulting in the US funding being responsible for 22% of the agency’s budget. The United States, a founding member of UNESCO, had previously withdrawn from the organisation in 1984. In 2003, it rejoined the cultural agency.
Last December, Congress made an agreement, as part of the $1.7 trillion Omnibus Appropriations Bill, authorising the resumption of financial contributions to the organisation. This legislation granted waiver of the 1990 law passed on Capitol Hill that forbade funding for any international body that admitted Palestine. This paved the way for the US’s return to the agency.
As of December 2020, the US reportedly owed UNESCO around $616 million in unpaid membership dues. US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, had spoken in Washington in favour of the country’s rejoining UNESCO. Blinken had stated that it was important to be a member to help shape its norms and standards and contribute to its critical work in education and artificial intelligence.
In the press release announcing the US decision, UNESCO revealed that empowering the organisation to “fully tackle contemporary challenges” using new initiatives was launched. These challenges include issues around the ethics of artificial intelligence or the protection of the ocean. UNESCO has also established emblematic field campaigns, including the reconstruction of the old city of Mosul, Iraq.
UNESCO’s General Conference must approve a new “financing plan” linked to the US return to the agency. UNESCO is hopeful that the US’s return to its fold will serve as an impetus for the organisation to reconnect with its historical ambitions, as it confronts complex and challenging global issues.
NAN
