PARIS: The United States rejoined Unesco on Friday, reversing its withdrawal during the Trump administration, the UN cultural agency said.
Donald Trump announced in 2017 that he was pulling the United States out of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization alongside Israel, accusing the body of bias against the Jewish state, a decision that took effect in 2018.
An extraordinary session of the UN body’s General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for the return of the United States, an AFP reporter present at the vote said, with 132 members voting in favour, 10 against and 15 abstentions.
Dissenting voices included Iran, Syria, China and Russia, whose delegations appeared to seek to delay the vote through several statements on procedure and suggested amendments.
The United States, a founding member of Unesco, was a major contributor to its budget until 2011, when the body admitted Palestine as a member state.
That triggered an end to the contributions under US law, leading up to the formal withdrawal announcement six years later.
The Paris-based agency, founded in the ashes of World War II to protect humanity’s common cultural inheritance, was thrown into turmoil after the United States — which provided a fifth of its funding — pulled out.
The US State Department indicated in a letter dated on June 8 that it wanted to rejoin the organisation in July as a full member and that it intended to repay $619 million in arrears in instalments over several years.
“Since our withdrawal from Unesco on Dec 31, 2018, we have noted Unesco’s efforts to implement key management and administrative reforms, as well as its focus on decreasing politicised debate, especially on Middle East issues,” said the US letter, seen by Reuters.
Unesco’s French director-general, Audrey Azoulay, has sought to ease some of the political tensions and polarisation, as well as better manage the organisation financially, while finding ways to fill the financial gap left by Washington’s departure.
“This comes after a lot of work to persuade, educate and explain on the current realities of Unesco,” Azoulay told reporters, adding that she had personally lobbied US lawmakers for several months.
Unesco is best known for designating and protecting archaeological and heritage sites, from the Galapagos Islands to the tombs of Timbuktu.
Most of its activities are not controversial — but issues such as resolutions about how religious sites should be run in Jerusalem have been highly charged. Azoulay said those issues were now a thing of the past after finding consensus between Israeli and Palestinians.
Israel also pulled out of Unesco following Washington’s departure. At this stage there are no negotiations for its return, she said.
US law forbids Washington from funding UN bodies that have admitted Palestine as a full member. Its return to Unesco was enabled after a waiver from the US Congress earlier this year. The waiver will be in effect until the end of 2025.
