UNESCO, the cultural and scientific agency of the United Nations, announced on Monday that the United States intends to rejoin and will pay more than $600 million in back dues, following a decade-long dispute over the organization’s decision to admit Palestine as a member.
According to U.S. officials, the decision to return was motivated by concerns that China is filling the void left by the U.S. in UNESCO policymaking, particularly in establishing global standards for artificial intelligence and technology education.
The United States and Israel ceased funding UNESCO in 2011 after the organization voted to admit Palestine as a member state, and the Trump administration decided to withdraw from the organization in 2018, citing long-standing anti-Israel bias and management issues.
Richard Verma, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, sent a letter to UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay last week formalizing the proposal to rejoin. According to a hand-delivered letter obtained by the Associated Press, Verma noted progress in depoliticizing debate about the Middle East at UNESCO and reforming the organization’s administration.
As Azoulay announced the plan to ambassadors at a special UNESCO meeting on Monday, the auditorium erupted in applause and delegate after delegate arose to applaud the news. According to a UNESCO diplomat, the return of the United States, once the agency’s largest funder, is anticipated to be voted on by the organization’s 194 member states next month.
The decision provides a substantial financial boost to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, which is well-known for its World Heritage program as well as its initiatives to combat climate change and teach females to read.
Jin Yang, China’s ambassador to UNESCO, stated that his country “appreciates” UNESCO’s efforts to bring the United States back, stating that its absence had a “negative impact” on the agency’s work.
The ambassador stated, “Being a member of an international organization is a serious matter, and we hope that the United States’ return this time signifies that it recognizes the mission and objectives of the organization.”
Since her 2017 election, Azoulay has worked to address the reasons the United States withdrew from UNESCO by implementing budget reforms and fostering consensus among Jordanian, Palestinian, and Israeli diplomats regarding sensitive UNESCO resolutions. Ambassadors of UNESCO praised Azoulay, who is Jewish, for her personal endeavors to address U.S. concerns regarding Israel in particular.
Azoulay told the Associated Press that the U.S. decision to rejoin is “the result of five years of work during which we reduced tensions, particularly in the Middle East, improved our response to contemporary challenges, resumed major initiatives on the ground, and modernized the organization’s operations.”
According to a UNESCO diplomat, she met with Democrats and Republicans in Washington to clarify these efforts. Thanks to these bipartisan negotiations, UNESCO diplomats are confident that the United States’ decision to return to the organization is permanent, regardless of who wins the presidential election next year.
Diplomats were not authorized to be identified publicly when discussing the efforts behind the scenes that led to the U.S. decision.
According to Verma’s letter, the United States would pay its 2023 dues plus $10 million in additional contributions for Holocaust education, the preservation of cultural heritage in Ukraine, journalist safety, and science and technology education in Africa.
The Biden administration has already requested $150 million for UNESCO dues and arrears in the 2024 budget. The plan anticipates similar requests in subsequent years until the entire $619 million debt is repaid.
This represents a significant portion of UNESCO’s annual operating expenditure of $534 million. Prior to departure, the United States contributed 22% of the agency’s total funding.
John Bass, undersecretary of state for management, stated in March that the United States’ absence from UNESCO has strengthened China and ”undermines our ability to promote our vision of a free world as effectively.
He stated that UNESCO was instrumental in establishing and shaping global standards for technology and science education, so “if we’re serious about competing with China in the digital age, we can’t afford to be absent.”
The absence of the United States threw the agency into financial uncertainty. Diplomats from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) described efforts by Azoulay to increase voluntary financing from other nations to address funding gaps.
One diplomat hoped that the return of the United States would bring “more ambition and more serenity” — and energize programs to regulate artificial intelligence, educate girls in Afghanistan, and document victims of servitude in the Caribbean.
The diplomat stated that the organization would “welcome” Israel back if it desired to rejoin. The Israeli government did not provide an immediate response.
Israel has long alleged that the United Nations is biased against it. The United Nations General Assembly recognized Palestine as a non-member observer state in 2012, despite Israeli objections. The West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East War, are claimed by the Palestinians for an independent state. Israel asserts that the Palestinians’ efforts to gain U.N. recognition are designed to circumvent a negotiated settlement and force Israel to make concessions.
Under the Reagan administration, the United States withdrew from UNESCO in 1984 because it viewed the organization as mismanaged, fraudulent, and used to advance Soviet interests. It reintegrated in 2003.
