After an absence of three and a half years, the United States will join the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, better known as UNESCO.
Late last week, member states of the organization met in Paris for an “extraordinary session” to consider a readmission proposal presented by the United States. The two-day meeting ended Friday with a vote attended by 142 of UNESCO’s 193 members.
Of these, only 10 states voted against the US proposal, while 132 voted for it. The United States will officially rejoin later this month.
“I am encouraged and grateful that [UNESCO] members have accepted the American proposal which will allow us to continue the process of joining the organization,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement. statement shared on Twitter. “America is stronger, safer, and more prosperous when we engage with the rest of the world.
Among the dissenting voters were countries with which the United States has strained relations, including Russia, Belarus, Iran, North Korea and Nicaragua. Another dissenting vote came from China, which Biden specifically cited as a reason to join UNESCO because of the country’s growing international influence.
In March, Undersecretary for Management John Bass said rejoining the organization “would help us deal with a key opportunity cost that our absence creates in our global competition with China.”
“If we are really serious about digital age competition with China, from my point of view, in a lucid set of interests, we cannot afford to be absent any longer from one key forums in which standards in science and technology education are set,” added Bass.
As part of the proposal, which was delivered on June 8, the Biden administration agreed to repay UNESCO the estimated $619 million the country owes in arrears. The sizable sum stems from years of unpaid dues that have accumulated since 2011, when then-President Barack Obama cut contributions to the organization because it voted to admit Palestine as a member. .
In October 2017, the The Trump administration has announced plans to withdraw completely from UNESCO, pointing out these unpaid dues and the “anti-Israel prejudice”. The United States officially ceased membership end of 2018.
Trump’s stance at UNESCO echoed that of former President Ronald Reagan, who also withdrew the United States from the organization in 1984. The country rejoined in 2002, as the Bush administration sought to loosen diplomatic relations amid the “war on terror”.
“This is a great day for UNESCO and for multilateralism,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said after the readmission of the United States to its organization last week. “Strengthened by the momentum acquired in recent years, our Organization is once again moving towards universalism with this return of the United States.
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