The United States plans to rejoin the UNESCO organisation from July 2023 onwards. The proposed plan must now be submitted to the General Conference of UNESCO Member States for approval and some member states have called for an extraordinary session to be held soon to decide.
Key points
- The United States withdrew from the U.N. cultural agency in December 2018 over accusations of anti-Israel bias and mismanagement.
- The United States provided one-fifth of the Paris-based UNESCO’s funding, but it stopped paying in 2011 when Palestine became a full member because such funding is barred by U.S. law.
- The U.S. laws prohibit funding to any U.N. agency that implies recognition of the Palestinians’ demands for their own state.
- The US and Israel stopped funding Unesco after it voted to include Palestine as a member state in 2011, and both countries lost their voting rights in 2013. The Trump administration decided to withdraw from the agency altogether, citing anti-Israel bias and management problems.
- The rejoining decision to return was motivated by concern that China is filling the gap left by Washington in Unesco policymaking, notably in setting standards for artificial intelligence and technology education around the world.
- The US owed $542 million when it quit. An agreement reached at the U.S. Congress in December 2022 makes it possible for Washington to re-start financial contributions to UNESCO.
- Then-President Ronald Reagan also withdrew the U.S. from UNESCO in 1983. In 2002, George W. Bush put the country back in.
