UNESCO News: America will rejoin UNESCO, will pay dues, Trump had announced separation – us decides to rejoin unesco and pay back dues to counter chinese influence
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UNESCO’s director-general, Audrey Azoulay, has worked to address those concerns since her election in 2017, and her efforts seem to have paid off. “It’s a historic moment for UNESCO. It’s also an important day for multilateralism,” he said Monday. Richard Verma, the US State Department’s deputy secretary of state for management and resource affairs, re-appointed UNESCO director-general Audrey Azoulay last week. A letter was given to formalize the plan to join.
According to the hand-delivered letter, Verma noted progress in the non-political debate about the Middle East at UNESCO and improvements in the agency’s management. A copy of the letter is available with The Associated Press. As Azoulay announced this to the ambassadors at a special meeting on Monday, applause broke out in UNESCO’s auditorium and one by one delegates stood up to welcome the decision and the news of fresh funding.
The US withdrawal, once the agency’s biggest funder, is expected to face a vote next month by its 193 member states, according to a UNESCO diplomat. The decision is a major financial boost for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), known for its World Heritage program as well as projects related to fighting climate change and girls’ education. While Palestinian membership in UNESCO was part of the reason for America’s separation with the agency, China’s growing influence has more to do with its withdrawal.
Under Secretary of State John Bass said in March that the US’s absence from UNESCO had strengthened China, and that it “undermines our ability to promote our vision of a free world”. He added that UNESCO was important in setting and shaping the standards of technology and science teaching around the world, “so if we’re really serious about competing in the digital age with China … we can’t be absent anymore.” Can stay.” The Palestinian ambassador to UNESCO did not comment on the US decision.
Jin Yang, China’s ambassador to UNESCO, said his country “appreciates” UNESCO’s efforts to bring the US back. He said her absence had a “negative impact” on the agency’s work. “Being a member of an international organization is a serious issue, and we hope that the US withdrawal this time means it accepts the organization’s mission and goals,” Yang said. Since his election as Director-General in 2017, Azoulay has worked to overcome the reasons for the US leaving the organization, through budget reforms and building a consensus among Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli diplomats on UNESCO’s sensitive proposals. work done.
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