U.S. to rejoin UNESCO after 12 years - Newsfill

The United States has chosen to rejoin the organization in July, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) stated on Monday.

The United States will rejoin the UN organization for cultural affairs after ceasing all payments and declaring its full disengagement from it in 2011.

The decision, according to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, was "a strong act of confidence in UNESCO and in multilateralism."

He continued by saying that it was also a vote of confidence in the agency's ability to carry out its mandate in the areas of culture, education, research, and information.

The U.S. State Department "welcomed the way in which UNESCO had addressed in recent years emerging challenges, modernized its management, and reduced political tensions”, according to UNESCO, in a letter to Azoulay. 

After UNESCO admitted Palestine as a member in 2011, the nation stopped financing it. At the time, 22% of the agency's budget came from American sources.

As a founding member of UNESCO, the United States left the organization in 1984 before returning in 2003.

A compromise achieved by Congress in December 2022 allowed for the complete reinstatement of the United States as a UNESCO Member State.

The deal, which authorized the organization's financial donations to resume, was included in the $1.7 trillion Omnibus Appropriations Bill.

Contributions were stopped in 2011 after the vast majority of other UNESCO nations admitted Palestine as a Member State. 

As a result, the United States prompted the passage of a resolution in 1990 on Capitol Hill banning funding for any international organization that included Palestine.

However, the 33-year-old law was given a waiver by the legislation passed in December.

On January 1, 2019, the U.S. officially withdrew from UNESCO, and Israel did the same.

According to reports, the United States owed UNESCO $616 million in overdue membership dues as of December 2020.

Anthony Blinken, the secretary of state for the United States, reportedly advocated for rejoining UNESCO in a speech in Washington.

He allegedly told legislators in April 2022 that it was crucial to be a member in order to contribute to its crucial work in artificial intelligence and education, as well as to assist establish its rules and standards.

UNESCO stated that new projects have been initiated enabling the organization "to fully tackle contemporary challenges" in a news release announcing the U.S. decision.

The obstacles, it was stated, "while symbolic new field missions, including the rehabilitation of the old city of Mosul, Iraq, encompass themes like the ethics of artificial intelligence or the protection of the ocean.

The organization has been able to "reconnect with its historical ambitions" as a result, it was stated.

The General Conference of UNESCO will now be presented with a new "financing plan" related to the United States rejoining the organization for Member States' approval.