Six years after leaving, the US is ready to rejoin UNESCO and pay its dues

The moment was long awaited. It represents the culmination of difficult behind-the-scenes diplomatic work and complex negotiations in Washington itself. On Monday, June 12, in Paris, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Audrey Azoulay told its members that the United States is ready to return to its ranks, six years after Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw. Trump.

In a letter signed by Assistant Secretary of State Richard Verma, the world The Biden administration has announced its intention to present a plan for his reinstatement at an upcoming special session of the organization’s general conference. “Since our withdrawal from UNESCO on December 31, 2018, we have observed UNESCO’s efforts to implement major reforms in governance and administration and its concern to reduce politicized debates, particularly on Middle East issues »The letter is welcome.

In 2011, the Obama administration used congressional legislation and froze US financial contributions due to Palestine being accepted as a member of UNESCO before a negotiated settlement of the conflict with Israel. In 2017, Donald Trump announced his country’s withdrawal from the organization “Persistent Anti-Israel Bias”, But the financial cost was considered too high by the president at the time, and multilateral agencies were not interested. “When the Americans left the system, they didn’t expect it to survive. Audrey Azoulay explains the world. In the name of their own interests, they see that they are missing something by not participating in ethical issues, artificial intelligence, or our academic activity in Africa. When your chair is empty, you can’t tell. »

A precious relay in the Arab world

Audrey Azoulay, after her election, was able to impose a new mode of discussion on Middle Eastern texts. For years, decisions about whether the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the Old City of Jerusalem or Hebron in the occupied West Bank have been a matter of controversy. “Parties concerned are torn over the terms, names of local bodies, designation of othersRelated to Audrey Azoulay. The change in method was to protect UNESCO from sterile instrumentalization rather than leaving them face-to-face. »

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