President Donald Trump has withdrawn the US from the United Nations’ cultural and education organisation, UNESCO, for the second time.
Trump pulled the country from UNESCO during his first term, and has now reversed President Joe Biden’s decision to rejoin the agency.
‘President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from UNESCO – which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the commonsense policies that Americans voted for in November,’ stated White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly on Tuesday.
The State Department accused UNESCO of having ‘a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy’. The department’s spokeswoman, Tammy Bruce, said that ‘continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States’.
What is UNESCO?
UNESCO was founded after World War II with the objective of promoting peace internationally through collaborative efforts in culture, education and science.
The Paris-based agency is known for pushing for literacy, sex education, women’s equality and clean water, among other issues. It has worked to set ethical standards around artificial intelligence.
‘UNESCO is the United Nations organisation that promotes cooperation in education, science, culture and communication to foster peace worldwide,’ states its website.
‘The Organisation provides key services for its Member States, setting global norms and standards, developing tools for international cooperation, producing knowledge for public policies and building global networks of sites and institutions inscribed on its lists.’
Why has the US pulled out?
Bruce stated that one of the reasons for the US’s withdrawal from UNESCO is ‘the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organisation’. The agency has previously been accused of being politically biased in favor of Palestine.
The US’s contribution makes up 8% of UNESCO’s total budget, which is a smaller portion than what America has provided to other global bodies.
‘However regrettable, this announcement was anticipated, and UNESCO has prepared for it,’ stated the agency’s director general, Audrey Azoulay.
Trump has already pulled the US out of the World Health Organisation and the UN human rights council. The US first withdrew from UNESCO in 1983 when then-President Ronald Reagan decided that the agency ‘has extraneously politicized virtually every subject it deals with’ and ‘has exhibited hostility toward a free society, especially a free market and a free press, and it has demonstrated unrestrained budgetary expansion’.
What UNESCO sites are there in the US?
UNESCO is perhaps most well known for designating World Heritage sites. It has identified 1,248 sites since 1972.
It has named 26 sites in the US, including numerous national parks, landmarks, cultures and universities.
They include Yosemite National Park in 1984, Olympic National Park in 1981, Everglades National Park in 1979 and Yellowstone National Park in 1978.
UNESCO also designated the Statue of Liberty in 1984, Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 1979, and most recently the 20th century architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright in 2019.
What other countries are in UNESCO?
UNESCO has 194 member countries and 12 associate members.
Member countries include Canada, China, France, Germany, Israel, Iraq, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
Territories that are not responsible for their international relations have been admitted as associate members.
While the majority of countries are members of UNESCO, several nations including the US have chosen not to be part of the organisation.
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