US withdraws funding from UNESCO

Photo

Palestinian schoolgirls walk past graffiti on a wall depicting UN humanitarian-aid supplies in Gaza City on Monday. Palestinians became full members of the U.N. cultural and educational agency Monday, in a highly divisive move that the United States and other opponents say could harm renewed Mideast peace efforts.

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The Obama administration on Monday cut off funding for the U.N. cultural agency after its member countries defied an American warning and approved a Palestinian bid for full membership in the body.

The lopsided vote to admit Palestinians as members of UNESCO, which only the United States and 13 other countries opposed, triggered a long-standing congressional ban on U.S. funding to U.N. bodies that recognize a Palestinian state before an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is reached. The State Department said a $60 million payment to UNESCO scheduled for November would not be made as a result, and U.S. officials warned of a “cascade” effect at other U.N. bodies that might follow UNESCO’s lead.

“Today’s vote by the member states of UNESCO to admit Palestine as a member is regrettable, premature, and undermines our shared goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. She said the U.S. remained committed to UNESCO and its goals, which include the promotion of science, education and culture, and that the administration would work with Congress to preserve U.S. interests and influence in the body.

But, though Nuland said the U.S. would maintain its membership and participation in UNESCO, the organization’s internal rules will strip Washington of its vote if it is delinquent in paying its dues for two years.

It is not clear how U.S. membership would work in the interim, especially since UNESCO depends heavily on U.S. funding. The U.S. provides 22 percent of its budget — roughly $80 million a year — but has survived without it in the past: The United States pulled out of UNESCO under President Ronald Reagan and rejoined two decades later under President George W. Bush.

Of potential greater concern to the administration is the possibility that the Palestinians, buoyed by the 107-14 vote in their favor at UNESCO, will apply for membership in other U.N. organizations that the United States values, such as the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, or the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“We don’t see any benefit, and we see considerable potential damage, if this move is replicated in other U.N. organizations,” Nuland said.