Some UNESCO member states are concerned about approving U.S. return to the UN cultural agency after it pulled out abruptly in October 2017, as a conference is going on from Thursday to Friday in Paris to decide whether to welcome the U.S. again, Reuters reports.
The U.S. withdrew from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) two times, in 1984 and 2017 respectively. Since 2011, the United States has owed the UNESCO approximately 612 million U.S. dollars in fees, while also owing the World Heritage Fund approximately 7.91 million U.S. dollars. Overall, the debt amounts to 619 million U.S. dollars.
The repetitive withdrawals have caused concerns among many countries, who want the U.S. to make sure similar things won't happen again.
"This is not the first time. Yes, there is a systematic attempts by the American administration, especially the Trump. At the Trump time, when they first, they withdrew from the Human Rights Council, they withdrew from UNESCO. And that is also something is worrying for us. And we want assurances that once we start all this process, asking the U.S. to come back, not to take that step and to withdraw from UNESCO once again, that will affect the noble cause of UNESCO and that's unacceptable," said Omar Awdallah, an official of multilateral relations, United Nationals and its specialized agencies under the Foreign Ministry of Palestine.
UNESCO, founded in 1946, is dedicated to promoting cooperation among countries through education, science and culture.
