Skip to main content

US and Israel formally quit UNESCO

The United States and Israel have officially quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day, the culmination of a process triggered more than a year ago. The withdrawal is mainly procedural yet serves a new blow to UNESCO, co-founded by the US after World War II to foster peace. The Trump administration filed its notice to withdraw in October 2017 and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu followed suit, accusing the UN agency of anti-Israel bias. The Paris-based organisation has previously criticised Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem and granted full membership to Palestine in 2011. The US has demanded "fundamental reform" in the agency. UNESCO is best known for its work to preserve heritage, including maintaining a list of World Heritage sites, and programmes to promote education in developing countries. The withdrawals will not greatly affect UNESCO financially, since it has been dealing with a funding slash ever since 2011 when both Israel and the US stopped paying dues after Palestine was voted in as a member state. Since then officials estimate that the US - which accounted for around 22 percent of the total budget - has accrued $600m in unpaid dues, which was one of the reasons for President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw. Israel owes an estimated $10m. Officials say that many of the reasons the US cited for the withdrawal do not apply any more, noting that since then, all 12 texts on the Middle East passed at UNESCO have been consensual among Israel and Arab member states. The State Department couldn't comment because of the US government shutdown. Earlier, the department told UNESCO officials the US intends to stay engaged at UNESCO as a non-member "observer state" on "non-politicised" issues, including the protection of World Heritage sites, advocating for press freedom and promoting scientific collaboration and education. The US could potentially seek that status during the UNESCO Executive Board meetings in April. The US has pulled out of UNESCO before. The Reagan administration did so in 1984 because it viewed the agency as mismanaged, corrupt, and used to advance Soviet interests. The US rejoined in 2003.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/israel-formally-quit-unesco-190101094104787.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amina Zakari Is From Sudan And Related to Jibrin Al Sudan - Keyamo Trolls PDP

Festus Keyamo has reacted to the critics that has trailed the appointment of Amina Zakari as the chairperson of the 2019 presidential election collation center. Zakari is reported to be the niece of President Buhari. PDP, Fayose, Oby Ezekwesili, and some others have criticized such decision by the electoral body
Post a Comment
Read more

Gov Rochas Okorocha denies dumping APC

“Now our response to the unfounded story; Imo people do not support stolen tickets and that is why all those who stole the guber tickets of their parties for the 2019 election cannot fly. They have become stranded and looking for who to blame for their woes or misfortune. They know this fact. Imo people do not support anything stolen. That was the reason they dealt with 419ers in 1997”. The statement read further that, “it was out of frustration that those concerned came up with the story of Governor Okorocha leaving APC for AA, which is not true. “With the ill-gotten ticket, they have also seen that the sound of bitter-kola in the mouth does not reflect its real taste. They used blackmail and what they know how to do best to get the ticket of the party and their challenge now is how to convince Imo people to vote for them. “In their blackmail in Abuja they told their audience that they would win Imo without Rochas Okorocha. Then, if that is true why are they still bothered about R...
Post a Comment
Read more

FG Approves Four New Private Universities In Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Kaduna

The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday in Abuja approved the establishment of four new private universities in Kaduna, Oyo, Ogun and Osun States. The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, confirmed this when he briefed State House correspondents at the end of the first meeting of the council in 2019. The meeting was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari. According to the minister, the new universities are Greenfield University Kaduna, Dominion University, Ibadan, Trinity University, Laloko in Ogun and Westland University in Iwo, Osun. “All the four have satisfied the criteria for the establishment of universities. “They have submitted their academic briefs, their master plans and evidence of facilities after visitation by the National Universities Commission; they have satisfied all those requirements and they are being granted licences,’’ he added. The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who also addressed the correspondents, said the Council approve...
Post a Comment
Read more