Trump pulls US out of UN cultural agency Unesco for second time
Unesco officials said relevant agency statements had been agreed with Israel and the Palestinians over the past eight years.
Azoulay said the US had given the same reasons for its pullout as it had seven years ago 'even though the situation has changed profoundly, political tensions have receded and Unesco today constitutes a rare forum for consensus on concrete and action-orientated multilateralism'.
'These claims also contradict the reality of Unesco's efforts, particularly in the field of holocaust education and the fight against anti-Semitism,' she added.
Unesco is best known for designating World Heritage Sites, including the US Grand Canyon and Egypt's pyramids. It lists 26 sites in the US, including the Statue of Liberty, on its World Heritage List which highlights 1,248 global locations of 'outstanding universal value'.
Washington has had a troubled relationship with Unesco over the years. It was a founding member in 1945 but first withdrew in 1984 to protest alleged financial mismanagement and perceived anti-US bias during the Cold War. It returned in 2003 under former president George W Bush, who said Unesco had undertaken reforms, but in 2011 the Obama administration announced it was stopping funding for the agency after its vote to grant the Palestinians full membership.
Trump's first administration announced in 2017 it was quitting after accusing Unesco of anti-Israeli bias, with Washington owing $542m (R9.53bn) in dues, before former president Biden reversed the decision in 2023.
Reuters
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