Latest news with #AudreyAzoulay
Time of India
6 days ago
- Time of India
UNESCO's 2025 heritage picks: 26 sites added, Africa leads, histories honoured (full list inside)
UNESCO's 47th World Heritage Committee session wrapped up in Paris this month with 26 new inscriptions to its iconic World Heritage List. From prehistoric petroglyphs in Korea to cultural landscapes in Australia, the new additions reflect a growing focus on community-led conservation, memory sites, and African heritage. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now With these additions, the total number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites globally now stands at 1,248, spread across 170 countries. Africa in the spotlight Four African sites made it to the list this year, and at the same time, three African sites—located in Madagascar, Egypt, and Libya—were removed from the World Heritage in Danger List, citing successful conservation efforts. UNESCO has pumped over $34 million since 2020 into strengthening African nominations, funding everything from expert training to on-ground community projects. 'Making Africa a priority is not symbolic. It's a concrete, day-to-day and long-term commitment, driven by the idea that the continent must be recognized for its historical, cultural and natural importance.' said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. Read more: Marathas and memory sites: India and Cambodia join in India's entry this year celebrates its military heritage: the Maratha Military Landscapes, which include forts like Rajgad and Shivneri, showcasing the strategic acumen of the Maratha Empire. Cambodia's Memorial Sites, marking the dark legacy of the Khmer Rouge regime, were added to recognize places of reflection and learning. The move echoes a rising trend of UNESCO acknowledging modern historical tragedies along with ancient wonders. Prehistory gets its due One-third of the new sites are linked to prehistoric human activity — emphasizing UNESCO's push to safeguard what it calls our 'shared prehistory.' These sites span cave paintings, megalithic tombs, and ancient routes still followed by Indigenous communities. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Read more: Here's the full list of New World Heritage Sites in 2025: 1. Cambodia – Memorial Sites from centres of repression to places of peace and reflection 2. Tajikistan – Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal 3. Cameroon – Diy-Gid-Biy Cultural Landscape of the Mandara Mountains 4. UAE – Faya Palaeolandscape 5. Malaysia – Forest Research Institute Malaysia Forest Park, Selangor 6. Italy – Funerary Tradition in the Prehistory of Sardinia 7. India – Maratha Military Landscapes 8. Greece – Minoan Palatial Centres 9. Malawi – Mount Mulanje Cultural Landscape 10. Australia – Murujuga Cultural Landscape 11. South Korea – Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream 12. Iran – Prehistoric Sites of the Khorramabad Valley 13. Russia – Rock Paintings of Shulgan-Tash Cave 14. Türkiye – Sardis and the Lydian Tumuli of Bin Tepe 15. Jamaica – Archaeological Ensemble of 17th Century Port Royal 16. Panama – The Colonial Transisthmian Route 17. Mexico – Wixárika Route through Sacred Sites to Wirikuta 18. China – Xixia Imperial Tombs 19. Guinea-Bissau – Coastal and Marine Ecosystems of the Bijagós Archipelago 20. Denmark – Møns Klint 21. Brazil – Peruaçu River Canyon 22. South Korea – Mount Kumgang 23. Sierra Leone – Gola-Tiwai Complex 24. Vietnam – Yen Tu, Vinh Nghiem, Con Son, Kiep Bac Complex of Monuments 25. France – Megaliths of Carnac and shores of the Morbihan 26. Germany – Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria Additionally, the Committee approved the extension of an existing South African site into Mozambique, creating a transboundary natural park spanning nearly 4,000 sq km.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump exits UNESCO again, citing anti-Israel bias
President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from UNESCO once again In a statement Tuesday that drew mixed reactions from Jewish groups. President Donald Trump has once again withdrawn the United States from UNESCO, accusing the UN's science and cultural organization of an anti-Israel bias and a 'globalist' agenda. In a statement Tuesday that drew mixed reactions from Jewish groups, the State Department accused the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which preserves cultural heritage sites around the world, of advancing 'divisive social and cultural causes' and maintaining an 'outsized focus on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals,' which it referred to as having a 'globalist, ideological agenda.' It also criticized UNESCO for admitting the 'State of Palestine' as a member state, and pointed to that decision as contributing to the 'proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization.' During Trump's first term in 2017, the United States also withdrew from UNESCO over the organization's alleged anti-Israel bias, but that decision was reversed by the Biden administration in 2023. Trump's latest move has received some pushback from major Jewish organizations in the United States, including the American Jewish Committee, which in March sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to keep the United States in UNESCO. In the letter, the organization stated that UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay has 'taken an active role in combating antisemitism, hate speech and anti-Israel bias,' according to Axios. UNESCO's response to Trump's decision to leave UNESCO is an active international permanent partner of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, and also supports the protection and development of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 'As UNESCO is the only UN body with an explicit mandate to combat antisemitism and promote Holocaust education, AJC believes that continued engagement with the organization is crucial,' the AJC wrote in a statement about the withdrawal announcement. Hadar Susskind, the president and CEO of New Jewish Narrative, a progressive Zionist organization, also decried the announcement, saying in a statement that 'recognition of Palestine should not be an obstacle to American participation in UNESCO.' 'President Trump is pursuing an isolationist policy. He's using UNESCO's 'pro-Palestine' actions as his fig leaf. The irony that he's using the antisemitic trope that UNESCO serves a 'globalist' agenda is not lost on American Jews,' the statement continued. Other Jewish groups and Israeli leaders have applauded the move. On Tuesday, the World Jewish Congress wrote that it 'welcomes the ongoing efforts of the US administration to address and rectify the unfortunate, long-standing bias against Israel within the United Nations system.' But it also added that the WJC would continue working with UNESCO, writing it would continue to collaborate with the organization on 'advancing vital initiatives, particularly those focused on combating antisemitism and promoting Holocaust education.' Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar hailed the United State's exit in a post on X, writing, 'this is a necessary step, designed to promote justice and Israel's right for fair treatment in the UN system, a right which has often been trampled due to politicization in this arena.'
Free Malaysia Today
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
US quits Unesco, cites Palestine's membership as a factor
US President Donald Trump withdrew from several international bodies during his first term. (EPA Images pic) PARIS : President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the UN culture and education agency Unesco today, repeating a move he had already ordered during his first term, which had been reversed under Joe Biden. The withdrawal from the Paris-based agency, which was founded after World War II to promote peace through international cooperation in education, science, and culture, will take effect on Dec 31, 2026. 'President Trump has decided to withdraw the US from Unesco – which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the common sense policies that Americans voted for in November,' White House spokesman Anna Kelly said. The state department said remaining in Unesco was not in the national interest, accusing it of having 'a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy'. Unesco chief Audrey Azoulay said she deeply regretted Trump's decision, but that it was 'expected, and Unesco has prepared for it'. The agency had diversified its sources of funding, receiving only about 8% of its budget from Washington, she said. Unesco was one of several international bodies Trump withdrew from during his first term, along with the World Health Organization, the Paris Agreement global climate change accord and the UN Human Rights Council. During his second term, he has largely reinstated those steps. Unesco officials said the US withdrawal would have some limited impact on programmes the US was financing. Tensions? Israel welcomed the US decision to quit Unesco. The US state department said one of the reasons for the withdrawal was Unesco's decision to admit Palestine as a member state, which was 'contrary to US policy and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organisation'. Unesco officials said all relevant agency statements had been agreed with both Israel and the Palestinians over the past eight years. 'The reasons put forward by the US to withdraw from the organisation are the same as 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-oriented multilateralism,' Azoulay said. 'These claims also contradict the reality of Unesco's efforts, particularly in the field of Holocaust education and the fight against antisemitism.' Diplomats said it was felt at Unesco that the withdrawal was inevitable for political reasons, given that Biden had brought the US back and had promised to repay arrears from the first time Trump pulled out. Unesco, whose full name is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is best known for designating world heritage sites, including the Grand Canyon in the US and the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria. The US initially joined Unesco at its founding in 1945 but withdrew for the first time in 1984 in protest against alleged financial mismanagement and perceived anti-US bias, returning in 2003 under president George W Bush, who said the agency had undertaken needed reforms.
Arab Times
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab Times
France regrets US decision to withdraw from UNESCO: official
PARIS, July 23, (Xinhua): France, as the host country and a founding member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), regrets the US decision to quit UNESCO, the spokesperson of the country's foreign ministry said on Tuesday. France supports UNESCO with regard to access to education for all, the protection of endangered heritage, the preservation of the oceans, the responsible development of artificial intelligence, and the fight against anti-Semitism and hate speech, the spokesperson said in a press release. Earlier Tuesday afternoon, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed on his X account France's "unwavering support" for UNESCO. He called UNESCO a "universal guardian of science, the ocean, education, culture, and world heritage." On Tuesday, the United States announced its decision to pull out of UNESCO in December 2026. According to a statement by the US State Department, the withdrawal was due to what Washington saw as the UN cultural agency's policy to "advance divisive social and cultural causes" over the Israel-Palestine conflicts. In response, Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO, expressed regret over the U.S. decision, calling it inconsistent with the fundamental principles of multilateralism. She rejected the stated reasons for the withdrawal, emphasizing that UNESCO remains a "rare forum for building consensus through concrete, action-oriented multilateralism." The US exit will take effect at the end of December 2026. This will be the third time that Washington has left UNESCO, and the second time during the administration under Donald Trump.
Saudi Gazette
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Trump administration pulls US out of Unesco again
PARIS — The US has said it will leave the United Nations' culture and education agency Unesco, accusing it of supporting "woke, divisive cultural and social causes". Unesco's Director General Audrey Azoulay described the decision as "regrettable" but "anticipated". The move is the latest step in the Trump administration's efforts to cut ties with international bodies, after removing the US from the World Health Organization and Paris Climate Agreement, as well as cutting funding for foreign relief efforts. Unesco has 194 member states around the world, and is best known for listing world heritage sites. The US' decision will take effect from December 2026. The state department said Unesco's "globalist, ideological agenda for international development" was "at odds with our America First foreign policy". It also described the inclusion of the Palestinians in Unesco in 2011, as "highly problematic, contrary to US policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization".Those claims "contradict the reality of Unesco's efforts, particularly in the field of Holocaust education and the fight against antisemitism," the organisation's head Audrey Azoulay said."This decision contradicts the fundamental principles of multilateralism, and may affect first and foremost our many partners in the United States of America— communities seeking site inscription on the World Heritage List, Creative City status, and University Chairs," she Unesco head said the agency had been preparing for Washington's move, diversifying its sources of funding. Currently, she said, Unesco was getting about 8% of its budget from the 2017, during his first presidency, Trump pulled the US out of Unesco but the decision was later reversed under Joe Biden's the Obama administration, in 2011, the US halted $60m in funds that had been earmarked for Unesco.A state department spokesperson at the time said former President Barack Obama's hand was forced due to a US law that prohibited the transfer of funds after Unesco granted the Palestinian Authority full Paris-based UN agency was set up in November 1945 — shortly after World War Two — to promote peace and security through global co-operation in education, arts, sciences and culture. — BBC
