Latest news with #internationalbodies
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.
BBC News
22-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Trump administration pulls US out of Unesco again
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, Paris Climate Agreement, as well as cutting funding for foreign relief 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 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.
