US rejoins UNESCO, reversing Trump withdrawal

PARIS — The United States on Friday rejoined UNESCO, which it had quit during the Trump administration, despite opposition from Russia and China.

Former president Donald Trump announced in 2017 that he was pulling the United States out of UNESCO, accusing the body of bias against Israel. The decision took effect in 2018.

An extraordinary session of the UN body's General Assembly on Friday voted overwhelmingly for the return of the United States. A total of 132 members voted in favour, 10 against while 15 abstained.

"It is so important for us to rejoin, to be part of this very very important multilateral organisation," Denise Bauer, the US ambassador to France told AFP.

"We are just incredibly grateful for the leadership that was shown by key members," she added.

Dissenting voices included Iran, Syria, China, North Korea and Russia, whose delegates appeared to be trying to delay the vote through several statements on procedure and amendments.

The United States, a founding member of UNESCO, was a major contributor to its budget until 2011, when the body admitted Palestine as a member state.

That triggered an end to the contributions under US law, leading up to the formal withdrawal announcement six years later.

'Actually matter' 

Audrey Azoulay, a former French culture minister who has headed UNESCO since 2017, made it a priority of her term to bring the US back.

"This is a great day for UNESCO and for multilateralism," Azoulay said on Friday.

"Thanks to the momentum it has recovered these past years, our organisation is again moving towards universalism with the return of the United States," she said.

Several member states also expressed satisfaction with the result. Until the suspension of its contributions in 2011 — the US paid about 22 percent of UNESCO's budget, or $75 million.

But the US Congress, then fully controlled by the Democratic Party of current President Joe Biden, in December paved the way for the United States to restore funding, setting aside $150 million in the budget.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in March that the US absence from UNESCO was letting China write rules on artificial intelligence.

"I very much believe we should be back in UNESCO — again, not as a gift to UNESCO, but because things that are happening at UNESCO actually matter," Blinken told a Senate committee when he presented the budget.

"They are working on rules, norms and standards for artificial intelligence. We want to be there," he said.

Not the first time 

The US had already withdrawn from UNESCO in 1984 — under president Ronald Reagan — and rejoined the organisation after almost 20 years in October 2003.

"The United States has already withdrawn twice. We're not sure how many more times we're expected to welcome them back," a North Korean diplomat told AFP, asking not to be identified by name.

The US is in membership arrears amounting to $619 million, owed for the period of 2011 and 2018 — more than the agency's annual budget estimated at $534 million.

Washington will make payments over coming years to UNESCO to cover its debt, the organisation said.

Paris-based UNESCO is the United Nations' educational, scientific and cultural organisation.

Its work includes compiling a list of world heritage sites, defending press freedom, promoting sustainable development and running education programmes.

In addition to renewing its regular payments to the organisation, the US has pledged to make voluntary contributions towards education initiatives in Africa, programmes promoting the memory of the Holocaust and the protection of journalists, Azoulay said on Friday.