The United States has rejoined UNESCO after its membership was terminated under former President Donald Trump. The UN organization informed member states that the Americans would like to rejoin the international organization for education, science and culture from next month.
The planned return to UNESCO had been little publicized. The US had already discreetly informed the UN organization of its plans last week, a US State Department spokesperson confirmed to news site Axios.
The then Trump administration announced to leave UNESCO in 2017. The organization had allowed Palestine to join as a full member state. The US, a key ally of Israel, had therefore stopped making payments to UNESCO as early as 2011. This led to a payment backlog that eventually grew to over half a billion dollars.
The Trump administration accused UNESCO of being “anti-Israel” and did not think it was in the US interest to pay off the debt. Instead, the current administration of Democrat Joe Biden is said to fear that leaving UNESCO would give rival China too much influence there. The US Congress already cleared the way for resuming payments to UNESCO last year.
About the author: Wesley C Waldo
Wesley C Waldo, a promising writer who is preparing to publish his first novel in 2023. Travels a lot and collects the clues for a new book. He writes on social topics, sometimes describes an event or two.
