Fear from 'growing Chinese influence' prompts US to rejoin UNESCO
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The Biden administration is worried that the Chinese government was having an excessive and growing influence on the UN's policy agenda due to the absence of the US.
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A logo of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) displayed in front of the organization headquarters, on September 14, 2011 (AFP)
In July 2023, the US is scheduled to rejoin the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco), almost six years after President Donald Trump pledged to withdraw the US from the organization in charge of safeguarding cultural landmarks around the globe.
Today's announcement was made to assembled representatives of UNESCO's 193 member states by Director-General Audrey Azoulay.
According to Azoulay, the US would re-join "on the basis of a concrete financing plan," which has since been submitted for approval to the General Conference of Unesco Member States. Therefore, a vote slated for next month will be necessary to determine if the US will be reintroduced.
A variety of global and multinational cultural initiatives are overseen by UNESCO, a government organization with its headquarters in Paris. Among these, UNESCO is in charge of the World Heritage Committee, which is in charge of carrying out the World Heritage Convention and safeguarding the 1,157 places that have been designated as World Heritage Sites. Additionally, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and UNESCO continue to have official links.
Last Monday, Azoulay received a letter from Richard Verma, the US deputy secretary of state for management and resources, formalizing the US government's intention to rejoin. The letter praised UNESCO for modernizing its management and reducing political tensions, according to a statement by an Azoulay spokesperson.
As it works to forge new partnerships with international organizations, President Biden's administration has long sought to interact with UNESCO again.
In 2017, the US made it clear that it intended to resign as a member of UNESCO claiming that the organization is biased against the Israeli occupation.
US to re-engage with UNESCO to 'counter Chinese influence'
However, after taking office in January 2021, the Biden administration worried that the Chinese government was having an excessive and growing influence on the UN's policy agenda due to the absence of the US.
China became UNESCO's top donor to the organization's annual budget after the US withdrew, with its donations to the organization reaching almost $65 million.
Chinese diplomat Xing Qu was named as UNESCO's deputy director-general in March 2018. China is now the second-most protected country in the world, behind Italy, thanks to the World Heritage Committee's protection of 56 Chinese heritage sites.
Biden will laud the country's decision to rejoin UNESCO as a tenacious political and diplomatic win. Bipartisan backing helped his government get a $1.7 trillion federal spending measure through the US legislature in December 2022. The bill included a waiver that specifically indicated the US government would try to re-engage with UNESCO in order to "counter Chinese influence".
The bill included funding for the US to pay UNESCO in arrears in the amount of more than $600 million. Prior to its complete pullout in 2017, the US withheld money. The US can immediately rejoin as a full member by paying the backdated membership payments in full.
The news will be financially advantageous for UNESCO, which has a $534 million operational budget each year. Before withdrawing, the US donated about $80 million annually.
US ties with UNESCO strained after Palestine became full member
When the members of UNESCO voted to admit Palestine as a full member in October 2011, tensions between the US administration and the organization deteriorated. Although Palestine is a non-member observer state at the UN, several powerful nations, including the US, do not formally recognize it.
Due to laws enacted by the US House in 1990, the Obama administration was legally forced to stop paying the UN organization as a result of the decision.
It also started withholding its voting privileges inside the organization in 2013, claiming that UNESCO's recognition of the state of Palestine violated the UN's mandate to maintain neutrality in regard to all international disputes.
The UN, in contrast, has refrained from naming Russia for its involvement in the war in Ukraine even though the group has produced a comprehensive list of cultural sites that have suffered harm as a result of the fighting.
Before formally departing from UNESCO in January 2019, the Trump administration went one step further and announced its decision to do so in October 2017. Following in the US footstep, "Israel" also departed the group. According to President Trump, UNESCO had an "anti-Israel atmosphere" and had greatly strayed from its original goals of advancing scientific research, education, and culture due to its politicization.
There have since been talks with the Israeli government, which declared in February 2022 that it would not object to the United States rejoining UNESCO.
Anna Somers Cocks, the founder of The Art Newspaper, examined how political activity inside UNESCO affected specific cultural sites in a piece published in the paper in December 2022.
"UNESCO has wandered from the principles underlying the World Heritage Convention of 1972 to protect [heritage] sites as a common good," Cocks wrote. "Member states have gradually been transforming what was a technical and professional approach into a political one, with alliances and secret deals to get sites accepted onto the World Heritage Site list and to avoid sanctions where a site is being mismanaged."
Additionally, the Trump administration demanded more fiscal accountability and transparency, claiming that the US bore an unfair share of the budget for UNESCO.
“Administrative reforms, rolled out since 2018, have made UNESCO more efficient and financially sound,” Azoulay’s spokesperson said.
Azoulay was chosen in November 2017 to lead UNESCO. Following that, she oversaw mediation talks with the US administration "that made it possible to reduce political tensions and find consensus on the most sensitive topics, such as the Middle East," the spokeswoman said.
