US Decides To Rejoin UNESCO And Pay Back Dues, To Counter Chinese Influence
June 12, 2023 9:58AM PDT
FILE – Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks about the roll-out of the International Religious Freedom Report at the State Department in Washington, Monday, May 15, 2023. Blinken is planning to travel to China next week as the Biden administration pushes to improve ties that hit a new low in February after a Chinese surveillance balloon was shot down over U.S. airspace. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool Photo via AP, File)
PARIS (AP) — The U.N. cultural and scientific agency UNESCO has announced that the United States plans to rejoin — and pay more than $600 million in back dues — after a decade-long dispute sparked by the organization’s move to include Palestine as a member.
U.S. officials say the decision was motivated by concern that China is filling the gap in UNESCO policymaking.
The U.S. government has presented a plan for paying the arrears in order to rejoin.
UNESCO’s director informed ambassadors of the U.S. decision in a special meeting Monday.
The U.S. was once the agency’s biggest funder.
Its official return is expected to face a vote by UNESCO’s 193 member states next month.
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