Paris (EFE)
In the extraordinary conference that began on Thursday, 132 member states voted in favor and ten voted against the proposal, which provides for both the immediate return of the United States and a payment scheme to pay off the million-dollar debt it accumulated with the security agency. United Nations since 2011.
In this way, the United States becomes a full member again from this very July.
“It is a great day for UNESCO and for multilateralism. Taking advantage of its renewed momentum in recent years, our organization is once again advancing towards universality with the return of the United States,” UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay congratulated herself in a statement issued a few minutes after the vote.
Ten votes against the return of the US to UNESCO
As it was an extraordinary conference, a two-thirds majority was required, something that was achieved more than two hours before the scheduled end of the conference, despite the fact that the discussions had taken place with many obstructions.
Because while support was expected to be very majority, there were numerous comments and reviews of procedural issues raised primarily by Russia and Palestine.
In fact, Russia and Palestine were two of those who voted against it, along with China, Iran, Belarus, Nicaragua, Syria, Indonesia, North Korea and Eritrea.
pay off outstanding debt
The proposal for the immediate return of the United States foresees that Washington will not only pay its financial contribution corresponding to 2023, but a calendar to pay off from 2024 the debt of 619 million that it accumulated between 2011 and its departure from the organization, in addition to other voluntary contributions.
Specifically, it will make a contribution of 150 million extra each year, which will be added to the mandatory annual membership fee (around 30 million) and extra voluntary contributions.
With this, the United States will once again be the main contributor to the basic budget of the organization, which is then supplemented with voluntary contributions for an amount that in recent years was almost equal to the mandatory contributions.
The United States had announced that it was leaving UNESCO at the end of 2017, during the tenure of the previous president, Donald Trump, who accused the institution of repeatedly adopting anti-Israel positions.
In 2011 the US had already frozen its mandatory annual contribution
Already in 2011, when Barack Obama was in the White House, the United States had frozen its mandatory annual contribution as a member of the organization, in application of a congressional legislation in reaction to the acceptance of Palestine as a member of UNESCO.
But in a letter sent to UNESCO on June 8, the State Department claimed to have taken note of the organization’s “efforts” to “implement key management and administrative reforms, as well as to reduce politicized debate, especially in related to the Middle East.
Washington thus expressed its willingness to re-enter the organization as soon as possible, a turn in line with the return to multilateralism of the Joe Biden Administration.
To get around the internal legislative obstacles related to Palestine, the US Congress last December promoted an exception by agreement between Republicans and Democrats that allows Unesco to be financed again.
Washington had already left UNESCO in 1985, during the Ronald Reagan presidency, and returned in 2003.