The Press Covers U.S. Withholding UNESCO Funds

The General Conference of UNESCO last month voted by a two-thirds majority to admit Palestine as a member state. The United States opposed the admission primarily on the basis that it would be counterproductive to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. U.S. laws passed two decades ago required that the United States Government withhold its funding of any UN agency that admitted Palestine as a member state. Consequently, that funding which currently accounts for 22 percent of UNESCO's regular budget and several million dollars of voluntary contributions is being withheld. This is causing a financial crisis in the UNESCO Secretariat.

Here are links to a selection of articles in the media that deal with the situation:

• "Reporters again turn State Dep’t briefing into moshpit, scorning US ‘impotence’ in the conflict," Philip Weiss, Mondoweiss, November 3, 2011
• "Cutting Off Unesco, U.S. May Endanger Programs in Iraq and Afghanistan," Steven Erlanger, The New York Times, November 16, 2011
• "US shouldn’t forfeit influence within UN," Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), The Hill, November 21, 2011
• "UNESCO Science Braces for a Big Squeeze," Daniel Strain, Science, November 25, 2011
• "UNESCO Promotes Peace, Not Conflict," Neil Ford, The Huffington Post, November 28, 2011
• "US withdrawal of UNESCO funds puzzling," Kate Jenson, The Rice Thresher, December 1, 2011
• "Without the U.S., UNESCO would be greatly diminished," Herbie Hancock, The Washington Post, December 2, 2011