Israel follows US withdrawal from UN cultural body over ‘anti-Israel’ bias

The US and its ally Israel says they are pulling out of the UN’s culture and education body.

UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Picture: AFP

Israel yesterday followed its ally the US in quitting the UN’s culture and education body, in a move that underlined Washington’s drift away from international institutions.

The US decision, announced in Washington late on Thursday, follows years of tension at the organisation which the US accused of having an “anti-Israel bias”.

“This decision was not taken lightly, and reflects US concerns with mounting arrears at ­UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform in the organisation, and continuing anti-Israel bias at UNESCO,” US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said early yesterday.

The US walked out of the 195-member organisation once before, under Ronald Reagan, who quit the body in 1984 over financial mismanagement and claims of anti-US bias in some of its policies.

President George W. Bush announced America’s return in 2002, but relations soured again in 2011 when Barack Obama pulled the plug on funding to the body after its members voted to admit Palestine as a full member. Washington opposes any move by UN bodies to recognise the Palestinian territories as a state, believing this must await a negotiated Middle East peace deal.

Now the Trump administration is reviewing many multilateral commitments, pursuing Don­ald Trump’s “America First” policy that has allies worried.

“UNESCO is about promoting our ideals and values through culture, education and science,” France’s UN ambassador Francois Delattre said in New York, adding “we need an America that stays committed to world affairs”.

But Ms Nauert said the cost to the US of remaining a member had also influenced the decision.

“As many of you know, we were in arrears to the tune of $US550 million or so. And so the question is, you know, do we want to pay that money? And do we want to pay more money going forward,” she said.

Ms Nauert noted that there was a US law that forbids the government to pay membership dues to any organisation that recognises Palestinian statehood.

“So that’s part of it, financially, OK? Second part of it is we’d like to see overall UN reform,” she said.

Israel called the Trump administration’s decision “courageous and moral”, accusing the UN body of becoming a “theatre of the absurd” after a series of resolutions condemning the Jewish state.

Mr Trump already had dismayed European partners in June by saying he would withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate change agreement.

The outgoing director-general of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, called the US withdrawal a “loss to multilateralism”, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said through a spokesman that he “regrets this development deeply”.

Russia’s foreign ministry said it “regretted” Washington’s decision.

UNESCO was once a low-­profile UN agency best known for producing a list of World Heritage sites and running science, media and cultural programs. But in addition to the decision to admit the Palestinians in 2011, it has been the scene of repeated diplomatic flare-ups after efforts led by Arab countries to pass resolutions critical of Israel.

In May, Israel was infuriated by a resolution identifying Israel as “the occupying power” in the divided city of Jerusalem and calling on it to rescind any move that would change the city’s “character and status”.

In July, another resolution declared the Old City of Hebron in the occupied West Bank an endangered World Heritage site.

Despite cutting its funding to the agency, the US has continued to co-operate with UNESCO since 2011 on programs of interest to Washington, such as combating extremism and perpetuating the memory of the Holocaust.

Washington’s withdrawal is set to take effect on December 31, 2018, when it will establish an “observer mission” to replace its representation at the agency.

The withdrawals come as board members vote for a new director-general, with Arab candidates from Qatar and Egypt vying with a French competitor.

AFP