US Is Officially Back in UNESCO

After leaving UNESCO in 2019 due to what it saw as anti-Israel bias and other issues, the US has now officially rejoined the United Nation's education, science and culture agency. After the Trump administration withdrew membership, the Biden administration proposed a plan to rejoin, and in June, UNESCO's board informally welcomed the US back in, CBS News reports. But as of Tuesday, all the documents required for re-entry had been signed and delivered, making America's membership official. "It's a historic moment! So happy to announce that the #UnitedStates has officially rejoined @UNESCO," UNESCO's Director General Audrey Azoulay tweeted. "Our Organization now has 194 Member States & is moving towards universality."

According to the AP, America's return to the fold "was based mainly on concerns that China has filled a leadership gap since the US withdrew." The US hadn't financed UNESCO since 2011, when the agency voted to include Palestine as a member state, and it now owes $619 million in back dues. Part of the US' rejoining process included Congress granting a waiver that was needed in order for the country to start funding UNESCO again, and now the White House has arranged for $10 million in private voluntary funding to be provided to UNESCO this year and has asked that $150 million out of the 2024 budget go toward the dues and arrears owed. Similar requests are expected to be made in the coming years until the entire debt is paid. The US proposal must be confirmed at the General Conference meeting of UNESCO members this month. (More UNESCO stories.)