Analysis | Five takeaways from the U.S. return to UNESCO
What’s so important about the U.S. move to rejoin an organization where the cultural significance of Italian food is on the table? A whole lot actually…
Chris Klein
The United States is back at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), culminating a campaign of energetic U.S. diplomacy, Biden administration advocacy with Congress, and smart leadership by UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay. More than regaining a say about what sites and cuisines (Italian food is next up) attain world cultural heritage status, the U.S. return marks an important advance in President Biden’s 2021 pledge to the U.N. General Assembly for “relentless” American diplomacy. It also opens new fields for great power competition.
The UNESCO governing board voted decisively (132–10) on June 30 to readmit the United States, the U.N.’s largest donor country. China (UNESCO’s current largest donor), Russia, North Korea, Belarus, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Nicaragua, Syria, and the Palestinians voted against welcoming the United States back. But other member states and leaders at UNESCO rejoiced. Japan led a lobbying push that scored more than 50 cosponsors of the decision to approve the U.S. proposal to return. Azoulay wrote in her Twitter feed that June 30 was “a great day for UNESCO and multilateralism.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed gratitude to the membership in a statement.
The Trump administration withdrew the United States from UNESCO in 2018, citing anti-Israel bias. It was not the first time the United States left the organization. The Reagan administration quit in 1984 over what it viewed as UNESCO’s pro-Soviet line. President George W. Bush returned the United States to the body in 2003, telling the U.N. General Assembly that the move “symbolized our commitment to human dignity.” What is important about the U.S. return this time around? Here are five takeaways:
1. It’s About China … The U.S. presence should boost pushback at UNESCO against Chinese initiatives the United States believes threaten its interests and those of the liberal, open world. This line of argument helped convince the U.S. Congress to back the return to UNESCO. China’s desire to host an office of the International Bureau of Education — the UNESCO entity that focuses on global education policies and practices — in Shanghai deserves scrutiny and probably official opposition given the country’s serious restrictions on academic freedom. In addition, as a multilateral organization with “scientific” in its name, UNESCO will continue to grapple with the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI). The United States and China differ on what AI’s guardrails should be — so being able to rally friends to advance productive norms in this area will be essential.
2. … But It’s Not Only About China: The Biden administration plans to work with Congress to provide some $10 million in private voluntary funding for UNESCO to boost Holocaust education, support the protection of journalists, preserve cultural heritage in Ukraine, and promote science, technology, engineering, and math education in Africa. Moreover, cooperation with China at UNESCO should be on the table, and the United States will try to avoid “us vs. them” scenarios. Promoting women’s rights, using science to strengthen development and confront the climate crisis, and promoting STEM education in Africa are UNESCO priorities where the United States and China could usefully cooperate.
3. Israel Is Probably OK With It: U.S. law prohibits American funding for U.N. bodies that admit Palestine as a member. The Palestinians won admission as a member of UNESCO in 2011, which caused the United States (and Israel) to cease funding. Israel left the organization in 2019. The waiver the U.S. Congress approved at the end of 2022 to allow restoration of U.S. funding to UNESCO contained “snapback” language regarding the Palestinians — that is, the waiver “shall cease to have effect” if the Palestinians “obtain the same standing as member states or full membership as a state in the U.N. or any specialized agency.” Senior State Department officials took care to update Israeli partners regularly as the U.S. effort unfolded. Although Israel has not come out directly in favor of the U.S. return to UNESCO, American Jewish advocacy groups have expressed approval, saying the move was good for Israel and the United States and bad for their adversaries.
4. Azoulay Amazes: Not much could better prepare a diplomatic leader for multilateralism’s challenges than surviving the slalom of French party politics. Azoulay, a former French Socialist Party leader and Minister of Culture, prioritized outreach to the Biden administration and Congress on trips to Washington. She visited Senator Lindsey Graham in 2021 at his home in South Carolina. Within UNESCO, Azoulay pushed through management reforms Washington liked and reduced anti-Israel bias, largely depoliticizing debate about Middle East issues. Without her strong leadership, the deal could not have been done. She has proven capable of managing the intense debates to come — and keeping UNESCO relevant.
5. Work With Congress Will Continue: The Biden administration’s budget request to Congress for fiscal year 2024 includes $150 million for dues and arrears; the United States currently owes $612 million in arrears, and the plan is to continue paying the debt down through similar requests in coming years. The federal budget process is as intensive as ever, so the State Department and White House will need to continue consulting closely with Congress to make sure UNESCO funding survives. Reclaiming standing and influence in the organization will require the U.S. to pay its dues. For the current biennium (2022–23), China is the largest donor, with assessed contributions of more than $105 million.
The U.S. return is only the first step in its reengagement with UNESCO. The United States plans to run for the body’s executive board at the next General Conference meeting in November. Although many of the organization’s activities are innocuous (who could oppose special status for pesto?), this is an important time for liberal, open countries to stand together to advance our interests. At UNESCO, the United States is seizing the moment.
Chris Klein is a senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and a former principal deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs. The views expressed herein are solely the author’s and do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. government.
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