Rebelote. The United States is leaving UNESCO again. “The continuation of the United States’s participation in UNESCO is not in the national interest”said in a statement the spokesperson for the State Department, Tammy Bruce, believing that the agency was biased against Israel and promoted causes “Clivantes” in contradiction with foreign policy “America First”.
The country had already left the organization of the United Nations for Education, Science and Culture at the end of 2018 under the leadership of Donald Trump, before returning to it in June 2023 under the chairmanship of Joe Biden. The international organization was therefore prepared for the tenant of the White House to slam the door again. “As regrettable as it is, this announcement was expected”This president Audrey Azoulay said this president on Tuesday in a statement.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the heart of tensions
Last February, Donald Trump had signed a decree formalizing the end of the United States’s commitment in several UN bodies. This is done for UNESCO. The American withdrawal will take effect on December 31, 2026. As in 2018, the country notably mentioned UNESCO’s decision to admit “The state of Palestine” as a member state in 2011 to justify its withdrawal. An argument taken up in the process by Israel, which had at the time followed suit with its ally.
“Unfactible support for UNESCO, universal protector of science, ocean, education, culture and world heritage”wrote Emmanuel Macron on X in reaction to this new start. “The withdrawal of the United States will not weaken our commitment alongside those who have this fight”promised the President of the United States.
