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The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) confirmed Monday that the United States is planning to rejoin the agency after leaving it almost six years ago, a move that observers said is aimed at countering China’s rising influence within the organization, Axios reported.
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay told ambassadors and delegates in a special meeting that she had received a letter from Washington officials detailing the return of the US.
The plan will include a timetable for the US’ re-admittance to the agency’s executive board and the payment of more than $600 million in back dues.
The US and Israel stopped funding UNESCO in 2011 after the agency voted to include Palestine as a member state that year.
In 2017, the Trump administration withdrew from the organization, citing anti-Israel bias and management problems. Israel followed suit shortly after.
Azoulay told the Associated Press that the US’ planned return “is the result of five years of work, during which we calmed tensions … improved our response to contemporary challenges, resumed major initiatives on the ground and modernized the functioning of the organization.”
The decision comes over worries within the Biden administration that China is filling the gap left by Washington in UNESCO policymaking, especially in setting standards for artificial intelligence and technology education around the world.
Diplomats and analysts said a US comeback will provide “more ambition, and more serenity,” as well as a big financial boost for the organization after more than a decade of belt-squeezing efforts.
One UNESCO envoy said they would also welcome back Israel if it wanted to rejoin.
The 2017 withdrawal was not the first time the US pulled out of UNESCO: In 1984, then-President Ronald Reagan withdrew from the agency over accusations of mismanagement, corruption, and allegations that the agency was being used to advance the Soviet Union’s interests.
The US rejoined in 2003.
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