The United States officially asks to rejoin UNESCO, five years after leaving the organization

It is a potential return that marks the differences between two presidents. The United States, under the leadership of Joe Biden, has officially requested to rejoin UNESCO, said Monday, June 12 the director general of the UN agency, Audrey Azoulay. Under the presidency of Donald Trump, the United States had announced in October 2017 to leave Unesco, of which they had denounced, among other things, the “persistent anti-Israeli bias”. This withdrawal, accompanied by that of Israel, had been effective since December 2018.

“I wish to inform you, on behalf of the State Department, that the United States has the honor to propose a plan for their return to Unesco”, wrote Richard Verma, an assistant to the secretary of state, in a letter to Audrey Azoulay. This letter was read before a meeting of representatives of the 193 member countries in Paris, the headquarters of the organization. “I am delighted with this strong act”, “the result of five years of work” of Unesco for “ease tensions, particularly in the Middle East”, then commented the director general in a press release.

The acceptance of the American return can only be done after a majority vote of the other States, expected in July, in accordance with Unesco regulations. This American decision is part of the general context of the increasingly strong rivalry between Washington and Beijing. However, China has announced that it will not oppose this return to the organization. “Unesco needs all Member States to join hands in order to fulfill its missions.said Yang Jin, the ambassador to the UN agency.