Trump administration withdraws from UNESCO again

UNITED NATIONS (AP):

The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it will once again withdraw from the UN cultural agency UNESCO, an expected move that has the US further retreating from international organisations.

The decision to pull US funding and participation from UNESCO comes two years after the Biden administration rejoined following a controversial, five-year absence that began during President Donald Trump’s first term. The White House cited similar concerns as it did in 2018, saying it believes US involvement is not in its national interest and accusing the agency of promoting anti-Israel speech.

The decision, which won’t go into effect until December 2026, will deal a blow to an agency known for preserving cultural heritage through its UNESCO World Heritage Sites programme – which recognises significant landmarks for protection, ranging from the Taj Mahal to Egypt’s pyramids of Giza and the Grand Canyon National Park. The agency also empowers education and science across the globe.

It is the Trump administration’s latest move to pull support for UN agencies under a larger campaign to reshape US diplomacy. Under the ‘America First’ approach, the administration has pulled out of the UN World Health Organization and the top UN human-rights body, while reassessing its funding for others. This has left the UN, which is in the process of its own massive overhaul, re-evaluating core programmes and initiatives and what the international body would look like without support from the US – its largest donor.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement that the withdrawal was linked to UNESCO’s perceived agenda to “advance divisive social and cultural causes”.

She added that UNESCO’s decision in 2011 “to admit the ‘State of Palestine’ as a member state is highly problematic, contrary to US policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organisation”.

UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay said she “deeply” regrets the US decision, but said it was expected and that the agency “has prepared for it”. She also denied accusations of anti-Israel bias, saying it contradicts “the reality of UNESCO’s efforts, particularly in the field of Holocaust education and the fight against anti-Semitism”.

Azoulay added that “the reasons put forward by the United States of America are the same as seven years ago, even though the situation has changed profoundly, political tensions have receded, and UNESCO today constitutes a rare forum for consensus on concrete and action-oriented multilateralism”.

The Biden administration had rejoined UNESCO in 2023 after citing concerns that China was filling the gap left by the US in UNESCO policymaking, notably in setting standards for artificial intelligence and technology education.

The US previously pulled out of UNESCO under the Reagan administration in 1984 because it viewed the agency as mismanaged, corrupt, and used to advance the interests of the Soviet Union. It rejoined in 2003 during George W. Bush’s presidency.

France, where UNESCO is based, stated in a press release that it regrets the US’s decision to withdraw from the agency, which was founded in 1946 “to prevent conflicts through education, culture and tolerance”.

“France supports UNESCO, which backs several of its priorities at international level, particularly access to education for all, the protection of endangered heritage, the protection of our oceans, the responsible development of artificial intelligence, and the fight against anti-Semitism and hate speech,” the French foreign ministry said.