Trump administration pulls US out of Unesco again
The United States said it would leave the United Nations Culture and Education Agency, accusing it of supporting “awakened and divided cultural causes”.
The general manager of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, described the decision as “regrettable” but “anticipated”.
This decision is the last stage of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce links with international organizations, after having withdrawn the United States from the World Health Organization and the Paris climate agreement, as well as the reduction in funding for foreign rescue efforts.
UNESCO has 194 Member States around the world and is best known for registering World Heritage sites. The United States decision will take effect from December 2026.
The State Department said that the “globalist and ideological program for international development” of UNESCO was “in contradiction with our first foreign policy in America”.
He also described the inclusion of Palestinians in UNESCO in 2011, as “very problematic, unlike American policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israeli rhetoric within the organization”.
These statements “contradict the reality of UNESCO’s efforts, especially in the field of holocaust education and the fight against anti -Semitism,” said the head of the organization, Audrey Azoulay.
“This decision contradicts the fundamental principles of multilateralism and can affect first and foremost our many partners in the United States of America-communities looking for the site’s registration on the World Heritage List, the status of the creative city and university chairs,” she added.
The UNESCO chief said that the agency had prepared for Washington’s decision, diversifying its sources of funding. Currently, she said, UNESCO received around 8% of its United States budget.
In 2017, during his first presidency, Trump withdrew the United States from UNESCO, but the decision was then canceled by the administration of Joe Biden.
The Paris United Nations Based Agency was created in November 1945 – shortly after the Second World War – to promote peace and security through global cooperation in education, arts, science and culture.
