Photo in the Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Donald Trump administration announced on July 21 that it will withdraw the United States from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce elaborated on the reasoning behind this decision:
“UNESCO works to promote divisive social and cultural causes and maintains a disproportionate focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, an ideological and globalist agenda for international development that is at odds with our America First foreign policy.”
The United States is expected to withdraw from UNESCO in December of next year. Although its withdrawal represents a loss of UNESCO's resources, the organization relies solely on the United States for 81% of its funding. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly continues to elaborate on the New York Post:
“President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from UNESCO, which supports divisive, woke cultural and social causes that are completely at odds with the common-sense policies Americans voted for in November.”
Will they or won't they? The US and UNESCO
This would be the third time the United States has withdrawn from UNESCO. The country first left the international organization in 1983, during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. Reagan argued that the organization was biased against the West. President George W. Bush rejoined the organization in 2003, stating that the United States was satisfied with the reforms implemented.
During Donald's first term in 2018, the United States they withdrew again of UNESCO. Trump argued that UNESCO, among other problems, was biased against Israel. This lasted until 2023, when former President Joe Biden decided to return to the organization to combat the influence that China had managed to establish there.
Trump vs. UN
This year, President Trump, as in his first term, has taken a negative stance against international organizations such as the United Nations (UN). Trump signed an executive order in February which called for an analysis of US support for these organizations to determine whether their collaboration should continue. This analysis has resulted in the withdrawal of UNESCO and the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
In addition, in a separate executive order, Trump withdrew the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO), something he had also attempted during his first term, until being rejected by the Biden administration. The Trump administration cited problems with the way these organizations "leverage" US funds to advance international goals.
What does UNESCO do?
UNESCO is an organization that focuses on promoting educational and cultural cooperation among UN member states. It is famous for its responsibility to designate certain sites as World Heritage Sites, such as the Grand Canyon and Machu Picchu.
UNESCO is responsible for establishing regulations and systems of international cooperation. It is also responsible for advancing the UN's humanitarian goals through cultural and educational efforts. For example, they recently embarked on a Holocaust education campaign to combat antisemitism at a global level.
We'll see if Trump's decision to leave this organization again proves more permanent than his previous attempt.
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