US pleads re-election to UNESCO executive board
US Secretary of State John Kerry has pledged to fully restore funding of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in exchange for his country’s re-election to the organization’s executive board.
"In standing for re-election, both President Obama and I are also pledging to work with our former colleagues in the US Congress, and do all we can to restore US funding to UNESCO in full," Kerry said Sunday at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, AFP reported.
"And we have been candid about the fact that this will be much easier to accomplish if the United States retains its seat on the executive board," he added.
In 2013, the US and Israel lost their UNESCO voting rights at the 195-member assembly, two years after suspending their financial contributions to the UN body over Palestine’s membership.
Washington is still a member of the executive board that is in charge of overseeing the general management of the agency. The call for re-election, however, comes despite owing hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid dues.
Kerry also said that the US government would help UNESCO in areas such as restoring of heritage sites destroyed by extremist groups, the safety of journalists and the environment.
Outlining efforts to tackle extremism, Kerry said that the US will help UNESCO launch an education initiative “to equip teachers and students with the skills and values to embrace tolerance and inclusion and resist violent extremism."
The US currently owes $300 million in arrears to UNESCO. Before stopping its financial support, Washington provided about 22 percent of UNESCO’s annual budget.
US law bans it from making contributions to international organizations that recognize Palestine as a state.
The Obama administration, however, has unsuccessfully tried to persuade Congress to restore the funding during the past few years.
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