U.S. cuts UNESCO funding after Palestinian vote

David Killion, center, permanent delegate of the United States to UNESCO, reacts as delegates vote on Palestinian membership to the U.N. cultural agency in Paris Oct. 31, 2011. / AP Photo

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration on Monday cut off funding for the U.N. cultural agency, after its member countries defied an American warning and approved a Palestinian bid for full membership in the body.

The lopsided vote to admit Palestine as a member of UNESCO, which only the United States and 13 other countries opposed, triggered a long-standing congressional ban on U.S. funding to U.N. bodies that recognize Palestine as a state before an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is reached. The State Department said a $60 million payment to UNESCO scheduled for November would not be made as a result, and U.S. officials warned of a "cascade" effect at other U.N. bodies that might follow UNESCO's lead.

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"Today's vote by the member states of UNESCO to admit Palestine as a member is regrettable, premature, and undermines our shared goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. She said the U.S. remained committed to UNESCO and its goals, which include the promotion of science, education and culture, and that the administration would work with Congress to preserve U.S. interests and influence in the body.

But, while Nuland said the U.S. would maintain its membership and participation in UNESCO, the organization's internal rules will strip Washington of its vote if it is delinquent in paying its dues for two years.

It is not clear how U.S. membership would work in the interim, especially since UNESCO depends heavily on U.S. funding. The U.S. provides 22 percent of its budget — roughly $80 million a year — but has survived without it in the past: The United States pulled out of UNESCO under President Ronald Reagan and rejoined two decades later under President George W. Bush.

Of potential greater concern to the administration is the possibility that the Palestinians, buoyed by the 107-14 vote in their favor at UNESCO, will apply for membership in other U.N. organizations that the United States values, like the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, or the International Atomic Energy Agency.

On Tuesday, Ibrahim Khraishi, the top Palestinian envoy at the U.N. in Geneva, told The Associated Press that Palestinian diplomats are now planning to capitalize on Monday's landslide vote by preparing papers to join the other U.N. agencies and a variety of other international organizations.

"Now we are studying when we are going to move for full membership on the other U.N. agencies," Khraishi said. "It's our target for (us to join) the international organizations and the U.N. agencies."

He said the UNESCO vote sets a precedent to allowing such broad memberships.

"We are working on it, one by one," he said. "Because it's now precedent that we are a full member in one of the biggest and one of the most important U.N. agencies, UNESCO. So it will open the door for us now to go further in our efforts to join other U.N. agencies."

The UNESCO vote was a fallback for the Palestinian leadership that presented its plan for U.N. recognition as a state and full membership in the global body in September. Israel has fiercely opposed the bid, and it has no chance of passing because the Obama administration has promised to veto any resolution in the Security Council.

Becoming a UNESCO member could give the Palestinians an advantage in joining the U.N. World Intellectual Property Organization, whose rules say membership is "equally open" to those already a member of other U.N. specialized agencies.

But it's not clear whether that means membership is automatic, and Geneva-based spokeswoman for the organization Samar Shamoon declined to comment on that Tuesday.

Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Esther Brimmer emphasized Monday that Palestinian membership in the U.N. World Intellectual Property Organization, known as WIPO, "could have serious implications for U.S. leadership in this organization," which supports global infrastructure helping U.S. companies to protect their business interests around the world, according to State Department briefing notes.

"The United States is a leading global voice on issues related to patent, copyright, and trademark matters, and should the U.S. be unable to provide its contributions to WIPO, the impact of that voice could be significantly diminished," the U.S. agency said.

Of course, a withdrawal of U.S. funding from WIPO also could leave U.S. companies vulnerable.

Senior State Department officials were meeting Monday with executives from numerous high-tech firms to consider options if the U.S. is forced to restrict its participation in WIPO.

Fadela Chaib, spokeswoman for the World Health Organization, another Geneva-based U.N. agency, said any nation that is part of the U.N. can join. For those that are not part, she said, the annual World Health Assembly can approve membership by a simple majority vote if a written request is received at least 30 days beforehand.

Cutting U.S. funding for WHO would hurt, she conceded.

"Of course we need it. The U.S. funding is quite important, I guess for all the U.N. organizations," Chaib told reporters. "It's a vital funding need for WHO."

[2ndiceberg]

Why does it always come down to money? The U.S. uses funding the way an abusive spouse uses control over the bank account, namely to render the rest of the family helpless. This is just plain stupid. If the U.S. intends to continue stating their policy as one that will create two states, then there is no reason to deny the Palestinian people access to anything that would strengthen their own society. Of course, a lot of people no longer believe that U.S. intentions are anything other than to keep up the charade of "peace talks" until there is nothing left for the Palestinian people except a few walled-in enclaves that resemble concentration camps. Besides, UNESCO is important to many countries and they all stand to suffer from a decrease in funding.

For the U.S. it always comes down to money given by them, or taken away, according to a standard that is too shattered to even call "double." Mr. Big Bucks to the world. Where has the American soul gone?

[starving1968-3]

by juwboy November 1, 2011 12:30 PM EDT
In reality, the "Palestinians" were told to flee into the barren wastelands by their leader, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.

He told them that if they stayed where they were, they'd be massacred by the Jews. But -- he emphatically assured them -- they would soon be able to return home after the combined Arab armies had driven the Jews into the sea.

Of course, unlike the Arabs who fled, the Arabs who stayed behind became Israeli citizens with full civil rights and guaranteed representation in the Israeli government.







Actually, the jews, armed with the best weapons that the United States could GIVE them, ordered the residents out of their homes at gunpoint, and forcibly took the land away from them.

[starving1968-3]

by juwboy November 1, 2011 12:46 PM EDT
Very simple.

The Arabs didn't have control of the area.

The Turks did -- Turks are not Arabs.

The Turks ruled their empire with an iron fist and put down any signs of trouble from either Arabs or Jews with all the instruments of a typical totalitarian state -- secret police, torture, summary judgments etc.

Arabs controlled NOTHING.

What a dismal depth of ignorance!







You're apparently unaware, (or should I say IGNORANT), of the fact that the Ottoman Empire was divided into numerous "states" within the Empire, and each state had it's own central government, (and governor), that set the rules for each of the individual states.

If what YOU are saying is true, then you MUST acknowledge that NONE of the "Eyalets", (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyalets), had given the go ahead to exterminate anyone - much less an entire religion like the jews. Not only that, but numerous synagogues existed where the jews could openly worship and pray.

All that you know of the region, is what has been spoon fed to you for YEARS at the hands of religious idealists, that chose to ignore reality, and believe in myth-ology instead.

Please get an education BEFORE you attempt to comment on things that you have ZERO KNOWLEDGE about. It will save all of us a lot of time.

[gadfly65]

I wonder what the right's lunatic fringe will say about this; it doesn't fit into their perception of Obama as a secretly Muslim terrorist sympathizer.

[ajvw]

They'll say he needs the jewish vote to win florida; which he does.

[crammed174]

But the Congressional ban on funding programs that admit ANY state (not just palestinian as some reports) that's not internationally recognized both predates Obama even being heard of and is entirely outside of power. The fact that he didn't authorize payment for November, if he actually has the ability for such, may work to repair his blatant dislike for Israel but also keeps him from more attacks in re-election for going against US policy, not to mention illegal and possibly grounds for impeachment proceedings which the GOP can only dream of. He's not that dumb.

[starving1968-3]

by juwboy November 1, 2011 11:52 AM EDT

Of course, the real goal of Egypt and Jordan and their Arab allies in 1948, was the extermination of all the Jews in the area, by driving them into the sea. They were too weak and limp-wristed to carry out their threat.







Your erroneous claim is that the muslims and arabs wanted to exterminate the jews?

Then why didn't they do so while the Ottoman Empire controlled the ENTIRE REGION from 1481 to 1923, while the jews and arabs were living side by side in peace?

And why was the ENTIRE REGION peaceful until World War I started, while the arabs had control?

Your "claim(s)" are disputed by history and common sense.

Sorry.

Go Fish.

[fergus_vr01]

I donot see anything but good coming out of this - all way around.

[oroblram]

The law that I was not aware of banning U.S. funding of organizations having Palestine participation provides a different perspective to the larger issue of Palestine's application for UN recognition for full-fledged statehood. I assume this same law would equally apply to UN dues if Palestinian Authority were granted recognition. Member nations would have to think twice before voting PA into the UN when the U.S.'s assessment accounts for 22% of UN's budget. UNESCO can survive the current funding cut as they did before through creative accounting, but I doubt the UN can. For that reason, I believe the U.S. has the upperhand in exercizing its influence over the question of Palestinian memebership to the UN. Defunding UNESCO was just a shot across the bow at the sympathetic nations that were either unaware or contemptuous of the U.S. law. Hopefully, President Obama will avoid executive orders to side-set the law when he is known to support increased internationalism to problem solve world's problems.

[Peace_for_Our_Time]

So, how do I go about withholding funding (taxation) for the US govt when its racist policies do not reflect my values. I wonder how many other US voters feel this way considering that the majority of Americans support a Palestinian state (as opposed to those that do not):

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/21/debate-should-the-u-s-recognize-palestine-as-an-independent-nation/

[starving1968-3]

by vageorge November 1, 2011 10:24 AM EDT
The PLO (Palestinians) are terrorist. We have no ( 0 ) business to support them. They have continually fired rockets,funded,and performed constant terrorist acts. If you are so foolish to believe they want peace maybe you should study history. They have never managed to get along with anyone. No country has wanted to even deal with them because of their actions.







They lived in PEACE for over 400 years while the Ottoman Empire had control of the region, and the jews lived side by side with the muslims.

It wasn't until the British decided that the Zionists needed their own "state", and had the UN vote to make Israel a nation, that all of the problems started.

Funny how the US and England can allow the UN to "create a state" in 1948, but oppose the same process now.

[expatriate2]

Exactly right, starving. One cannot really appreciate the situation unless you have been there and heard the tales of how the British entered Palestinian homes and businesses and relocated families into barren wastelands so that their properties could be handed over to the Jews. The world was justifiably sympathetic with the Jews in 1945 but apparently nothing was felt for these people who have only wanted a home in all the years that followed. Factions of them believed that they could regain their lands by force but that did not make them terrorists any more than were the American Indians terrorists because they wanted to defend their lands and also lost.

[HermannSchmettlapp]

How is any of that different from when the British partitioned India and the Muslims and Hindu self-segregated across what became the Pakastani-Indian border? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_India Of course there are Pakistanis still today who pine for what was left on the other side of the border. Of course there are tensions between the two countries. But why do you think that the best decisions of that time, taken earnestly by well intentioned leaders who were authorized to act, justify anything but peace today?

[roncee1]

I'm quite sure that UNESCO was well aware of the consequences of its actions. The U S law forbidding this action under penalty of loss of funding has been around since the 90's. Hey, you takes your swing and live with the result. Actually I hope this is just the beginning of a U S realignment of the funding of the U N. The U N has been and continues to be a feckless organization that exists solely to enable a bunch of peacocks and parasites to parade around acting as though they are doing anything productive, all on someone else's money. A money pit if there ever was one.