US to be sidelined From UNESCO Executive Board

The US will face serious difficulties through the re-election process to the UNESCO Executive Board, that will take place at the General Conference of the Organization in November 2015, a UNESCO official told RIA Novosti.

“Re-election of the US is questionable, because they don’t pay contributions,” the origin said, recalling the fact the US take off financial support for UNESCO on October 31, 2011, after Palestine received full membership to the Organization.

The US already lost its vote at the Organization in November 2013. Under UNESCO’s provisions, any declare that doesn’t pay contributions for couple of years loses its vote in the UNESCO General Assembly, the New York Times reported. Financial support withdrawal may have further negative consequences for the United States as a member in UNESCO, which plays a huge role in promoting world peace and security, the origin said.

“The US decision was unprecedented, the corporation has lost 22% of its funding. This resulted in the reduced amount of a lot of international staff and the termination of several programs. In the last several years, [UNESCO Director-General] Irina Bokova had to constantly address issues of balancing the organization’s budget,” UNESCO official stressed.

Withdrawal of US contributions arose from US legislation, namely, from the law passed by the US Congress in the 1990s. The legal act stated that the United States would terminate all UNESCO donations in case there is Palestine’s membership to the UN agency. In line with the New York Times, Ms. Bokova tried to convince US congressmen of changing the legislation, but her efforts haven’t been successful.