After staying away from the United Nations Organization UNESCO (United Nations Educational and Scientific and Cultural Organization) for almost five years, America has again expressed its desire to join it. US President Joe Biden’s administration has said that America will rejoin UNESCO. America stayed away from it for five years during the tenure of Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump.
Letter Was Sent Last Week
According to the US State Department, the US sent a letter late last week to rejoin UNESCO. According to the ministry, a letter sent on June 8 by Richard Verma, Deputy Secretary of State for Management Affairs, proposed “a plan for the US’s re-entry into the organization”.
The Ministry of External Affairs said Any such move would require the consent of the current members of UNESCO. In the coming days, the leadership of UNESCO will inform the members of our proposal. Details of the proposal were not immediately given.
America Was Separated From UNESCO Even During Reagan’s Tenure
Former US President Ronald Reagan had decided to withdraw from UNESCO in 1983. Former President George W. Bush re-admitted the US to the organization in 2002. Trump reportedly cited its anti-Israel bias in 2017 and withdrew the US from it. Israel also simultaneously announced its withdrawal from UNESCO, although it did so in January 2018. US State Department official John Bass said rejoining UNESCO “will allow us to address the challenges our absence creates in the global competition with China”.
