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WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) — The world has long been accustomed to U.S. President Donald Trump’s stance against multilateralism. However, the United States on Thursday suddenly announced its withdrawal from UNESCO, an important part of the world’s UNESCO. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations – attracting worldwide attention.
A State Department statement said the decision “reflects the United States’ concerns about UNESCO’s growing arrears, the need for fundamental reform of the organization, and its continued opposition to theIsrael UNESCO bias. ”
But the underlying problem is the Trump administration’s distrust of multilateral organizations and its growing dissatisfaction with America’s place in an increasingly multipolar world.
Deep-seated impatience
Since taking office in January this year, White House China’s leaders have made no secret of their tendency to challenge multilateralism.
Trump has already scrapped the historic Paris Climate Agreement, a comprehensive agreement signed last year by 195 countries to reduce emissions, and wants to “cancel” the landmark Iran The crucial Iran nuclear deal was signed two years ago with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and GermanyTo avoid the possibility of a nuclear crisis in the Middle East.
Trump also blasted the United Nations in his first speech to the General Assembly in New York last month, saying “this organization is too often focused not on results but on bureaucracy and process. In some cases, nations that seek to subvert this institution’s noble goals have hijacked the very systems that are supposed to advance those goals.”
Take UNESCO, for example, which Washington has long criticized for what it calls corruption, inefficiency and mismanagement.
As early as 1984, the Ronald Reagan administration abolished USA The United Nations withdrew from the agency on the grounds that it was ideologically pro-Soviet and anti-Western, while the United States did not join the agency until 2003.
However, rejoining the EU did not save Washington’s ambitions in the multilateral institution.
Trump has not appointed an ambassador to the United Nations since taking office. Observers believe that Trump’s decision was well thought out because he announced it before the results of the election for the Director-General of UNESCO were announced.
Long-standing resentment
During the Republican administration of George W. Bush, UNESCO voted to abandon Palestine Became a full member in 2011.
The decision recognizes Palestine as a true sovereign state, which is unacceptable to the United States and Israel. However, Washington still maintains an office at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. France.
In July this year, UNESCO listed the ancient Palestinian city of Hebron in the West Bank as a World Heritage Site, a move that further angered Washington.
Washington, a longtime ally of Tel Aviv, is also reviewing its membership of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, citing anti-Israel tendencies within the body.
Trump’s decision was predictably welcomed in Israel, which said it would also withdraw from UNESCO shortly after the United States.
US DEBT MOVES UP
In 2011, the US government announced that it would stop providing financial contributions to UNESCO, which accounted for 22% of the organization’s annual budget, in retaliation for Palestine becoming a full member of UNESCO.
The U.S. government said it had to cut funding because a 1990s law bars the United States from funding any U.N. agency that recognizes Palestine as a state.
As a result, the United States’ debt to UNESCO has increased year by year, and currently the United States owes the organization more than 500 million US dollars.
The United States’s failure to pay dues has had an adverse impact on the normal operation of institutions and employment of personnel. Analysts believe that after the United States withdraws completely, it is very likely to default on its dues.
Founded in 1946, UNESCO is dedicated to promoting cooperation among nations through education, science and culture.
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