US decides to rejoin UNESCO and pay back dues, to counter Chinese influence

UNESCO announced Monday that the United States plans to rejoin the UN cultural and scientific agency — and pay more than USD 600 million in back dues — after a decade-long dispute sparked by the organisation's move to include Palestine as a member.

US officials say the decision to return was motivated by concern that China is filling the gap left by the US in UNESCO policymaking, notably in setting standards for artificial intelligence and technology education around the world.

The move will face a vote by UNESCO's member states in the coming weeks. But approval seems a formality after the resounding applause that greeted the announcement in UNESCO's Paris headquarters Monday.

Not a single country raised an objection to the return of a country that was once the agency's single biggest funder.

The Trump administration decided in 2017 to withdraw from the agency altogether the following year, citing long-running anti-Israel bias and management problems.

UNESCO's director general, Audrey Azoulay, has worked to address those concerns since her election in 2017, and that appears to have paid off.

“It's a historic moment for UNESCO," she said Monday. "It's also an important day for multilateralism.'' US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma submitted a letter last week to Azoulay formalising the plan to rejoin.