The United States has announced its decision to withdraw from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Tammy Bruce, state department spokesperson, said the US communicated its decision to the UN agency on Tuesday, citing non-alignment with America’s interest.
“UNESCO works to advance divisive social and cultural causes and maintains an outsized focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy,” Bruce said in a statement.
“UNESCO’s decision to admit the ‘State of Palestine’ as a Member State is highly problematic, contrary to U.S. policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization.
“Continued U.S. participation in international organizations will focus on advancing American interests with clarity and conviction.”
Abiding by UNESCO laws, Bruce noted that the US withdrawal will take effect on December 31, 2026.
Until that time, the US will remain a full member of UNESCO.
It is the fourth UN agency that the US will be withdrawing from since President Donald Trump took office in January.
On January 21, a day after his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order kick-starting the process of pulling out the US from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In February, he withdrew the US from the UN’s Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the United Nations human rights council (UNHRC).
UN agencies raised concerns over the global consequences of deep cuts to humanitarian funding following Trump’s major policy shifts.
Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the US government funded around 47 percent of the global humanitarian appeal across the world last year.
Trump has described these foreign assistances as a “drainpipe” of taxpayer funds, vowing to put “America first”.
