Biden leads US back to membership in UNESCO

The United States on Friday rejoined UNESCO, reversing former President Donald Trump’s decision to leave the organization in 2019. According to its website, UNESCO, which is under the United Nations, promotes “international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication and information.”

The vote in the U.N. General Assembly after the U.S. petitioned to rejoin UNESCO went overwhelmingly in the country’s favor, with 132 member nations supporting the measure and 10 voting against it. The nations opposing America’s return included China, Russia, Syria, Iran, and North Korea.

“It’s a great day for UNESCO and for multilateralism. Building upon the momentum achieved in recent years, our Organization is once again moving towards universalism with this return of the United States,” UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay said in a statement.

Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs on April 27, 2022, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States’ absence from UNESCO was to “our detriment,” noting that the agency plays a major global role in determining international standards for emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.

“When we’re not at the table, shaping that conversation, and so actually helping to shape those norms and standards — well, someone else is, and that someone else is probably China,” he added.

Following the U.S. withdrawal from the organization in 2019, China became the largest UNESCO contributor nation, providing a reported $65 million annually to its budget.

In November, UNESCO released its first policy paper on artificial intelligence standards. Ashok Swain, professor of peace and conflict research at Sweden’s Uppsala University, told France 24: “The US ideological interest, and its commitment to it, will be challenged if China takes overall control on how to formulate the rules and regulations of AI. I think that makes a solid case for the US to be worried about.”

The Trump administration announced that it would withdraw the U.S. from UNESCO in October 2017, and the withdrawal was made formal in 2019. The administration alleged that UNESCO was biased against Israel, a key U.S. ally and partner.

Blinken testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee in April 2022 that the Israeli government supported the U.S. return to UNESCO.

During the 2020 presidential election, President Joe Biden campaigned on the promise that if he were elected, he would shift the country from Trump’s adversarial approach to international organizations and support more cooperation.

“The Biden foreign policy agenda will place the United States back at the head of the table, in a position to work with its allies and partners to mobilize collective action on global threats. The world does not organize itself,” Biden wrote in an op-ed published in the March/April 2020 edition of Foreign Policy.

In addition to rejoining UNESCO, Biden brought the U.S. back into the Paris climate accord in February 2021, less than a month after he was sworn into office. Trump had formally announced that the country was pulling out of the agreement to cut global carbon emissions in 2019, a move that was criticized by world governments, business leaders, and environmental advocates.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.