WASHINGTON, July 22. /TASS/. The United States’ withdrawal from UNESCO will take effect on December 31, 2026, the US Department of State said in a statement.
"Today, the United States informed Director General Audrey Azoulay of the United States’ decision to withdraw from UNESCO. Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States," the statement reads.
According to the Department of State, the organization advances "a globalist, ideological agenda for international development," which is at odds with Washington’s "America First foreign policy."
"UNESCO’s decision to admit the ‘State of Palestine’ as a Member State is highly problematic, contrary to US policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization," the document notes.
"US withdrawal will take effect on December 31, 2026. The United States will remain a full member of UNESCO until that time," the statement adds.
US and UNESCO
On February 4, US President Donald Trump signed an order on the country’s withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The US leader noted that the UN had "tremendous potential" but was not living up to it. In addition, Trump ordered a review of US membership in UNESCO, which was expected to be completed in 90 days. The goal was to evaluate "how and if UNESCO supports United States interests."
This is not the first time the US is pulling out of UNESCO. The Ronald Reagan administration withdrew from the UN body back in 1984, citing its extreme politicization and wasting of funds. The US returned to UNESCO in 2003. The country exited the organization again in 2018, during Trump’s first term in office, saying that UNESCO had an "anti-Israel bias," needed "fundamental reform," and that the United States had a mounting financial debt to the organization. The US came back to the UN body in 2023.