US Moves to Rejoin UNESCO, Must Settle $616 Million Debt

The Biden administration is preparing to rejoin UNESCO, a move signaled by a provision in the $1.7 trillion Omnibus Appropriations Bill passed by Congress on December 22, 2022. This provision allows the US to bypass a 1990 law banning funding to any UN agency that recognizes Palestine as a state. The US left UNESCO in 2019 under President Trump, citing anti-Israel bias, following a gradual estrangement that began in 2011 when Palestine was admitted as a member. Under the 1990 law, the US stopped funding UNESCO in 2011 but maintained an office at its Paris headquarters. The relationship further deteriorated in July 2017 when UNESCO listed Hebron's Old City and the Tomb of the Patriarchs as a Palestinian World Heritage site. A similar withdrawal occurred in the mid-1980s under President Reagan, with the US rejoining in 2003 under George W. Bush. Now, the Biden administration sees strategic value in returning, partly to counter China's growing influence. China has become UNESCO's top donor, contributing $65 million annually, and has forged partnerships including a technology agreement with Huawei for Central America and a memorandum with China's Belt and Road Initiative. However, the US has accumulated $616 million in unpaid dues since 2011. The UNESCO General Assembly could ratify the US return in November 2023, pending negotiations on the debt repayment.