The Biden administration has offered to pay off more than US$600 million in contributions it owes to the agency
Beijing says membership is a serious commitment and ‘not like going to a park’
Liu Zhen
13 Jun, 2023
SCMP
The US would rejoin the UN body next month and has agreed to pay its outstanding contributions. Photo: AFP
The United States should not use international organisations as geopolitical playgrounds, Beijing said on Tuesday as it chided Washington over its plans to rejoin the United Nations’ top heritage body.
Unesco director general Audrey Azoulay confirmed on Monday that the US would rejoin the UN body next month and honour the more than US$600 million in financial contributions it owed.
US officials had previously said that the decision to leave Unesco six years ago left a gap for China to expand its influence.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the US should be responsible and use its membership to support multilateralism and promote international cooperation.
“The membership of international organisations is a serious matter … it is not like going to a park, where you can enter at ease and leave as you please,” Wang said.
“International organisations must not be used as arenas for geopolitical competition, and the public interests of the international community must not be used as an excuse [for the US] to promote its own interests as the global leader.”
He added that the US had twice withdrawn from Unesco, having a negative impact on the agency, and the US should “effectively fulfil its international obligations as a responsible country”, including paying its long overdue debts to Unesco.
“If the US is sincere in rejoining this time, it should show its sincerity in abiding by international rules and respecting the international rule of law,” he said.
The US first withdrew from Unesco in 1984, with the Ronald Reagan administration claiming the organisation was controlled by the former Soviet Union.
The US rejoined in 2003 but stopped paying its contributions in 2011 after the agency accepted Palestine as a member state.
It lost its voting rights in 2013 and formally quit in 2017 under the administration of US president Donald Trump.
The US was once the biggest financial sponsor of the agency, contributing over 20 per cent of its overall funding. Its withdrawal put Unesco under serious financial strain and the remaining members were called on to bridge the gap.
John Bass, US undersecretary of state for management and resources, said in March that the absence of the United States from Unesco bolstered China, and “undercuts our ability to be as effective in promoting our vision of a free world”.
The Joe Biden administration has submitted a financial plan to Unesco to pay off its US$619 million in arrears in the next few years.
The plan will be put to a vote at a general conference of Unesco’s 193 member states next month. Some member states have requested that an extraordinary session on the US plan be held earlier.
The US would rejoin the UN body next month and has agreed to pay its outstanding contributions. Photo: AFP
The United States should not use international organisations as geopolitical playgrounds, Beijing said on Tuesday as it chided Washington over its plans to rejoin the United Nations’ top heritage body.
Unesco director general Audrey Azoulay confirmed on Monday that the US would rejoin the UN body next month and honour the more than US$600 million in financial contributions it owed.
US officials had previously said that the decision to leave Unesco six years ago left a gap for China to expand its influence.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the US should be responsible and use its membership to support multilateralism and promote international cooperation.
“The membership of international organisations is a serious matter … it is not like going to a park, where you can enter at ease and leave as you please,” Wang said.
“International organisations must not be used as arenas for geopolitical competition, and the public interests of the international community must not be used as an excuse [for the US] to promote its own interests as the global leader.”
He added that the US had twice withdrawn from Unesco, having a negative impact on the agency, and the US should “effectively fulfil its international obligations as a responsible country”, including paying its long overdue debts to Unesco.
“If the US is sincere in rejoining this time, it should show its sincerity in abiding by international rules and respecting the international rule of law,” he said.
The US first withdrew from Unesco in 1984, with the Ronald Reagan administration claiming the organisation was controlled by the former Soviet Union.
The US rejoined in 2003 but stopped paying its contributions in 2011 after the agency accepted Palestine as a member state.
It lost its voting rights in 2013 and formally quit in 2017 under the administration of US president Donald Trump.
The US was once the biggest financial sponsor of the agency, contributing over 20 per cent of its overall funding. Its withdrawal put Unesco under serious financial strain and the remaining members were called on to bridge the gap.
John Bass, US undersecretary of state for management and resources, said in March that the absence of the United States from Unesco bolstered China, and “undercuts our ability to be as effective in promoting our vision of a free world”.
The Joe Biden administration has submitted a financial plan to Unesco to pay off its US$619 million in arrears in the next few years.
The plan will be put to a vote at a general conference of Unesco’s 193 member states next month. Some member states have requested that an extraordinary session on the US plan be held earlier.
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