President Trump has withdrawn the United States from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the second time in the government’s latest blow to global cultural heritage preservation.
In a brief statement posted to the Department of State website on Tuesday, July 22, spokesperson Tammy Bruce said UNESCO’s recognition of Palestine as a member state was contradictory to US foreign policy interests and propagated anti-Israel bias, claims that Director-General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay rejected in a statement shared with Hyperallergic.
“UNESCO has supported 85 countries in implementing tools and training teachers to educate students about the Holocaust and genocides, and to combat Holocaust denial and hate speech,” Azoulay said. “UNESCO will continue to carry out these missions, despite inevitably reduced resources.”
Azoulay added that UNESCO is the only UN arm directly involved in Holocaust education and combating antisemitism, efforts celebrated by groups like the pro-Israel World Jewish Congress. The US’s withdrawal comes days after the Department of State imposed sanctions on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who has repeatedly accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
UNESCO oversees over 1,200 World Heritage sites, including the Taj Mahal in India, Machu Picchu in Peru, and the Milanese church housing “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci, as well as Yosemite National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and others in the US. Five UNESCO World Heritage sites are located in Palestine, including the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem. The organization also works to safeguard heritage assets caught in various crises, such as supporting regional response after the apparent looting at the National Museum of Sudan in Khartoum during the country’s ongoing civil war.
The Department of State claimed in its departure announcement that UNESCO focused on “divisive” objectives, including promoting the broader UN’s adopted Sustainable Development Goals, which include eradicating hunger and poverty and promoting “sustainable industrialization.”
Per UNESCO’s constitution, the US will remain a member through 2026, though the Department of State informed the organization on Tuesday of its intentions. US membership dues account for 8% of UNESCO’s total budget, but since Trump’s first withdrawal in 2017, Azoulay said that private contributions have doubled.
The US stopped funding UNESCO when the organization included the “State of Palestine” as a member state in 2011, as required by a law prohibiting funds from flowing to agencies that grant full membership to Palestine. The US remained a member, however, until Trump’s first presidency, when he also cited supposed anti-Israel bias. It rejoined in 2023 under President Joe Biden, who promised to pay back over $600 million in arrears.
Israel withdrew from UNESCO in 2019. The broader UN has not recognized Palestine as a full member.
“We will continue to work hand in hand with all of our American partners in the private sector, academia and non-profit organizations, and will pursue political dialogue with the US administration and Congress,” Azoulay said in today’s statement.