World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Top Bokova's Agenda in Miami

Director-General Irina Bokova at the roundtable on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism in Miami, March 2012© UNESCO/George Papagiannis

With a stunning visit to the Everglades the day before serving as a strong reminder, Director-General Irina Bokova turned her attention to a private-public sector roundtable on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism in Miami on Monday. Joining a panel of local leaders in the tourism industry and conservation, the Director-General highlighted the importance of better integrating cultural heritage preservation, sustainable tourism and local communities, pointing out that cultural heritage is a powerful driver for social and economic development at the community level.The Director-General was mindful of the efforts undertaken at the Everglades National Park, a World Heritage Site since 1979, to integrate it into the lives of young people and their parents by serving as both a place of learning for thousands of school-age children and an economic driver, creating jobs that support the local economy.  “It is important that there be a comprehensive approach to heritage preservation in its various forms, be it natural, cultural or intangible heritage, in order to educate younger generations to the need to preserve it, not just as a historical legacy but as a living and fundamental component of our lives and communities,” she said.

William Talbert III, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor’s Bureau backed up the Director-General’s comments with eye-opening statistics on national and local tourism.  “International tourists make up 70% of all tourism in the United States,” Talbert said, “and Miami alone saw a 9% increase in foreign visitors last year.”

Read more....

Heron photo from my visit last year to the Everglades

UNESCO Director General Travels Across the USA

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar (left)
with UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova (right)
 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on Thurs 3/15/12

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova has continued her 10-day trip across the U.S.A this week with stops Washington, Philadelphia, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.


Two weeks ago in Washington she spoke about the importance of Women and Girls Literacy before a lunch hosted by the UN Foundation and the Women's Foreign Policy Group.


On Thursday 3/15 the Director General was in Philadelphia where she attended an event that highlighted the importance that World Heritage sites can play in promoting tourism and economic development. Later in the day she attended the inauguration of the UNESCO Chair in Learning and Literacy at the University of Pennsylvania.


Over the weekend she was in Chicago where she spoke before the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, met with Senator Richard Durbin, talked to the McCormick Foundation, and held an editorial board meeting with the Chicago Tribune. During her stay she also met with representatives from the IDP Foundation, the Chicago Architecture Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation. 


On Monday of last week the Director General visited Miamiwhere she visited theEverglades and participated in a public-private sector roundtable about World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism.

From there she traveled to San Francisco on Tuesday where she spoke to students at the University of California at Berkeley about freedom of information in the digital age and also met with city officials. On Wednesday she spoke about science education for girls at an event hosted by the Friends of the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women.

Mon 3/19 Roundtable on Sustainable Tourism in Miami

John Oliver Explains U.S. UNESCO Policy

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Daily Show of March 15th broke its normal format in order to devote a major portion to satirize the law which required the United States to withhold funding from UNESCO after UNESCO admitted Palestine to membership.

Director-General to give keynote address on literacy at the University of Pennsylvania

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova will inaugurate the UNESCO Chair on Literacy and Learning and address a symposium on “Global Literacy in the 21st century: Problems and Prospects” at the University of Pennsylvania on 15 March 2012.

She will highlight positive experiences and lessons learned, stress the need for strong partnerships and innovative alliances, and underline that “we must go where the gaps are widest and where we are needed most.”

Other speakers at the symposium include the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs, a senior education advisor at USAID, the Vice-Provost of the University and the Dean of the Graduate School of Education.

The UNESCO Chair on Literacy and Learning is held by Dan Wagner, a professor at the Graduate School of Education and Director of the International Literacy Institute at University of Pennsylvania. A special feature of the Chair is the Penn Graduate School of Education-UNESCO Chair International Fellowship initiative. A first of its kind in the United States, this initiative supports promising professionals at Masters’ level from the developing world with a special interest in international education.

The newly established Chair is the 18th in the United States. Overall, some 600 Chairs operate in 128 countries.

The Global Water Experiment

The public was interested when the USA cut UNESCO funding

	UNESCO strips Dresden of World Heritage site title Vancouver Sun - Jun 25 2009
	Bulgarian diplomat wins UNESCO race Philadelphia Inquirer - Sep 22 2009
	UNESCO adds 7 sites to World Heritage List Ynetnews - Aug 1 2010
	UNESCO to assess mining impact at S.Africa Ninemsn - Nov 16 2010
	US cuts UNESCO funding after Palestinian membership vote CNN - Oct 31 2011
	Palestinian flag raised at UNESCO The Hindu - Dec 13 2011

The upper graph gives the frequency that the term "UNESCO" was used as a search term on Google over the last several years, while the lower graph shows how often the term was used to search Google News over the same period. The graph shows a long term downward trend and seasonal phenomena such as a dip at the end of the calendar year. The decision of the General Conference to admit Palestine to membership and the decision of the United States Government to withhold funding from UNESCO as a consequence of that vote led to a very definite spike in interest in UNESCO. Bad news is news!

Two New U.S. UNESCO Clubs

Two new clubs have been added to the roster of UNESCO Clubs in the USA.

The first is the Inter-America's UNESCO Club of Houston in Houston, TX. The second is the Racines Heritage Foundation in Kensington, MD. This brings the number of clubs in the USA to seven.

Welcome to the clubs!

The U.S. National Commission for UNESCO welcomes information about clubs, associations, and centers operating in the USA that have an interest in U.S. activities as a Member State of UNESCO or align themselves with UNESCO’s goals.

No, not this kind of club!

UNESCO's 189th Executive Board Adjourns

UNESCO's 189th Executive Board adjourned last week. During the course of the meeting the U.S. spoke out about several issues the we view as serious challenges for the agency.

During the meeting members of the Executive Board considered several resolutions that affirmed Palestinian membership in UNESCO as a state. The U.S. voted against these; you can see our Ambassador's statement about these votes here.

The Executive Board also considered the legitimacy of Syria's position as a seatholder on the UNESCO Committee that deals with human rights. We supported the removal of Syria from this committee, you can our Ambassador's statement about that vote here.

Lastly, the Executive Board attempted to resolve a long-standing impasse relating to the funding of a proposed prize for research in the life sciences, named after Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who leads Equatorial Guinea. You can see our Ambassador's statement regarding that vote  here.

Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature could lose international partnerships

The Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature runs the risk of weakening connections with its international partners if the United States does not pay its membership fees to the greater organization by 2013, officials say.

The U.S. Commission on UNESCO suspended its funding to the agency by law last October, when membership countries voted to admit Palestine into the international organization. The suspension comes at a time when peace efforts between Israel, a member of UNESCO, and Palestine remain unresolved.

Without the U.S.’s $60 million in contributions for the year, UNESCO loses one-fifth of its annual budget, which in turn could cause UNESCO-funded programs in the U.S. — like its World Heritage Sites and educational programs —to suffer, and for non-funded designations like the City of Literature to see strained international partnerships.


Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature executive director Jeanette Pilak said this is not the first time the U.S. has refused to pay its membership to UNESCO — the U.S. pulled out of UNESCO in 1984 and rejoined in 2002 — but with Iowa City being brought into the Creative Cities Network in 2008, this is the first time it could have a direct effect locally.

“We are working with all of our Creative Cities Network colleagues to understand what the issues are and to look at what the long-term effect is to the (network) should the U.S. not continue to pay to be a member,” she said. “But that’s a long-term plan.”

Read more!

The UNESCO Director-General makes the case for UNESCO in the USA

On a visit to the United States, from 13 to 25 March, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova will travel to Washington DC, Philadelphia, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles where she will participate in events highlighting UNESCO’s role in promoting lasting peace and more inclusive and sustainable development. She will bring a sharp message focusing on women’s and girls’ education and literacy, on UNESCO’s action for freedom of expression across the world, and on the importance of protecting world cultural and natural heritage, especially in this year commemorating the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention.

The Director-General will inaugurate a new UNESCO Chair in Literacy and Learning at the University of Pennsylvania, where she will also sign an internship programme agreement with the University that will enable graduate students to gain experience in UNESCO’s field offices across the world as well as at Headquarters.

During this visit, Irina Bokova will meet Government officials, representatives of US foundations as well as the private sector, along with multiple media outlets.

The IIEP was founded as a result of a USA initiative and now suffers as the USA withholds funding from UNESCO

The Website of the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) makes a number of publications available worldwide via its website.

The IIEP is a UNESCO Category I Center,  established in 1963 in Paris, France. It is supported by grants from UNESCO and by voluntary contributions from Member States and others. IIEP is an integral part of UNESCO, yet it enjoys a large amount of autonomy.

Rene Maheu, then UNESCO Director General, and the UNESCO general Conference established the IIEP at the initiative of the U.S. government and in particular of John F. Kennedy's  Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Culture, Philip Coonbs. The initiative was advanced following a White House conference convened to assess the effects of decolonization.  Within a decade, U.S. leadership and its commitment to the global good led to the creation not only of IIEP but of two other enduring UNESCO centers of excellence: the World Heritage Convention and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

It is ironic that  UNESCO currently had budgeted to provide only 14% of IIEP's budget with the remaining 86% contributed by new champions of the global good: Norway, Sweden Switzerland and the Netherlands.(Ireland and Spain, despite their desperate financial status also contribute!)  Moreover, UNESCO's 14% has been reduced by nearly $900,000 because of the U.S. freeze on contributions to UNESCO.  (The world Heritage Center will lose more than $1,1,400.00 because of US action.  IOC has also taken a devastating hit.)

As this is written, IIEP's director is leading a UNESCO team to Libya, at the Libyan authorities request, to see how UNESCO might be helpful in rebuilding  the country's' intellectual infrastructures.  IIEP is on the ground also in South Sudan, Afghanistan and other countries such as Chad and Burkina Faso, that are in desperate need.  Let us hope that the United States,that played so Central and positive a role in  creating the post world War II international order, of which UNESCO is a central part,  will soon emerge from its current slumber and demonstrate to the world the better face  of its nature.

Opening of the UNESCO Executive Board

International Women's Day Celebrations

Every year on 8 March, UNESCO celebrates International Women's Day by hosting a flagship programme consisting of round-tables, conferences, exhibitions and cultural events that highlight issues relating to the empowerment of women and the promotion of gender equality.

Decision time at UNESCO

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, presented a roadmap to respond to current financial difficulties to the 189th session of Executive Board, meeting in Paris from 27 February to 10 March.

“The international community faces strategic cross-roads that require UNESCO’s full contribution,” said the Director-General referring to the 40^thanniversary of the World Heritage Convention, the 6^th World Water Forum, the 3^rd International Congress on Technical and Vocational Training, Rio +20, the Expo 2012 on “The Living Ocean and Coast”, the 20^th anniversary of the Memory of the World, our work on youth, including in Africa, and much more.

“All of this demands a stronger UNESCO,” declared the Director-General. “The difficulties we face call for action immediately and over the long term (…) I am pleased to have this opportunity now to report formally on my assessment of the situation, on the actions I have taken and on the steps I propose to move forward,” she continued, explaining actions that were taken to close year 2011 on balanced terms and measures put in place to help bridge the funding gap.

The Director-General highlighted the three major principles on which the roadmap is based. “First, an initial refocusing of the programmes; then, mobilizing additional resources; and last, the reduction of administrative expenses,” said Irina Bokova.

“It is vital that UNESCO manages its current difficulties while remaining focused on its objectives, its ability to maintain its status and to guide the world debate,” said the Director-General. “I think it is important to start thinking of the UNESCO that we want. There is no time to waste”.

Obama Administration Seeks UNESCO Waiver Legislation

In the UNESCO General Conference last year, Palestine was elected as a member state over the opposition of the United States. According to a provision of law a couple of decades old, the United States was then required to withhold its contributions to the Organization. Doing so has created a major problem for UNESCO in that the United States pays a portion of the UNESCO regular budget roughly proportional to the U.S. portion of the global GDP, in this case 22 percent. Funds began to be withheld with the final payment of dues for 2011, and are being withheld now.

The Obama administration plans to seek legislation to permit the President to waive the provision requiring withholding of those contributions. It is normal to allow the President to waive such provisions when it is appropriate to the foreign policy of the United States to do so. This is in keeping with the foreign policy responsibilities assigned to the president in the Constitution, and allows for more timely changes than would be possible through the Congressional process of revision of the legislation.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), chairwoman of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. and Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), the senior Democrat on the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia., have announced that they will oppose that legislation. Both apparently feel that it is more important to show support for Israel in its negotiations with the Palestinians than to support the educational, scientific and cultural activities of UNESCO.

Secretary of State Clinton meeting with
UNESCO Director General Bokova

UNESCO not only implements a broad program promoting international cooperation in these fields, but it also is carrying out a number of U.S. funded projects, many of which are important to U.S. security interests and all of which have been undertaken at the initiative of the United States government. (See About the U.S. and UNESCO and U.S. Contributions to UNESCO.)

Interestingly, both Rep. Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. Ackerman face redistricting, threatening their previously secure seats in the House of Representatives. The legislatures in each state will be revising Congressional districts in keeping with the changes in population revealed in the 2010 census.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Miami), will be based in a new District 27, centered around her Miami hometown and no longer including the Keys which were the core of the district which she represents currently. In Florida a Representative need not live in the district which he/she represents, but most do.

Representative Ackerman too is facing shifts in the borders of the district that he represents. It is reported that it's possibile that Ackerman will see his district extend into a district now represented by his congressional neighbor and fellow Democrat Carolyn McCarthy of Long Island.

Safeguarding the Sites: The Implication for All of Us

The World Heritage Convention in Action: Challenges and Successes

International Institute for Peace joins forces with UNESCO

The International Institute for Peace (IIP), co-founded by UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Forest Whitaker, will formally join forces with the Organization on 7 February with the signing of an agreement between UNESCO, the Institute, the Rutgers University in New Jersey, US, and the US government, the UN agency said in press statement here Friday.

It said that the agreement will place the IPP under the auspices of UNESCO.

The agreement to this effect will be signed at UNESCO Headquarters after a press conference with UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, Forest Whitaker, Rutgers University Chancellor Philip Yeagle, and the US Ambassador to UNESCO, David Killion.

At the ceremony, video messages of support from Esther Brimmer, the US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, and Okello Sam, the founder of Hope North, a centre for refugees, orphans and former child soldiers in northern Uganda, will also be shown.

Read more from Afrique en Ligne

UN Alliance of Civilizations Fellowships Available

The objective of the Fellowship programme is to contribute to enhance knowledge and understanding between peoples and societies from Muslim-majority countries, mainly from the Arab World, and from Europe and North America. The programme creates an opportunity for emerging leaders from these societies to get acquainted with the diverse realities and cultural, political and religious environments of the others.

A group of 12 young leaders from the Middle East and North Africa visit 3-6 countries in Europe and the States in the U.S and a group of 12 young leaders from Europe and North America visit 3-6 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The duration of each trip is around 18 days. During their trips, fellows are given the opportunity to meet their counterparts in other regions, and to visit governmental, media, educational, civil society and business institutions.

Applications must be submitted no later than than 12 February 2012.

Click here for more information!

Laura W. Bush Traveling Fellowship

Application Deadlines:

• Spring 2012: Monday, February 6, 2012

• Fall 2012: Monday, September 24, 2012

• Spring 2013: Monday, February 25, 2013

The fellowship will help fund a proposal designed by the applicant to conduct brief work in a foreign country related to the mandate of UNESCO – using education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and/or communication and information to build strong ties among nations.

The fellowship is intended for American college/university students who express an interest in international collaboration but as of yet had not been afforded many opportunities to travel abroad.

The length of time for the travel is expected to be between 4 and 6 weeks and should include interaction with individuals from other nations. During his/her travel, the recipient should be willing to participate in public diplomacy events arranged with the pertinent U.S. State Department Consulate, Mission, and/or Embassy.

Click here for more information!

IEEE and UNESCO sign partnership to promote engineering education in Africa

UNESCO and the world’s largest technical professional association, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), today signed an agreement to implement projects to support the engineering community in Africa.

The agreement, signed at UNESCO’s Headquarters, outlines initiatives that support the common goal of mobilizing engineering education outreach for both students and educators in Africa, a region both organizations regard as a priority.  The combination of IEEE’s core strengths as a professional association (with the technical expertise of its global membership); paired with UNESCO’s overall objective to mobilize science knowledge and policy for sustainable development, should contribute to the partnership’s effectiveness.

IEEE President and CEO Gordon Day, who signed the agreement for IEEE said, “Everywhere in the world, quality of life and prosperity depend on the application of technology. “That means that every country needs to have and sustain a strong high-tech workforce. Through this partnership, IEEE and UNESCO will be better able to help countries in Africa and elsewhere do just that.”

Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, added. “If engineering’s role is more visible and better understood, more people would be attracted to it as a career. Now and in the years to come, we need to ensure that motivated young women and men concerned about problems in the developing world continue to enter the field in sufficient numbers. It is estimated that some 2.5 million new engineers and technicians will be needed in sub-Saharan Africa alone.”

The United States’ and United Kingdom’s Ambassadors and Permanent Delegates to UNESCO, David Killian and Matthew Sudders, attended the signing.

 UNESCO and IEEE agreed to collaborate on several projects and initiatives including accreditation programmes, faculty training and initiatives encouraging the participation of women in engineering.

The World Heritage Convention at Work: Successes and Failures

UNESCO Director General Bokova's Statement on US funding cut

Statement by the Director-General of UNESCO on Withholding of Funds by the United States. Text available here: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/director-general/news-single-view/news/statement_by_the_director_general_of_unesco_on_withholding_of_funds_by_the_united_states/

Launch of a UNESCO-United States-Brazil project for teaching respect in schools

The “Teaching Respect for All,” project born of cooperation between UNESCO, the United States and Brazil, was launched on 18 January at UNESCO Headquarters. This launch is the first step in a process expected to last close to three years with the aim of developing curricula that promote learning to live together in school.

Coordinated by UNESCO, funded from U.S. State Department extra budgetary contributions, the “Teaching Respect for All” project recognizes the key role of schools in combatting racial and ethnic discrimination.

Launched in the presence of the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, Department of State, Esther Brimmer, and Executive Secretary of the Secretariat on Policies of Promotion of Racial Equality in Brazil, Mário Theodoro Lisbôa, this event brought together government representatives, experts and practitioners from different parts of the world. Students at Tallwood High School in Virginia Beach (USA) and Bagunçaço, an educational centre for young people in Salvador de Bahia (Brazil), were to take part in this session via videoconference, which will allow them to interact with the other participants.

Read more!

Cahokia: The good news and the bad

Cahokia's Monks Mound lay at the heart of the sprawling ancient city.

Cahokia as it was at its appogee

The December 23, 2011 issue of Science magazine has three news articles by Andres Lawler dealing with Cahokia, a World Heritage site located in the United States.

• "America's Lost City" 
• "Does North America Hold the Roots of Mesoamerican Civilization?"
• "Preserving History, One Hill at a Time"

I have found that very few of my graduate students even know of Cahokia and its mounds which form one of the most important pre-Columbian sites in the western hemisphere. Located near St. Louis, the site is now being further studied and was even more important than was realized when it was first accepted as a world heritage site.:

The excavations to date suggest that Cahokia was part of a large urban complex, one organized differently from other cities. “This was a metropolitan area,” perhaps home to as many as 50,000 people, “and you were a day's walk or canoe ride from one end to the other,” says Thomas Emerson of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, who directs the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS). The reach of this metropolis extended for hundreds of kilometers: Other researchers are finding settlements as far north as Wisconsin, apparently established by Cahokians. 

The nature of this society's organization and beliefs, as well as the reasons for its abrupt demise around 1300 C.E., remain hotly debated.

Indeed it has been suggested that "(a)ncient settlements in what is now Louisiana may have laid the foundation not only for the great city of Cahokia but perhaps also for Mesoamerican civilization."

Archaeologists are now racing to study the sites related to the Cahokia culture and hoping to preserve them in the face of increasing urban development:

Nearby, in the most densely settled area of ancient East St. Louis, a highway and bridge project provides funding—$2.5 million in 2011—for digs but little time for publication. In nearby Wood River, thousands of samples and artifacts that will require years of analysis are piling up in a lab in a downtown basement. “We don't have time to do more than gather,” says Thomas Emerson, who directs the Illinois transportation archaeological program. “We need people to dig.” 

Meanwhile, in Louisiana, where North America's most ancient mounds date back to the Middle Archaic period around 3500 B.C.E., there is little funding for digs, and most mounds, such as at Frenchman's Bend near Monroe, are on private property. (Recently retired, former state archaeologist Joseph) Saunders has spent the past 2 decades chatting up owners, encouraging them to feel a sense of pride that would prevent wanton—but legal—destruction of the sites. His strategy has paid off, for example at a Middle Archaic site called Hedgepeth, where a landowning family donated 4 hectares to the Archaeological Conservancy. But an unknown number of other mounds have been bulldozed. Saunders's “retirement is a huge blow,” says Washington University in St. Louis archaeologist Tristram R. Kidder.

The Great African Animal Migration in Danger

The television program 60 minutes broadcast a section on the great migration which makes the round trip between the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, a World Heritage Site, and the Maasai Maru National Park in Kenya, a tentatively listed candidate for a World Heritage Site. Millions of animals make the migration each year, the last large scale migration of large animals in the world.

The main artery of the region across which the migration takes place is the Mara River. The program describes the threat that this river will begin to dry up for a part of each year due to the changes in land use in its catchment area. If it were to do so, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of animals involved in the migration would die and the migration would no longer be possible.

Were the animal populations to plummet, the entire ecology of these two national parks would be irrevocably harmed.

The program also describes the difficult lives of native peoples in the region who are unwilling to give up their hopes for better lives to save national parks that they have never seen. They are intransigent before the efforts to keep them from clearing and farming wild areas.

It also shows a successful effort by an non-profit organization to encourage Maasai people in a region of some 400 square miles to sustainably manage their livestock and grazing areas.

One wonders whether the world heritage represented by these parks can be saved for much longer, and whether there is anything that UNESCO and the community supporting UNESCO's World Heritage Convention can to to help.

From the news of October 29, 1958

I quote from the New York Times:

Pope John XXIII, while an official observer of the Holy See at the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization, said in a 1952 sermon in Paris that Roman Catholics throughout the world should participate in the work of "this promising institution."

Contribute to UNESCO in this crisis

© UNESCO/Akash

The United States Government is withholding its contributions to UNESCO as the result of a decades old provision of the law. That means about one-quarter of the funding for the 1012-2013 project that was just approved will not be available. 

UNESCO's mission is to promote a new humanism in the defense of peace. It seeks to promote international understanding. Its tools are directed towards education, the promotion of science, culture and communications.

UNESCO has created a new site to accept public donations in this financial crisis. 

Donations can be made online at: http://www.unesco.org/donate

More selected press coverage / U.S. Withholding funds

I previously posted links to several articles and opinion pieces (here and here) on the vote to admit UNESCO to membership in UNESCO and the consequent legal requirement to withhold U.S. contributions to the Organization. Here are some more:

• "Don’t punish UNESCO," Irina Bokova (Director General of UNESCO), The Washington Post, October 23, 2011
• "For the U.S., a forced withdrawal from UNESCO," Timothy Wirth (President of the United Nations Foundation), The Washington Post, October 24, 2011
• "Fact sheet on the PLO's bid for UNESCO membership," Institute for Middle East Understanding, October 31, 2011
• "Unesco Accepts Palestinians as Full Members," Steven Erlanger and Scott Sayare, The New York Times, October 31, 2011

Editorial: Repeal or Revise the anti-Palestine Legislation

The law which now requires U.S. funds to be withheld from UNESCO should be repealed or revised because it is outdated, ineffective, unnecessary, counterproductive, unclear, and potentially unenforceable. Its application to UNESCO has diminished U.S. diplomatic effectiveness, will in fact hurt the Israeli interests it was designed to protect, and -- most important -- will hurt a lot of innocent people. Readers are encouraged to contact their representatives in Congress and call for the law's repeal or revision.

The General Conference of UNESCO voted to invite Palestine to become a member state of the Organization on October 31, 2011. The actual membership is to take effect when Palestine submits its accession papers.

As the members of the General Conference had been warned, that action triggered two parts of U.S. law (US Code - Title 22: Foreign Relations and Intercourse / 22 USC 287 - Sec. 287e. Authorization of appropriations; payment of expenses):

• Pub. L. 101-246, title IV, Sec. 414, Feb. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 70, provided that: "(a) Prohibition. - No funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or any other Act shall be available for the United Nations or any specialized agency thereof which accords the Palestine Liberation Organization the same standing as member states. "(b) Transfer or Reprogramming. - Funds subject to the prohibition contained in subsection (a) which would be available for the United Nations or any specialized agency thereof (but for that prohibition) are authorized to remain available until expended and may be reprogrammed or transferred to any other account of the Department of State or the Agency for International Development to carry out the general purposes for which such funds were authorized." 
• Pub. L. 103-236, title IV, Sec. 410, Apr. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 454, provided that: "The United States shall not make any voluntary or assessed contribution - "(1) to any affiliated organization of the United Nations which grants full membership as a state to any organization or group that does not have the internationally recognized attributes of statehood, or "(2) to the United Nations, if the United Nations grants full membership as a state in the United Nations to any organization or group that does not have the internationally recognized attributes of statehood, during any period in which such membership is effective."

The first provision is found in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 and the second in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995. Those are unusual in that they do not provide the President the ability to wave the provisions if he determines doing so would be in the national interest.

The U.S. Government has announced that it is consequently withholding contributions to UNESCO. Both assessed contributions and voluntary contributions are being withheld. The United States remains a member state of UNESCO, and has in fact been newly elected to its Executive Board. If the United States continues to withhold all contributions until the next meeting of the UNESCO General Conference, it will not be allowed to vote in that conference.

Here are some reasons that the law should be revised or repealed.

The legislation is outdated: Since these provisions became law, the role of the Palestine Liberation Organization has changed, the Palestine National Authority has come into being, the Oslo accords and the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement have been signed, and Palestine is reported to be recognized as a state by 127 UN member states. The United States and the other members of the Quartet are maintaining that a two state solution should be negotiated to settle the Israel-Palestine issues. 

The law is ineffective: It was intended to deny Palestinians membership in UN agencies until or unless a peace settlement was reached with Israel. UNESCO's General Conference voted membership for Palestine in full knowledge of the law. Several other UN agencies have constitutions that grant automatic membership on request from any national already a member of any UN agency. It seems likely that other UN agencies would also elect Palestine to membership if they received such a formal request.

The law is unnecessary: The Congress has the power of the purse and can vote to withhold funding from any UN agency as part of the annual appropriations legislation. Even without this law Congress has the power both to warn UN agencies of the consequences of admitting specific organizations or states to membership and withholding funds from agencies that do so in spite of the warnings. When the Palestinian membership was coming to the General Conference, letters were in fact sent from the House of Representatives to UNESCO informing the Secretariat and permanent representatives of member states to UNESCO that key committees would oppose funding UNESCO if it admitted Palestine. 

The law is counterproductive: As Representative Keith Ellison has pointed out, UNESCO activities "include core U.S. interests like literacy education for the Afghan National Police, supporting a free press in countries like Iraq, Tunisia and Egypt, and promoting Holocaust education in the Middle East." Some of these activities will be stopped specifically because already promised voluntary contributions for their support must now be withheld. (See also "Cutting Off Unesco, U.S. May Endanger Programs in Iraq and Afghanistan")

The meaning of the law is unclear: Does the United States withhold contributions forever from UNESCO now that it has voted to accept Palestine as a member state? Does the United States continue to withhold funding from UNESCO even if a peace treaty is successfully concluded and Palestine is successful in meeting all of the internationally recognized standards of statehood. If existing member states of UN agencies for some reason no longer meet all of those standards but are not ejected from membership, must the United States withhold funding from those agencies.

The law may not be enforceable. The Congress ratified the accession document to UNESCO which I am told has the force of a treaty. In joining UNESCO, the United States agreed to abide by its Constitution (which was largely an American creation) and that Constitution requires member states to pay their assessed contributions; the obligation to pay overdue contributions does not go away even if a member state withdraws from the Organization. The United States is a signatory to other UNESCO Conventions which have been ratified by the Congress, such as the World Heritage Convention which also requires funding from member states. Thus, if the U.S. Government is taken to court it may have to stop withholding assessed contributions in spite of the law cited above. I have been informed that those concerns actually resulted in the United States not withholding contributions from UNESCO when it was proposed to do so during the 1970s.

Final Comments: As the law applies to UNESCO

The United States Government is forced by this law to act like the kid who takes his ball home when he is not elected captain of the football team. Diplomats of other countries see this "poison pill" of a law as a bullying tactic by the United States. They not only see it as anti-democratic but as politicizing UNESCO debates that should not be politicized. As a result, the influence of U.S. diplomats in UNESCO governance and other international forums is weakened.

Perhaps surprisingly, while the law was intended to protect Israel, Israel may suffer from its application. The United States has been the most important defender of Israel's interests in UNESCO as well as in other UN venues. U.S. influence is greater as the respect accorded to our diplomats and their tactics is greater. As the threat of withdrawing funding is disliked so our influence is decreased and thus our influence in protecting Israeli interests from unfair attacks by other member states.

In my mind, the most important reason for restoring funding to UNESCO is that if we do not do so, innocent people will suffer. Kids who would have gotten to school because of UNESCO's influence will remain uneducated. People who could have been saved from the threat of flood or tsunami by UNESCO programs will not be saved because UNESCO didn't have the resources we had promised. Reporters who might have been saved from coercive governments by the influence of UNESCO in favor of freedom of the press and freedom of speech will lose some of that protection; the public will lose information that those reporters could have provided. People who might have found work in UNESCO promoted cultural industries will lose that opportunity. People who might have been saved from the impact of unethical behavior by scientists will not receive the protection that might have been offered by the UNESCO ethics programs. People who might have been better served by their governments because of the influence of UNESCO's Management of Social Transitions (MOST) program will lose that opportunity. 

Indeed, those of us who enjoy the Olympics may enjoy them a little less as UNESCO has less money to support the international convention against doping in sport. Those of us who enjoy visiting museums may enjoy them a little less as UNESCO has less money to support conventions to protect museum-quality artifacts and to support museum quality. Those of us who enjoy visiting sites such as the pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Majal, or the rose red city at the end of time (Petra, Jordan) may enjoy them less as UNESCO has fewer resources to advocate for their preservation and their appropriate presentation to visitors.

Recommendation

I will refrain from recommending to the Congress and the State Department how to deal with these laws. Those bodies are well able to deal with the specific issues of legislative reform.

For the readers of this blog, I recommend that you contact your Representative and your Senators and ask that they work to restore U.S. funding to UNESCO and that they reform the law to deal with the problems raised in the paragraphs above.

Here is the message I sent to my Representative in the House and to my Senators:

Recently the General Conference of UNESCO voted to offer membership in the Organization to Palestine. In response to the possibility of Palestine joining the Organization, the purpose of which is to build the defenses of peace in the minds of men, the United States is withholding all contributions to UNESCO, apparently permanently. This is due to clauses in the Foreign Assistance Authorization Acts for Fiscal 1990 and 1991, 1994-1995. 

That action has cost the United States soft power in the United Nations system. It has created a financial crisis in UNESCO. It is threatening programs in Iraq and Afghanistan funded by U.S. voluntary contributions and implemented by UNESCO, programs important to our interests in those countries. In two years, that action will cost the United States its votes in the next General Conference. In the long run it will have a negative impact on programs promoting education, science, the preservation of cultural heritage, and freedom of the press. 

Perhaps even worse, if Palestine follows through on announced plans and obtains membership in other UN organizations, the old clause in the Authorization will require the United States to withhold funding from such agencies as the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the International Telecommunications Union, the World Health Organization, and the Food and Agriculture Organization. 

Ideally the clause should be repealed and decisions on the funding of these agencies made in the normal appropriations process. At a minimum, the clause should be amended to allow the President to waive the requirement to withhold funding when he determines that action is to the overall foreign policy advantage of the United States.

John Daly

The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent those of Americans for UNESCO.

The Press Covers U.S. Withholding UNESCO Funds

 The General Conference of UNESCO last month voted by a two-thirds majority to admit Palestine as a member state. The United States opposed the admission primarily on the basis that it would be counterproductive to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. U.S. laws passed two decades ago required that the United States Government withhold its funding of any UN agency that admitted Palestine as a member state. Consequently, that funding which currently accounts for 22 percent of UNESCO's regular budget and several million dollars of voluntary contributions is being withheld. This is causing a financial crisis in the UNESCO Secretariat.

Here are links to a selection of articles in the media that deal with the situation:

• "Reporters again turn State Dep’t briefing into moshpit, scorning US ‘impotence’ in the conflict," Philip Weiss, Mondoweiss, November 3, 2011
• "Cutting Off Unesco, U.S. May Endanger Programs in Iraq and Afghanistan," Steven Erlanger, The New York Times, November 16, 2011
• "US shouldn’t forfeit influence within UN," Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), The Hill, November 21, 2011
• "UNESCO Science Braces for a Big Squeeze," Daniel Strain, Science, November 25, 2011
• "UNESCO Promotes Peace, Not Conflict," Neil Ford, The Huffington Post, November 28, 2011
• "US withdrawal of UNESCO funds puzzling," Kate Jenson, The Rice Thresher, December 1, 2011
• "Without the U.S., UNESCO would be greatly diminished," Herbie Hancock, The Washington Post, December 2, 2011

UNESCO Creative Cities Meet

The Indian Market at Santa Fe, New Mexico

Between November 16 and 18, representatives of cities in UNESCO's worldwide Creative Cities Network met in Seoul.

Among those attending were representatives from U.S. Creative Cities of Iowa City and Santa Fe. Representatives from Paducah, which is currently applying to be a UNESCO Creative City, also attended.

Jeanette Pilak

One of the major topics of concern during the meeting in Seoul related to UNESCO's loss of funding and subsequent effect on the Creative Cities network.

Jeanette Pilak sent in these excellent notes from the meeting, you can also read a more official (but slightly less interesting) version here.

UNESCO Continues to Look at Ramifications of U.S. Funding Loss

UNESCO continues to deal with the recent loss of U.S. funding.

Science Magazine recently did a piece describing how the loss of US dollars may effect programs in UNESCO's science sector, which you can read here.

The AP also recently did a piece describing how the loss of U.S. funding may effect UNESCO programs in education, social sciences, and the developing world. You can read that one here.

More on the National Commission Meeting

This past Monday 11/28 about 85 members of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO and friends of the Commission met for our annual meeting in Washington, DC.

Participants met for about 5 hours with a few breaks and engaged in a lively discussion about a range of topics related to UNESCO and U.S. engagement with UNESCO.

The defunding issue was of course a hot topic and meeting participants shared their views about the current situation, as well as ideas about the future of U.S. activity with UNESCO.

The State Department offers apologies for the quality of the picture/sound, but you can actually watch a video recording from most of Monday's meeting here. You can also see photos from our meeting here.

Thank you very much again to everybody who participated on Monday (either remotely or in person), for those who traveled in from far away, and our hosts at George Washington University.

Gaza: UNESCO Protecting education in the border areas

UNESCO is committed along with young people and teachers to keep schools opened in the border areas.

Traditional knowledge of the jaguar shamans of Yuruparí (Colombia)

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage meeting in Bali inscribed on 27 November 2011 the Traditional knowledge of the jaguar shamans of Yurupari (Colombia) on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The jaguar shamans of Yuruparí share the common heritage of the many ethnic groups living along the Pirá Paraná River in southeastern Colombia. Using traditional knowledge and ritual practices, the shamans heal, prevent sickness and revitalize nature. During the Hee Biki ritual, male children learn the traditional guidelines for these practices as a part of their passage into adulthood.

It is believed that shamans inherited their traditional knowledge from the all-powerful, mythical Yuruparí, an anaconda who lived as a human and is embodied in sacred trumpets.

More information on: http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/RL/00574 and http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/seven_new_inscri...

To know more about Intangible Heritage visit: http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00001

Extended version of this video on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqWoosEGy2Q

Video copyright: © 2010 ACAIPI, Fundación Gaia Amazonas. 4 Direcciones Audiovisual. National Geographic T.V.

EFA Crowdsourcing Challenge

 

UNESCO has teamed up with Nokia and the Pearson Foundation to launch an Education for All (EFA) Crowdsourcing Challenge!

 

This contest asks participants to submit their best ides about how mobile communication can help achieve EFA goals.

 

The challenge goes until May of next year - but if you're interested or know anyone else who might be, offer your great idea. Your idea could earn you a cool new phone, if not the opportunity to improve educational access for those who need it.

 

For more details go here!

Design Competition: The Slave Trade

 

More details have been announced about the UNESCO coordinated competition to design a permanent memorial to honor the victims of the transatlantic slave trade at the United Nations in New York.

 

This competition involves two phases. First, 16 semi-finalists will be chosen. From these 7 will be chosen for interviews by an international jury, which will make the final decision about the competition winner.

 

The deadline for this competition is Monday 12/19. If you know of any American artists/designers who would be interested in competing, please send them here!