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3. More countries will follow the U.S. example of pulling out of U.N. funding.
On January 1, the U.S. formally left UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization. At the end of World War II, the United States helped found UNESCO to preserve the world's heritage sites and promote the flow of ideas to prevent future conflicts. But then, UNESCO granted full membership to the Palestinians, and the U.S. stopped funding it, NPR reported.
This is not the first time that the U.S. has left the U.N. heritage agency. It withdrew once before, in 1984, citing corruption and an ideological tilt toward the Soviet Union against the West, according to Foreign Policy.
Tobias Denskus of Malmo University predicts that the U.S. will make further cuts: "I'm worried that as we move closer to U.S. elections, U.N. funding will suffer even more and ultimately weaken [the U.N.]." And he worries the U.S. precedent will cause other countries to reduce their contributions based on their political agenda. - Malaka Gharib
On January 1, the U.S. formally left UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization. At the end of World War II, the United States helped found UNESCO to preserve the world's heritage sites and promote the flow of ideas to prevent future conflicts. But then, UNESCO granted full membership to the Palestinians, and the U.S. stopped funding it, NPR reported.
This is not the first time that the U.S. has left the U.N. heritage agency. It withdrew once before, in 1984, citing corruption and an ideological tilt toward the Soviet Union against the West, according to Foreign Policy.
Tobias Denskus of Malmo University predicts that the U.S. will make further cuts: "I'm worried that as we move closer to U.S. elections, U.N. funding will suffer even more and ultimately weaken [the U.N.]." And he worries the U.S. precedent will cause other countries to reduce their contributions based on their political agenda. - Malaka Gharib
