The decision came after over a decade of turbulent relations between American administrations and the United Nation’s cultural organization.
The United States will rejoin UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organization, in July, the agency announced on Monday, after years of turbulent relations that culminated in 2017 with a full withdrawal by the U.S. government. The move, which comes over a decade after the United States had cut off key funding to the agency, will give its budget a much-needed boost.
“This is a strong act of confidence, in UNESCO and in multilateralism,” Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO’s director-general, said in a statement after announcing the U.S. decision to a meeting of representatives of the agency’s 193 members at its headquarters in Paris.
UNESCO, or the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said in a statement that the Department of State had sent a letter to Ms. Azoulay that “welcomed the way in which UNESCO had addressed in recent years emerging challenges, modernized its management and reduced political tensions.”
The move to rejoin was made possible by a bill passed by Congress in December that authorized financial contributions to UNESCO, the statement said, noting that the United States had put forward a “concrete financing plan” that must be approved by the UNESCO.
