The United States announced that it would leave UNESCO at the end of 2018

Washington - The United States will leave the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) by December 31, 2018. The American State Department announced this today in a statement. The decision is related to several resolutions the organization has adopted in the past, which Washington perceives as anti-Israel. UNESCO expressed deep regret over the decision.

"This decision was not easy," the American State Department stated, noting that it was driven, among other things, by "the need for fundamental reform of the organization," as well as its "bias against Israel." The United States will continue to seek to participate in the organization's activities as an observer state, allowing them to contribute their "views, positions, and expert opinions," the American diplomacy added.

UNESCO has already confirmed that it received an official notification from the United States about its withdrawal from the organization, which among other things decides on the listing of cultural and natural monuments as World Heritage sites. The organization is also active in the fields of education and human rights advocacy. This week, coincidentally, UNESCO is electing its new director.

The current head of the organization, Irina Bokova, stated that the organization's decision is "deeply regretted" and labeled it as a loss for "the family of nations." "Universality is a fundamental prerequisite for fulfilling UNESCO's mission to build peace and international security in the face of hatred and violence, and to defend human rights and human dignity," Bokova said.

The United States stopped sending contributions to UNESCO in 2011 after Palestine became a member. Israel took the same step at that time. The USA had previously been the largest contributor to the organization. Currently, according to the AP agency, it owes the organization about 550 million dollars (12 billion CZK).

In May of this year, the Czech Chamber of Deputies called on the government to suspend payment of membership contributions as well. The reason was the adoption of a resolution that criticized Israel for excavations in East Jerusalem and classified them as violations of international law. According to Israel, it denied Jewish ties to the Temple Mount, which is one of the holiest sites in Jerusalem.

In July, UNESCO added the Old City of Hebron to the list of cultural heritage as a threatened Palestinian site. This also included the Tomb of the Patriarchs, which Jews honor as the Tomb of the Patriarchs. Israel called the decision a rewriting of history, as it believes that labeling the site as Palestinian denies Jews their role in this part of today's West Bank. Israel occupies part of Palestinian Hebron, and the tomb falls under the occupied zone.

Last year, UNESCO adopted a resolution proposed by Arab countries, which used only Arabic names for places in the historical core of Jerusalem. According to Israel, the document overlooked the millennia-long relationship of Jews with Jerusalem.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the war in 1967, later illegally annexing it to the western neighborhoods and declaring the whole city as its indivisible capital. Agreements from the 1990s provided that East Jerusalem would be the capital of a Palestinian state.

The United States previously left UNESCO in 1984, citing anti-Western politicization and ineffective management as the reasons. They only returned in 2003.