UNESCO shuns voting rights for US and Israel

UNESCO on November 8, 2013 has suspended the voting rights of the United States, two years after it stopped paying dues to the UN's cultural arm. The US has not paid its dues to UNESCO due to the decision by world governments to make Palestine a UNESCO member in 2011. Israel also suspended from world cultural body because of its dues at the same time and also lost voting rights. According the UNESCO rules, the US had time until November 8 morning to resume funding or explain itself or it automatically loses its vote. The US decision of not paying UNESCO was blamed on US laws that prohibit funding to any United Nations agency that implies recognition of Palestinian demands for their own state. The withdrawal of US funding, which to date amounts to about US $240m or some 22 percent of UNESCO's budget, has plunged the organisation into a financial crisis, forcing it to cut programmes and slash spending. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN). It is the heir of the League of Nations' International Commission on Intellectual Cooperation. Its purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental freedom proclaimed in the UN Charter. UNESCO has 195 member States (it recently added Palestine in November 2011) and nine Associate Members. UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs: education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and communication and information. Proposals for a Palestinian state: Proposals for a Palestinian state refers to the proposed establishment of an independent state for the Palestinian people in Palestine on land that was occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967 and prior to that year for 18 years (1949) by Egypt (Gaza) and by Jordan (West Bank). The proposals include the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Hamas faction of the Palestinian National Authority, the West Bank, which is administered by the Fatah faction of the Palestinian National Authority, and East Jerusalem which is controlled by Israel under a claim of sovereignty. The proclaimed State of Palestine is recognized by 134 countries. The Israeli military commander exercises usufructuary rights in accordance with international law, but he is not the legal sovereign of the disputed territory. The permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people over the natural resources of the Palestinian territories has been recognized by 139 countries, and Palestine is recognized by the UN as a non member state.

What: UNESCO suspended the voting rights of the United States and Israil When: November 8, 2013 Why: nonpayment of dues to the UNESCO